Protect local foods by protecting local farms

You enjoy Saturday morning walks through the local farmers market and getting your CSA share. You’re a member of the local food co-op because you want to make sure your meat has no antibiotics in it. Yet every day, Iowa loses 25 acres of land to development. That land might be growing the vegetables from your favorite farmer, the meat at your co-op or the honey from a local beekeeper. That land is providing the flavorful meals you enjoy at your favorite local restaurant, but it is at risk the next time the lease expires or the owner needs to sell.

To Save Local Foods, We Must Protect Local Farms

  • Provide an abundance of healthy fruits and vegetables to our schools, hospitals and nursing homes.
  • Incorporate farms into growing communities will make food more affordable and accessible. Engage more young people. Increase property values.
  • Take chemicals and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) out of the farming operation.
  • Improve our state’s economy. A diversity of farming operations in Iowa builds resilience for when prices for corn or soybeans inevitably fluctuate.
  • Maintain and rebuild the economic and social health of our small communities. Small farmers buy from the local farm stores, use machine repairs shops in our rural communities and rely on their neighbors to buy their products.
  • Protected farmland has a lower economic value on the market, because it no longer competes with development or commodity prices, making it more accessible to beginning farmers while facilitating good stewardship for retired farmers.

Contact SILT for how you can help protect Iowa’s bountiful land.

Please donate today to build a truly sustainable Iowa land trust for Iowa, forever.

Farmer presenting vegetables to customer