Iowa farmers planting fruits, vegetables over corn, soybeans

WASHINGTON — For more than a decade, Greg Rinehart’s farm 55 miles northwest of Des Moines was like many others in Iowa, populated by endless rows of corn and soybeans and a barn full of hogs — commodities synonymous with agriculture in the state.

But a visit from RAGBRAI bikers one summer, coupled with the early 1980s farm crisis, persuaded Rinehart to overhaul his operation, replacing much of his corn and soybean fields with fruits and vegetables that now include everything from zucchini and green beans to raspberries and strawberries.

“We wanted to stay on the farm, and to do that we had to figure out ways to produce income to stay … and raise a family,” Rinehart, 64, said. “By far, corn and soybeans are the major crops in Iowa, but there are still lots of other crops that are grown.”

During the Agriculture Department’s census released in 2012, the federal government estimated that more than 47,000 Iowa farms had corn and 41,000 had soybeans. Together, the two commodities were grown on 23 million acres.

By comparison, 962 farms raised vegetables spread across 7,700 acres, and even fewer produced fruits, according to the most recent data for the specialty crops.

To be sure, fruit and vegetable crops are unlikely to ever overtake corn, soybeans, eggs, hogs and even ethanol in the state.

Still, for farmers such as Rinehart, the chance to diversify their crop mix, receive more income and avoid the price volatility that has squeezed profitability recently for corn and soybean producers can be enticing.

“It’s a huge difference on prices,” said Rinehart, who had expanded his operation to grow an estimated 40 kinds of fruits and vegetables, along with conventional corn and soybeans. “We’re doing it for business. We don’t want to lose money. That’s why we’ve expanded the vegetable end of it, because you can kind of see what sells well, and those prices don’t drop like commodity prices.”

Eric Franzenburg, president of the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, said produce production in the state is increasing, in large part because of growing participation by younger farmers just starting out in agriculture.

Fruit and vegetable production is generally more expensive than corn and soybeans but often generates higher revenue per acre and doesn’t require sweeping plots of land or gigantic equipment. Further interest is likely coming from corn and soybean growers looking to spread their risk amid a prolonged slump in commodity prices.

“We’re definitely seeing an increase in involvement,” said Franzenburg, who grows everything from corn and soybeans to cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers on his 590-acre farm in Van Horne. “It’s still a pretty small segment of the agricultural pie in Iowa.”

Despite the growing interest, Franzenburg cautioned that fruits and vegetables are not for everyone. Farmers must overcome a whole new set of challenges by learning new production practices that can vary by crop.

They also must spend a large amount of their time away from the field marketing their harvest.

“It wouldn’t be something that you’d want to do just to diversify alone,” he said. “It’s something that you've got to really want to pursue doing, that you enjoy growing these crops.”

Iowa State University economist David Swenson said unlike grapes in California, apples in Washington or blueberries in Michigan, in most cases there is no discernible competitive advantage for many producers to raise fruits and vegetables in Iowa.

Farmers who decide to grow produce and do so profitably tend to cluster near metropolitan areas where they can easily transport their food to farmers markets, grocery stores and restaurants.

“In and around the Des Moines area there are a wide range of producers that are producing specifically for that Des Moines metropolitan market and, of course, many of them can make a decent living,” Swenson said. “But you get out into the more rural areas of the state and you can’t do that. You’re not going to have the local demand.”

In Iowa, there are opportunities for more producers to enhance farm household income by growing fruits and vegetables, “but not many,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said his son raised soybeans for tofu but quickly abandoned the experiment after deciding the extra transportation costs and time spent separating them from conventional beans wasn’t worth the premium he received.

Fruit and vegetable farmers face a host of other challenges that don’t play as big a role for grain and other producers. Each crop responds differently to certain bugs and diseases, which can make fighting these outbreaks challenging if a farmer has a variety of produce.

