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A grant recently awarded by the Iowa Department for Economic Development to Jefferson County is aimed at making organic agriculture more profitable and attractive to local farmers and agribusiness.
What will it take to expand organic agriculture in Jefferson County? A growing number of people involved with agriculture are concerned about water and soil contamination caused by pesticide and synthetic fertilizer use. Organic farming, which uses soil-building crop rotations and prohibits synthetic fertilizers and chemicals, is emerging as a viable and potentially profitable alternative. The profitability is critical if farmers are to adopt organic practices on a large scale.
Bringing Products Closer to the Consumer
Over the past year, the United Environment Fund, a Fairfield-based nonprofit organization, has been helping coordinate efforts to make local organic production more profitable. Last fall, a group of local organic producers began to look at ways to get involved with some aspects of processing or bringing their products closer to the consumer. By capturing a larger portion of the full market value of local agricultural products, local farmers and the local economy will benefit.
Development organizations are beginning to pay attention to the economic development opportunities that organic agriculture offers. Based on the high level of interest and activity in promoting organic agriculture in Jefferson County, the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) has awarded the county a grant of $8,000 to develop local business opportunities for organic agriculture.
The United Environment Fund helped develop the project proposal for the grant, which comes from an IDED program called Rural Action. The Rural Action program is designed to "encourage agricultural producers and economic development groups to jointly identify and implement agriculturally related development strategies." Representatives of the IDED Rural Action Program were excited about the unique resources we have in Jefferson County--including a growing organic producer base and a very supportive consumer population--that could position our community to become a leader in the organic industry. This initial grant will cover the first six-month phase of the project. Jefferson County may continue to reapply for further funds from Rural Action over the next three to four years.
The grant money will be used to coordinate market development for locally grown organic products and to explore opportunities for local "value-added" processing of organic products. Some opportunities for local organic enterprises include seed cleaning and conditioning, cold storage for vegetables and fruit, and organic chicken processing.
The Jefferson County Rural Action project is directed by an Advisory Committee including representatives from Cinagro Organic Producers' Group, Pathfinders RC&D, the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and the United Environment Fund. The Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce will provide office space and support for the Rural Action Project Coordinator.
Your Input is Invited
The group is looking for ideas and suggestions from the community. What kinds of organic agricultural enterprises would you like to see in Jefferson County? How would you promote organic products to local and regional consumers? Anyone interested in contributing ideas, time, or resources to the project should contact Marsha Laux, Project Coordinator, at 472-6177.
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