Secretary Naig Announces Investments in 24 Iowa Projects through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program

Projects and initiatives are aimed at strengthening Iowa’s food supply chains

DES MOINES, Iowa (Nov. 26, 2024) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is investing more than $5.2 million in 24 Iowa projects and other supply chain improvement initiatives through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grant program. The intent of RFSI is to build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain by developing and expanding markets for Iowa’s small farms and food businesses. 

"As more Iowans are looking for local food options and turning to Choose Iowa to find them, the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program and other initiatives at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship are helping to strengthen supply chains and build the infrastructure behind that food production," said Secretary Naig. "By enhancing processing capacity and reinforcing distribution networks, we’re creating more robust pathways for Iowa farmers and small businesses to bring their high-quality Iowa food and ag products to market. As a result, these projects and logistical investments will ultimately help enhance our supply chains, create jobs in rural communities and grow Iowa’s economy."

The Department offered applications for two types of grants, including a larger infrastructure grant and a smaller equipment grant, both of which require cost-share contributions by the applicant. The Department received 60 eligible applications, and the competitive grant process aimed to support projects that strengthen the middle of the supply chain through processing, aggregation and distribution while also expanding market access for farms and small businesses. Many of the 24 selected projects will expand wholesale markets that serve schools and early care facilities as well as other institutional buyers like hospitals and colleges. The projects will also help farms and small businesses gain access to grocers and support other intermediary markets such as food hubs, post-harvest processing facilities or other distribution networks. 

A portion of the overall investment, $997,040.00, will be invested into strengthening logistical connections between Iowa’s wholesale food hubs, which will lead to increased capacity, aggregation and distribution. In coordination with the Iowa Food Hub Managers Working Group, which was organized in 2015 by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa will invest in new software and the formulation of standard operating procedures for the Iowa Hub-to-Hub Network. The plan also calls for hosting a Middle of the Supply Chain Buyer and Supplier Summit to build relationships between local food buyers and producers, and to share innovative improvements to Iowa’s food system infrastructure. A supply chain coordinator will also help build new markets and sales for Iowa’s food hub network and producers.  

The RFSI program, which is funded through the USDA – Agriculture Marketing Service, is administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship with operating assistance from Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development. Additional partners include Practical Farmers of Iowa and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

RFSI Infrastructure Grants
Infrastructure Grants range from $100,000 to $1 million and a cost-share match is required. These grants are used to fund capital investments such as construction and equipment. The following four Iowa projects, listed in alphabetical order by entity name, received cost-share funding:

Iowa Corn Processors
Glidden
RFSI Infrastructure Grant: $500,000.00
Matching Funding: $783,358.00
Iowa Corn Processors produces human food-grade corn grits, coarse and medium meals, corn cones and corn flours used in a variety of consumer food products. The company will install a new High Accuracy Bottom-Up Filler, which will improve the automation of their packing line to allow for a doubling of their shipping capacity. They currently purchase from 500 farmers within 70 miles of the facility. Their products are sold throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Trinidad and Tobago. The company currently employs 40 people. This expansion will create up to five new full-time jobs and increase corn purchases from local farmers by an estimated $4.8 million per year. An estimated 10 to 20 additional local farmers could also be added to their sourcing network.

Kalona Creamery
Kalona
RFSI Infrastructure Grant: $478,282.10
Matching Funding: $534,931.90
The company processes milk sourced from 67 family-owned dairies in Iowa and delivers the products to retailers and food distributors in Iowa and regionally. Grant funds will be used to purchase and install key pieces of dairy processing equipment for expanding the company's organic dairy products. The goal of this project is to expand processing while continuing to provide a market for milk from small dairies in Iowa. Iowa consumers will benefit from increased access to locally produced dairy products.

Local Harvest CSA
Solon
RFSI Infrastructure Grant: $100,000.00
Matching Funding: $33,576.39
Local Harvest CSA will improve an existing building on their farm, which will lead to an expanded area that can be licensed as a warehouse for frozen vegetables. The improvements will also add climate-controlled storage for frozen, refrigerated and dehydrated products. An expanded warehouse will also allow them to provide frozen warehouse space and a licensed processing facility for use by other producers. This will also expand their capacity for processing and storing larger quantities of crops to serve institutional markets, specifically local schools.

