News

The horticulture team with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will hold the 2022 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day Aug. 15 at Iowa State University’s Horticulture Research Station northeast of Ames. The annual event will feature various research and demonstration projects on fruit and vegetable production for commercial growers, extension personnel, nonprofit organizations and master gardeners.

The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University will host the 2022 Wine Grape Field Day on Wednesday, July 27. This field day is offered to grape growers and winemakers, extension personnel and nonprofit organizations. The field day will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature two separate sessions.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today encouraged producers of pesticide sensitive crops to renew their field and beehive entries on the Iowa Sensitive Crops Registry.  “The Iowa Sensitive Crop Registry is an effective tool to support communication between producers of specialty crops, beekeepers and pesticide applicators – all important aspects of Iowa agriculture,” said Secretary Naig. “Now is a good time for farmers, beekeepers and pesticide applicators to reference and update their information using this user-friendly online platform.”

On May 19th, 2021, Governor Reynolds signed SF 356 into law establishing the “Iowa Agricultural Tourism Promotion Act.” See Iowa Code § 673A et seq. Agricultural tourism is a growing industry in Iowa. In 2017, Iowa had 350 agri-tourism operations, an increase from 275 in 2012. Because many of the inherent risks of farming cannot be removed, the Act promotes agricultural tourism by limiting the potential liability of agricultural tourism farms in certain circumstances.

Every farm operation will face transitions at some point, whether it’s a new beginning, an expansion, retirement or farm exit. In order to help farmers prepare for these kinds of transitions, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Beginning Farmer Center at Iowa State are providing a two-day educational event Feb. 10-11 in Ames.

A podcast designed and produced by the Farm, Food and Enterprise Development program with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has been recognized for its outreach. The Small Farm Sustainability Podcast, which airs each week, was ranked No. 1 in a listing of the “Best 20 Sustainable Agriculture Podcasts” by Feedspot Blog, an online content creator and social media curator.

A pandemic and severe drought challenged fruit and vegetable growers across the state in 2021, but volunteers with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach rose to the occasion. As part of the Growing Together Mini-Grant project, 33 Iowa counties grew 91,772 pounds of fruits and vegetables that were donated to 119 food pantries and distribution sites – equal to more than 275,000 servings

Farmers and those employed in the agricultural industry should be mindful of the risks involved with internet security and what they can do to keep themselves and their companies safe. With so much activity being done online, farmers share the same risks as those employed in other industries – sometimes even more so.

Food processors in Iowa are essential not only to increasing the quantity and diversity of food in their areas, but also in creating employment opportunities for members of their communities. However, to be successful, they must pay attention to food safety, sanitation and preparation. A new online training program from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will help Iowa’s food processors meet these goals.

Farmers and ranchers in Iowa can apply for special grants being offered by the North Central Region of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. The NCR-SARE will host a Farmer Rancher Grant Program webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 4-5:30 p.m. CDT. This webinar will help guide participants through submitting a grant proposal to NCR-SARE’s Farmer Rancher Grant Program. Join Joan Benjamin, NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant Program coordinator, to learn how to write a strong proposal and project budget and where to get help. NCR-SARE will record the webinar and make it available on this webpage. 

The pandemic provided opportunity for specialty producers in Iowa to expand production and sales. However, managing risk for specialty production is critical to capitalizing on new market opportunities. The Small Farms division of Farm, Food and Enterprise Development of Iowa Sate University Extension sponsored a series of webinars for specialty crop producers in January, February and March 2021. They featured new tools and resources on how to manage risk.