An organic 'evangelist' goes to Iowa

The organic movement may get an unlikely following in the agribusiness state.

By

Jessica A. Knoblauch

Mon, Nov 30 2009 at 4:57 PM

Related Topics:

Buy Local, Organic Farming, Agribusiness

Photo: Getty Images

Usually known for industrial-sized farms and animal-processing plants, Iowa may soon be the next state to turn to small-scale and organic farming, according to a recent New York Times article.

The face behind the movement in Iowa is Rob Marqusee, Woodbury County’s dynamic rural economic development director.

A California transplant, Marqusee wants to grab a hold of the rapidly growing organic movement in America and bring it to the farm state to help revitalize a local economy that, like many other rural states across the country, is suffering greatly from the economic downturn.

To do this, Marqusee is using tax incentives for organic farmers.

Though the term “organic” isn’t exactly welcome in Iowa, many farmers, especially the younger set, are slowly coming around to the idea of small-scale farms and an emphasize on organic practices.

In addition, Marqusee is also aggressively promoting locally grown food to businesses and farmers in the hopes of keeping Iowa food in Iowa — a seemingly simple goal that’s surprisingly difficult to accomplish because of red tape and a national food system designed to benefit big agribusiness over small farmers.

As a state with a $200 million food market in Sioux City alone that also imports more than 90 percent of its food, Iowa is the perfect example of a state that is alarming dependent on outside sources for basic necessities like fresh foods.

"It's like the cobbler with no shoes," Marqusee said.

Unfortunately, Iowa is hardly alone in this trend. Many states depend heavily on out-of-state or international sources for their local food supplies.

But that could all change with the increased interest in the local and organic movement. At least, that’s what people are hoping.

To help spur the movement, the USDA recently announced a national campaign that will help expand opportunities for local farmers, focusing specifically on sustainable agriculture.

The "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" campaign, which MNN has previously covered, uses existing federal programs to support local and regional food systems that have been held back by a crazy maze of regulations for farmers that try to do things like sell their products to local schools.

If programs like these actually work, the payback could be enormous.

According to economists at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, if 25 percent of the fruits and vegetables consumed in Iowa were grown in state, total new sales in Iowa would increase by $140 million. The state would also benefit from $54.2 million in additional labor income for more than 2,000 employees, including 190 who would work on farms, according to the Times.

"It is all about keeping the wealth in the community that creates it," said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a meeting in Hamlet, N.C., which was part of a series of town hall-style meetings that Obama administration officials held across the country last summer and fall.

"What happens today is so much of the wealth gets transferred out. ... Wouldn't it be better if we could give it to your local farmers? It seems to me like that would make sense."

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Comments: 4

Robert Marqusee Dec 23 2009 at 11:59 AM

I enjoyed reading the heartfelt post above - Stereotype. In the western part of the state - there is very little organic - we are in Tyson Foods country. We have lost most of our small processing plants - and farms are being consolidated very quickly. The average age of farmers in Woodbury County is over 65 yrs old. I think Decorah and other areas in the eastern part of the state are in better shape. No one can deny that Iowa is an industrial farming state: corn and soybean. I submit that small

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food production is more economically viable on small acres. However, there is no infrastructure to sell wholesale. There may be only 2 growers who wholesale around these parts. Just my 2 cents.

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Carol Dec 03 2009 at 9:28 AM

I live in California and there are MANY more non-organic practices here than my home state of Iowa. First, there are 98,000 farms in Iowa and the vast majority are still small, family owned. Second, of the corporate farms, many are actually families pooling together so they can get loans (bank credit is tough on small farmers). Third, Iowa is 4th in ranking of organic farming by state, but would be 2nd if you went by square miles planted. Fourth, Iowans I know love the land and would go completely

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organic if they could only get the organic fertilizers, seeds and pesticides from their suppliers at anywhere near the same price. It's a low margin business and these small hardworking families can't afford the premium price. So painting it as if farmers don't want to be organic is an absolute falsehood. So the term "organic" is welcome in Iowa if it means healthy farming that won't bankrupt the family farm. For the true Iowa, skip your stereotypes and check out places like Seedsavers, which have been in business since the 70s. http://www.seedsavers.org/Content.aspx?src=aboutus.htm

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Brian Dec 31 2009 at 11:06 AM

I am an Agronomy grad student at Nebraska, and your response is great. A lot of family farms have to incorporate not only for the loans, but to limit all the liability. It is more or less a way to keep the family farm perpetual. My goal at the end of this educational road is to go back to the family farm and farm. I agree that most farmers would put away any pesticides if they could, but most work well, which are not toxic (break down quickly) and cut down on erosion. Cutting down erosion in the

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form of less intense tillage practices to manage the weeds. Also, it seems that a big buzz word is chemical fertilizer, but in fact most of the fertilizers are just simple salts such as KCl. It technically isn't organic because it does not have a C and H in it, but is not harmful at all. These non organic fertilizers are essential to provide enough food to meet growing demand.