NewBo City Market
Cedar Rapids
RFSI Infrastructure Grant: $458,767.90
Matching Funding: $783,533.90
NewBo City Market will renovate its building in Cedar Rapids to add a second-floor processing kitchen and aggregation storage. This will increase the quantity of Iowa agricultural products stored, processed and sold. Through programmatic business development services and trainings, NewBo will also cultivate purchasing agreements between farmers and small businesses creating new value-added markets.  

RFSI Equipment Grants
Equipment Grants range from $10,000 to $100,000, and the state required a 10 percent match. These grants can only fund equipment, which may be new, used or refurbished. The following 20 Iowa projects, listed in alphabetical order by entity name, received grant funding:

A. Miller Farms
Silver City
RFSI Equipment Grant: $90,000.00   
Matching Funding: $10,000.00
Miller Farms will create a new regional oat preprocessing facility that will take raw oats from Iowa farmers and process them into oat groats. The oat groats will be directly marketed to several outlets and can also be processed directly into oatmeal. In turn, the product could be directly marketable as food grade to multiple outlets. Equipment purchases will include a cleaner, huller, separation destoner and conveyor equipment. Anticipated outcomes of this project include higher prices paid to farmers, increased supply and demand for oat products, and at least one new full-time position.  

Buffalo Ridge Orchard
Central City
RFSI Equipment Grant: $71,425.80
Matching Funding: $7,936.20
Buffalo Ridge Orchard will make upgrades to their fruit washing and packing line. By adding a bin dumper, fruit sizing equipment and other upgrades to make washing and packing apples and pears more efficient, they will increase demand and availability to wholesale customers.   

Camp Creek Organic Produce
Kalona
RFSI Equipment Grant: $90,000.00
Matching Funding: $10,000.00
Camp Creek Organic Produce will purchase two delivery trucks for their food hub. Their current delivery vehicles are more than 20 years old. These new box trucks will allow for more reliable deliveries and expansion of the routes serving more customers in central and southern Iowa.

Farm Table Delivery
Harlan
RFSI Equipment Grant: 75,500.10
Matching Funding: $8,388.90
Farm Table Delivery will add a pallet-fit freezer and cooler to their current facility to expand their fulfillment capacity and improve transportation efficiency. Increased cold storage will allow them to increase purchases, offering wholesale buyers more variety and larger product fulfillment. Intact pallets will also decrease the risk of accidents and injury to staff.  

Fireside Winery
Marengo
RFSI Equipment Grant: $74,083.50
Matching Funding: $8,231.50
Driven by requests from wholesalers, Fireside Winery will add a canning line to provide consumers with an additional way to purchase their wine. Fireside Winery will purchase equipment to produce their wine in aluminum cans, which is more portable than bottles. This project will help attract new customers and increase demand. This opportunity is expected to increase market opportunities for other grape, rhubarb, honey and dandelion farmers.

Garden of Paradise
Essex
RFSI Equipment Grant: $17,267.00
Matching Funding: $1,919.00
Garden of Paradise will purchase a commercial cooler to store vegetables after washing and packing them prior to distribution. The cooler will allow them to reach more customers by extending the shelf life of produce and by reducing waste. Unused space can be rented to producers or nonprofits wanting to store or cross-dock produce for a short period of time. This project is anticipated to result in one additional job.

Grimm Family Farm
Williamsburg
RFSI Equipment Grant: $50,071.50
Matching Funding: $5,563.00
Grimm Family Farm will purchase a refrigerated delivery system to improve the quality and food safety of their potatoes and dry beans. They are currently the only supplier of dry beans in the state. The current delivery system used to make deliveries to schools and food hubs is a non-refrigerated, multi-purpose vehicle. Bags of beans and potatoes are not protected from dust, heat or other debris and they cannot maintain the cold chain. Grimm Family Farm will purchase a slide-in refrigeration unit and a truck suitable for the box. By purchasing this refrigerated slide-in box, they will be able to maintain the cold chain and improve food safety while making deliveries. This new capacity will allow them to make larger deliveries and serve a larger geographic area with their dry beans and potatoes.