Fruit and vegetable growers also don't enjoy some of the advantages of corn, soybean and other more well-known producers, such as lobbying muscle in Washington, research at universities and work at corporations — positives that can help expand use of their crops and bring extra income.

The 2014 farm bill provided a much-needed boost to many growers who failed to benefit from programs that have helped traditional producers.

The bill increased funding for specialty crops including fruits and vegetables by 55 percent, to about $4 billion over a decade, through block grants, additional money for research, and expansion of programs to promote consumption of produce in schools and by food stamp recipients.

For the first time, producers got access to a type of crop insurance — a popular resource used by corn, soybean and other farmers. But Franzenburg said getting coverage can be challenging and the paperwork cumbersome. He said he and most fruit and vegetable producers he knows don’t participate in the program.

As lawmakers prepare to begin debate on the farm bill in 2017, Grassley said additional support for fruit and vegetable growers will depend on how much money is available and how aggressively the producers push for help.

“We don’t hear from this group of people very often,” Grassley said. “They need to be speaking up.”

Grassley, who farms corn and soybeans with his son in Butler County, said organic producers are more vocal than the broader set of fruit and vegetable growers.

The reason, he said, is that most fruit and vegetable producers are smaller entrepreneurs deeply immersed in the whole process — from buying seed to harvesting, transporting and marketing their products — and not focusing their attention on speaking out about their needs.

“A lot of the specialty crop people know who their consumer is, whereas when you take corn and soybeans to the local elevator and it gets mixed up with everybody else’s corn and soybeans you kind of lose your identity,” the Iowa Republican said.

Andrew Pittz, 31, has taken on the role of an agrarian evangelist for his farm’s only crop, the aronia berry, to help establish a national identity for the largely unknown superfood.

It all started 20 years ago when his parents, fifth-generation family farmers accustomed to planting corn and soybeans, were searching for a crop that could thrive in the hilly, silt-rich soil of western Iowa. They settled on the resilient aronia berry — a blackish, purple berry that backers claim has more antioxidants than blueberries, acai berries or other popular, healthy fruits.

But while the berry has thrived on the family’s farm in Missouri Valley, it’s proven far more challenging to persuade skeptical consumers and retailers to embrace the fruit in a sector where there are no shortage of choices.

“It’s like you’re driving the train and laying track at the same time,” he said. “The challenge is to communicate something no one has heard of.”

To build awareness, Pittz crisscrossed the country the past three years visiting retailers and peddling samples of his farm’s aronia berry supplements, sauces, salsas, syrups and wines to inquisitive shoppers.

In 2013, Pittz planted aronia berry bushes in all 99 Iowa counties. And his family has met with other growers to show them how to plant, grow and market the berry.

His berry products are now available in hundreds of Hy-Vee, Whole Foods and independent health food stores. Other farmers in Iowa and around the Midwest have started planting the nutrient-rich fruit.

“The aronia berry, people can put this in and they can have successful farms. It’s one more crop that can be processed, that can be bringing revenues to rural communities in Iowa,” Pittz said. “I want the aronia berry to be to Iowa’s heartland what the peach is to Georgia.”

Much of Iowa’s identity in agriculture throughout its history has been focused on corn, soybeans, hogs, eggs, and — more recently — ethanol. Swenson doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.

“We make corn, soybeans, hogs, turkeys and poultry, and California and Idaho and other places do a  better job producing some of the other things that we eat,” Swenson said. “We’ve ceded those regional specializations and they’re not going to go away. The only thing we can do is work on the margins.”

Regional food production is increasingly important, with crops not only dictated by the land and surrounding climate, but specialization that has been carefully cultivated over time. This allows commodities to be harvested, processed and shipped with the least amount of energy and cost, helping to keep food prices down.

“We can’t change that in the short run” Swenson said. “You’re not going to change (Iowa’s) production mix. This is what we do best.”

Contact Christopher Doering at cdoering@gannett.com or reach him at Twitter: @cdoering