Secretary Naig Awards 30 Value-Added Grants as Momentum Behind Choose Iowa Continues to Build
Value-added grants help farmers and small businesses expand and diversify the availability of Iowa grown, Iowa raised, and Iowa made food, beverages, and ag products
SLATER, Iowa (Mar. 30, 2026) - Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded 30 Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants to Iowa farmers, small businesses, and organizations located across the state. Grant recipients were eligible to receive up to $25,000 in cost-share funding per project to increase the availability of Iowa grown, made, and raised food, beverages, and ag products. The announcement was made as part of Iowa Ag Week at the future Main Street location of Home Kneads in Slater, one of the 2026 Choose Iowa Value-Added Grant recipients.
This year, $500,000 in value-added grants were awarded to leverage a total investment of $1,711,356.82 by grant recipients across the 30 projects. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship received 130 eligible applications requesting $2.27 million in funding, more than four times the available funding.
This year’s cost-share funding will support a wide range of projects designed to help Iowa farmers and small businesses expand production, reach new markets, and add value to the products they grow and raise. Investments include commercial kitchen equipment, honey extraction and processing systems, cider and winery production equipment, refrigerated trucks and cold storage to improve distribution, on-farm retail spaces and farm stores, farmers market infrastructure, and specialized processing equipment for meats, dairy, produce, and other value-added products. Several projects will also create new aggregation and distribution opportunities for locally grown foods, helping connect Iowa producers with restaurants, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers across the state.
“Consumers increasingly want more local food and beverages and that’s great news for Iowa farmers and small businesses. These Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants help farmers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses grow their operations, expand processing capacity, and bring more customer-ready Iowa products to market,” said Secretary Naig. “By investing alongside these businesses, we are helping meet growing consumer demand while creating economic opportunity in communities across the state. The overwhelming popularity of this value-added program highlights the momentum and growing interest in local food as well as the high quality of the projects proposed across Iowa.”
Since the Choose Iowa Value-Added Grant Program launched in 2022, the Department has awarded more than $2.14 million in state-funded cost-share to support 130 projects across Iowa. These projects have leveraged more than $7.3 million in total investment to expand local food production, processing, and distribution across the state.
The following Choose Iowa Value-Added Grant projects, listed in alphabetical order by city, were awarded in 2026:
Mustard Seed Community Farm | Ames | $17,600.00
Mustard Seed Community Farm will construct and equip an on-farm licensed commercial kitchen and food processing establishment that includes a walk-in cooler, bathroom, storage, and equipment for freezing, dehydrating, and canning farm produce and making value-added farm products. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $99,000.00
Treasure Acres Farm | Blairsburg | $5,115.00
Treasure Acres Farm will purchase a heated honey creamer, honey warming and cooling cabinet, upgraded extraction and uncapping equipment, bottling and filling equipment, and quality-control tools. This project allows the farm to increase efficiency, improve consistency, and expand the market-ready volume of shelf-stable, value-added food products made from Iowa-produced honey. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $10,230.00
Batige's Transparency Project Farm | Cedar Rapids | $5,482.00
Batige's Transparency Project Farm will install a cooler on their farm where they grow culturally relevant food for the African immigrant community. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $10,964.00
Afro-Iowa Unity Farm | Cedar Rapids | $20,000.00
Afro-Iowa Unity will purchase a refrigerated van to keep their produce chilled during transport, enabling them to deliver fresh products to customers and allowing them to expand their customer base outside of the Cedar Rapids area. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $40,000.00
Grand View Beef | Clarion | $22,372.50
Grand View Beef will purchase a refrigerated trailer to ensure the safe and reliable transportation of their grass-fed, Iowa-raised beef directly to customers across Iowa. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $44,745.00
Buser's Produce | Conesville | $7,500.00
Buser's Produce will purchase a semi tractor and 53-foot refrigerated trailer, allowing them to expand the market for their watermelon, cantaloupe, sweet corn, pumpkins and squash into central Iowa. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $50,000.00
InConvenience Inc. | Davenport | $9,189.59
InConvenience Inc. will create a dedicated cooler space in their Davenport convenience store called The Iowa Grown section. This refrigerated, self-serve island merchandiser will sell products made and produced in Iowa. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $18,379.17
Iowa Food Hub | Decorah | $25,000.00
Iowa Food Hub will purchase a newer, larger replacement truck for their fleet, allowing them to expand their routes and reliably serve more customers in Iowa. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $70,000.00
Global Greens - Lutheran Services in Iowa | Des Moines | $2,786.50
Global Greens - Lutheran Services in Iowa will purchase totes and shelving for their shared use warehouse. The warehouse is where local produce is aggregated and stored, and CSA shares are packed each week. They will also purchase a hanging basket retail display for their new business line of plant sales, and supply aggregation service for farmers at their Global Greens Greenhouse. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $13,032.49
Pie Bird Pies | Des Moines | $11,514.30