Grinnell Farm to Table
Grinnell
RFSI Equipment Grant: $67,904.10
Matching Funding:  $7,544.90
Grinnell Farm to Table will purchase a combination walk-in freezer and cooler to expand their cold storage volume and efficiency. They will also add shelving for the interior and carts to move product. With these facility improvements, they will work with the Iowa Food Hub Managers Working Group to become a node for the Iowa Hub-to-Hub Network where producers and food hubs can drop-off, store and pick-up products from across the state. This additional capacity will also increase the number of wholesale products available to institutional buyers in the Grinnell area. This project is expected to increase sales to the Iowa Hub-to-Hub network by at least $50,000 annually and add an additional 10 products to the currently offered inventory.

HoQ Restaurant
Des Moines 
RFSI Equipment Grant: $100,000.00
Matching Funding: $11,111.00
HoQ Restaurant will purchase equipment to increase the production and distribution of processed products. They will purchase equipment, including a refrigerated vehicle, blast freezer, blast cooler, bottling line and a labeling machine. They currently produce two processed products. This will allow them to increase that number and enhance distribution to a larger geographic area. This expansion will include growth into new markets beyond central Iowa. As a result, they will purchase additional ingredients and larger quantities of produce from local and regional producers. They anticipate adding two full-time positions to support this growth.

Joia Food Farm
Charles City
RFSI Equipment Grant: $46,617.08
Matching Funding: $5,174.68
Joia Food Farm will seek to address a challenge faced by producers in North Iowa, where the absence of a local food hub or aggregation site hinders their access to the statewide food hub network. Joia Food Farm plans to establish a food hub node that will reduce duplicative food hub routes, connect specialty-crop producers with existing food hubs, and create opportunities for local institutions to seamlessly integrate into the food hub network. The food hub node will include a walk-in freezer and refrigeration unit. The node will provide short-term storage and facilitate distribution to area institutions, including daycares, schools, restaurants and hospitals. The node is expected to generate one to three new jobs. 

Iowa Food Cooperative
Des Moines
RFSI Equipment Grant: $28,080.00
Matching Funding: $3,120.00
Iowa Food Cooperative will increase their capacity to store, aggregate and deliver more wholesale orders. They will purchase a commercial cooler, freezer and delivery van to expand capacity for cross-docking, aggregation and distribution of wholesale orders to institutions, restaurants and other local businesses. A delivery van will increase their capacity for wholesale deliveries. This project will create new markets for the over 100 producers with whom they are working.

Iowa Food Hub
Decorah
RFSI Equipment Grant: $88,020.00
Matching Funding: $9,780.00
The Iowa Food Hub will expand refrigerated cold storage, add temperature control to their warehouse space and replace an aging, small delivery truck. They will also purchase a refrigerated shipping container to add additional refrigerated storage for produce. They will also install a heat pump for their warehouse space to regulate the temperature during the very cold and very warm parts of the year. To expand capacity and increase short-term inventory, they will purchase a refrigerated box truck. This project will increase access to wholesale buyers across the state. 

Iowa Nut Growers Association
Fenton
RFSI Equipment Grant: $69,300.00
Matching Funding:  $7,700
The Iowa Nut Growers Association will purchase a nutcracker and optical sorter to complete their mobile processing unit for value added processing from shell to kernel. The cracker and sorter will increase the value of farmers’ nut crops because they will be able to capture the value of the kernels instead of the whole in-shell nuts. To accomplish this, they will purchase the equipment, develop standard operating procedures for its safe operation, and make it available to growers throughout Iowa. This project will open new markets (kernels) to growers by creating value through the cracking and sorting process, a market many growers have not been able to access due to barriers to entry. The total pounds of certain nut crops, especially hazelnuts, are anticipated to grow significantly. Consumers will have enhanced access to quality locally produced nuts.

