In the midst of an agricultural epidemic, some Iowa farmers are turning to the smaller local food system to make ends meet.

The local food system, where local farmers sell their products to local consumers, may help alleviate some of the hardships that farmers are experiencing. They can, in addition to raising staple food crops, raise alternative crops such as apples.

“[This system] offers some potential if Iowans were interested in getting more local food. It could offer more potential for Iowa farmers and help with some additional income. It isn’t an answer, but one piece of the solution that we should consider,” said Richard Pirog, educational coordinator for the Leopold Center.

In his paper “Comparing Apples to Apples: An Iowa Perspective on Apples and Local Food Systems,” Pirog and intern John Tyndall investigate the small apple market in Iowa and the vast market in Washington state in both a historic and present-day perspective.

They found that the Iowa apple industry has a retail market structure, that is they sell directly to the consumer rather than dealing with distributors or wholesaling. This lets them take advantage of the local food system, selling Iowa apples directly to consumers at orchards and farmer’s markets.

The Washington industry, which provides more than half of the apples in the nation, has more of a wholesale market.

“In Washington, there is stiff competition from producers in the global apple market producers with lower costs. They are having a hard time competing,” Pirog said.

The local food market has not only expanded nationally, but it’s also making its mark at Iowa State.

The Practical Farmers of Iowa is working in conjunction with Scheman Building staff to develop and distribute locally grown food for use in conferences and conventions that the building and other companies host.

“The menu reflects what is available in Iowa in the course of a year so they can offer this menu to their client,” said Robert Karp, coordinator of the field to Family Project of the Practical Farmers of America.

Karp said this helps the city of Ames as well because the money that the farmer raises stays in the community.

The program also is recognizing the smaller- to medium-sized farmers who take the time to use organic or alternative farming methods. “We’re helping producers survive who are using good farming practices,” Karp said.

Many individuals are seeing the difference between locally grown and nationally distributed foods, Karp said.

“The chefs recognize that the food is fresher and of higher quality. Most of the food that is shipped is grown in order to be shipped, not for flavor,” Karp said.