BUSINESS, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE OPEN DOOR TO NEW MARKETS
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa farmers are producing more organic and specialty meats, fruit and vegetables, but it takes more than a green thumb to grow these enterprises into businesses that can satisfy an expanding consumer appetite for fresh, locally grown food.
Small and midsize farmers and other entrepreneurs who have entered the organic, natural and highly differentiated food markets find that they need more than agricultural production skills. They often must develop their own marketing plans, manage product storage and distribution, and build a multitude of business relationships with consumers, chefs, food service directors, produce managers and processors.
To help these emerging businesses, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has partnered with the Iowa State University College of Business and the ISU Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture to offer a master's degree in business administration (MBA) with a minor in sustainable agriculture, the only graduate-level program of its kind in the country. The program is designed to develop expertise in sustainable agriculture systems while building a strong knowledge of the functional areas of business.
Three students will begin MBA course work in August and more importantly, get a closer look at the challenges faced by business owners who want to be a part of these growing new markets. All have assistantships with the Value Chain Partnerships for a Sustainable Agriculture (VCPSA) program coordinated by the Leopold Center, ISU and Practical Farmers of Iowa. The project brings together farmers, food and fiber businesses, nonprofit agencies and university and community partners to address issues in food and fiber markets at the production, processing, distribution and retail levels.
VCPSA, which began in 2002, operates working groups that focus on niche pork, regional foods and biobased businesses. A fourth group is forming for enterprises associated with organic flax production.
"These working groups provide a fantastic learning laboratory for students by providing real-world business experience," says VCPSA project director Rich Pirog, who also leads the Leopold Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative.
One of the goals of the Value Chain Partnerships project is to build value chains that reward small and midsize farmers in Iowa who follow sustainable agricultural practices in their operations. VCPSA supports the growth and development of economically viable value chains that will lead to increases in the number of markets for participating Iowa farmers.
Amy Hutter, associate director for MBA student recruitment and marketing at the ISU College of Business, said the business climate is good for students with an MBA and a minor in sustainable agriculture.
"Companies such as Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, Stoneyfield Yogurt and Organic Valley will be seeking professionals with the business skills, understanding of sustainability issues and passion to be part of a 'green' food company," she said. "There also will be opportunities to get in on the ground floor with many new businesses that are forming to help meet the demand for organic and natural foods."
New students enrolled in the program are Andrea Spiker and Scott Kincaid of Ames and Kory Beidler of Ankeny. Spiker grew up on a three-generation family farm and has been working the past three years as a buyer for a 125-store gift chain. Kincaid has a business degree but has been teaching English the past two years in the former Soviet Union. Beidler is finishing his master's degree in horticulture at Iowa State after having worked three years in the landscape contracting business in California.
Erik Schneider, who grew up on a farm near Fairport, Iowa, is beginning his second year in the business/sustainable agriculture graduate program. He has an assistantship with the Pork Niche Market Working Group.
The first ISU student to receive an MBA with a minor in sustainable agriculture was Norm McCoy of Maxwell. McCoy graduated in May 2005 and has returned to his family farm to launch a small market farming business.
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Contacts: Rich Pirog, (515) 294-1854, rspirog@iastate.edu; Amy Hutter, (515) 294-7819, ahutter@iastate.edu; or Laura Miller, Leopold Center communications, (515) 294-5272, lwmiller@iastate.edu