Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded 33 Choose Iowa value-added grants to Iowa farmers and small businesses. Grant recipients were eligible to receive up to $25,000 in cost-share per project to increase or diversify their agricultural product offerings, expand markets and shorten supply chains.
Locally, Iowa Bee in Latimer was awarded $13,050 to aid in the purchase of equipment to produce honey straws.
Choose Iowa awarded $463,000 in value-added grants to leverage a total investment by grant awardees of $1,325,710.05 to expand the availability of Iowa grown, Iowa raised, and Iowa made food, beverages, and ag products. The Choose Iowa grant announcement was made as part of Iowa Horticulture Week at Farmer Sarge’s in Algona, a veteran-owned produce farm, Choose Iowa member, and one of the 2025 grant awardees.
Individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations that are currently living or operating in Iowa were eligible to apply for the Choose Iowa value-added grants, and preference was given to small to medium-sized entities. This year, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship received 99 eligible grant requests totaling $1,741,704.41 – more than four times the available funding – underscoring the interest and demand for funding to support local foods programs.
Since the Choose Iowa value-added grant program launched in 2022, the Department has awarded nearly $1.64 million in state funded cost-share to 100 projects, for a total investment of $5.6 million to expand local production and processing.