Long Walk Farm
Council Bluffs
RFSI Equipment Grant: $100,000.00
Matching Funding: $11,111.00
Long Walk Farm will purchase equipment for value-added vegetable and produce processing as well as storage and delivery to schools, restaurants and retail stores in southwest Iowa. Equipment will include cold storage, a blast freezer and a pre-owned delivery van. Long Walk Farm will purchase from twelve or more farms in Southwest Iowa. This project will benefit other farmers through additional purchases and custom processing. Standard operating procedures will be created for new products with a focus on cabbage, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, carrots and beets. Three full time positions are anticipated to be added because of this project.  

Mundo Lindo Farms
Fairfield
RFSI Equipment Grant: $50,320.80
Matching Funding: $5,591.20
Mundo Lindo Farms will purchase vegetable processing and handling equipment to increase sales to institutions, food processors, grocers and food hubs. Through this project, equipment will be purchased to outfit a mobile processing trailer. This mobile unit will be set up in the field and will be used to clean, cure, dry, label and package produce.  Additional equipment added to the storage facility will provide temperature control and optimum humidity levels for crops. Mundo Lindo Farms will offer custom processing services to other growers who don't have the equipment or facilities to process or store crops. This project will help Mundo Lindo Farms produce and deliver industry standard bulk specialty crops, providing produce to local businesses at rates comparable to their current delivered price. It is anticipated that in addition to increasing access to wholesale produce buyers, this project will create two new seasonal jobs.

Phelps Farm
Guttenberg
RFSI Equipment Grant: $90,000.00
Matching Funding: $10,000.00
Phelps Farm will purchase equipment for post-harvest processing and preservation of a wide variety of locally grown produce. This equipment will expand their availability of wholesale options and open new product lines for value-added locally grown produce that can be purchased by schools and other wholesale accounts. In this project, Phelps Farm will freeze, freeze-dry and dehydrate produce from their farm and other local farms. As a result of this project, higher volumes of produce will be sourced from surrounding farmers and expanded sales with food hubs will occur.  They expect that this will allow them to add 1.5 full time jobs.

Prudent Produce
Elkhart 
RFSI Equipment Grant: $83,700.00
Matching Funding: $9,300.00
Prudent Produce will purchase a new refrigerated delivery van for their food hub. A refrigerated delivery van will increase the current customer base and sales by providing more reliable deliveries and an expansion of the current routes.

The Mill 
Shenandoah
RFSI Equipment Grant: $90,000.00
Matching Funding: $10,000.00
The Mill will design and install a shared-use facility with produce processing equipment that allows for washing, sorting, packing, labeling and refrigeration of fresh produce. They will also include a shared walk-in freezer. This facility will benefit local and regional producers in processing, aggregation and marketing of their products. This expansion will allow the Mill to serve as a food hub node. By connecting with other Iowa communities as a food hub, they will expand and strengthen local and regional food systems, create more diverse local and regional market options, and expand revenue streams to benefit consumers, producers and rural communities.

Wapsie Valley Creamery
Independence
RFSI Equipment Grant: $100,000.00
Matching Funding: $11,111.00
Wapsie Valley Creamery will install additional processing equipment for sweet cream butter processing to create a market for the excess milk fat received at their plant. The fat percentage content in milk has trended upward for the past three years toward the high limit of composition for cheese making. To utilize the extra cream, they have initiated discussions on contract pricing with current butter-making customers. The new equipment includes a bulk storage tank for the sweet cream. As a result of this new equipment, they will be able to sell their excess milkfat as a value-added product while standardizing component composition of their cheese to produce a more consistent product for their customers. The additional processing will expand their current product offerings and create more demand for milk, positively impacting area dairy farms.

We Arose
Waterloo
RFSI Equipment Grant: 68,129.10
Matching Funding: $7,569.90
We Arose will purchase a commercial walk-in cooler and freezer to increase their capacity to purchase, aggregate and distribute fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. This will enable local farmers to access new revenue streams and meet the demand of larger wholesale markets. Through this project, they will have increased capacity to purchase from and support additional farmers.