Coalition sees future of Iowa agriculture in food diversity, not ethanol and animal feed

From left to right, Chris Schwartz, Giselle Bruskewitz, Tommy Hexter and Aaron Lehman speak July 1, 2024 outside the Iowa Capitol about a coalition called Setting the Table for All Iowans. (Photo by Jack O'Connor/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

A new plan for Iowa agriculture seeks to increase the state’s production of food rather than ethanol and animal feed, the Iowa Food System Coalition announced at a Monday press conference.

The plan, known as Setting the Table for All Iowans, outlines the coalition’s policy goals which include producing more locally grown food, getting more young people to become farmers and providing more financial assistance to farmers.

Chris Schwartz, executive director of the coalition, said the plan is an opportunity to positively impact farmers, the economy and the local community.

“There’s room to grow and strengthen our agricultural tradition as well as our collective health and our economy,” Schwartz said at the press conference.

Director of Grinnell Farm to Table food hub Tommy Hexter said many commodity farmers are struggling because most of the profits are going toward the middlemen like seed, equipment and marketing companies.

However, Hexter said selling produce locally cuts out most middlemen and leads to more money going into farmers’ pockets.

“Setting the Table for All Iowans provides an opportunity to build that system where Iowa’s farmers and small business owners can truly thrive,” Hexter said in the press conference.

Iowa leads ethanol production

According to data from the Iowa Farm Bureau , about 50%-70% of Iowa’s corn production is used to make ethanol compared to the national average of about 35%-40%. Iowa alone accounts for nearly 30% of the nation’s ethanol production.

In 2023, Iowa produced about 4.6 billion gallons of ethanol.

The plan also focuses on how to retain and attract farming talent to Iowa through investments in obtaining refrigerated trucks, increasing the number of rural grocery stores and providing needed equipment to small businesses.

“This plan provides us a pathway to collaborate and really support one another,” Senior Program Director at Iowa Valley RC&D Giselle Bruskewitz said.

President of the Iowa Farmers Union Aaron Lehman, a fifth-generation family farmer, said investments like those are vital for the Iowa agriculture industry where there are more farmers above the age of 65 than below the age of 35.

“We know that the oldest generation of Iowans owns over two-thirds of Iowa’s farmland,” Lehman said. “We need to invest in those opportunities for a more diverse and younger set of leadership opportunities for people in farming.”

Over the past two years, the Iowa Food System Coalition has organized a Food and Farm Day at the Iowa Capitol and invited legislators and state agencies to a food policy summit.

One of the next steps for the coalition is to educate legislators about the plan so it can be used as a guide to create state policies, Schwartz said.

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