Pie Bird Pies will purchase a dough sheeter and a convection oven, two key pieces of commercial kitchen equipment, allowing them to increase pie production in their bakery and source more Iowa ingredients, including fruit. By increasing production, they can better meet the needs of existing customers and diversify and expand market access with the addition of wholesale partners. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $23,028.60
Jefferson County Ciderworks | Fairfield | $25,000.00
Jefferson County Ciderworks will purchase and install a six-head canning line at their Fairfield production facility to significantly expand in-state processing capacity. This will allow them to launch new value-added product lines and increase the sales of Iowa agricultural products. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $84,125.00
Mundo Lindo Farm | Fairfield | $25,000.00
Mundo Lindo Farm will convert a grain bin into a farm store with refrigerated and frozen coolers and shelving, creating a retail space to sell products from their farm as well as other area growers and producers. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $70,053.76
Pickle Creek Herbs | Fairfield | $20,216.35
Pickle Creek Herbs is building an open-sided pole structure for on-farm washing and packing of produce with a walk-in cooler to extend the storage life of produce. The addition of a freeze dryer will preserve herbs and berries, creating shelf-stable ingredients that can be utilized in their herb-infused oils, vinegars, and body care products. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $45,232.70
Soldier Creek Winery | Fort Dodge | $12,500.00
Soldier Creek Winery will purchase a semi-automatic isobaric bottling machine and its necessary adjacent specialized equipment. Designed for carbonated beverages, including sparkling wine, pét-nat, cider, and ready-to-drink cocktails, the isobaric bottling machine fills bottles under pressure, preserving carbonation, preventing oxidation and reducing product loss. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $60,669.00
Prairie Produce | Grinnell | $17,601.50
Prairie Produce will purchase and install a walk-in refrigeration unit to support post-harvest handling of their Iowa-grown specialty crops. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $35,203.00
Carlson Tree Farm | Hampton | $7,286.56
Carlson Tree Farm will purchase an A-frame building and create a “Little Barn Market” that will extend the quality of products, creating additional value-added product sales for their Christmas tree farm. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $14,573.13
Mint 'N More Foundation | Knoxville | $9,315.00
Mint ’N More Foundation plans to start a weekly pre-order pickup for Iowa-grown food in Knoxville called Gathered Local Foods. The project includes the purchase of refrigeration and cold storage equipment, shelving, display and merchandising equipment needed to aggregate, store, and distribute locally produced foods. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $25,359.00
Rooster Ranch | Knoxville | $15,421.00
Rooster Ranch will establish a commercial kitchen to expand production of its shelf-stable Ranch Candy products, a small-batch, value-added condiment made entirely from Iowa-grown agricultural products. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $36,841.00
Yoder Family Farms Pork | Lone Tree | $25,000.00
Yoder Family Farms Pork will construct a building to serve as the central hub of their farm store where they will market their retail Duroc pork. They will also sell products from other local producers, including eggs, beef, lamb and seasonal produce. They also plan to create a learning environment where customers can have an interactive experience while visiting the farm store. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $138,152.25
Fireside Winery | Marengo | $12,500.00
Fireside Winery will purchase and install specialized canning equipment to produce and sell still wine packaged in aluminum cans, an emerging product category with limited availability in Iowa. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $43,898.00
Enchanted Evergreens | Newton | $25,000.00
Enchanted Evergreens will renovate and repurpose a historic barn on their Christmas tree farm into a dedicated workspace for creating wreaths and porch pots made from Iowa-sourced greenery. It will also be a heated indoor retail space for Iowa-made products, restrooms, employee break space, and a welcoming area where customers can gather. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $89,529.00
EcoPrime | Osage | $25,000.00
EcoPrime will acquire a larger mobile freezer trailer, enabling higher-volume transportation and onsite cold storage of value-added and regeneratively raised meat sourced from more than ten Iowa partner farms. As a result, EcoPrime and its network plan to participate in additional farmers markets, pop-ups, festivals, and events statewide. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $50,000.00
That Iowa Girl | Panora | $19,215.00
That Iowa Girl will buy a 10-foot refrigerated box with reefer to mount on a leased cab and chassis truck to replace their smaller reefer van, helping them be more economical during their expansive delivery routes. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $38,430.00
Golden Hills Apiary | Riverside | $5,758.90
Golden Hills Apiary will invest in a modern extraction and bottling line, including an automated honey frame uncapper and a specialized honey creamer. This will transform their operation from a small-scale artisanal apiary into a high-capacity production facility capable of supplying regional grocery stores, wholesalers and specialized markets. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $11,517.00
Home Kneads | Slater | $25,000.00
Home Kneads is expanding into a larger commercial facility and will use funds to purchase additional ovens, mixers, and a walk-in cooler to support higher volume production. They will also purchase a pre-owned delivery vehicle to expand distribution capacity. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $50,730.00
Local Harvest CSA | Solon | $8,617.11
Local Harvest CSA will purchase a blast chiller freezer and vacuum sealer allowing them to create a local market for previously unmarketable produce. This will increase the production of value-added Iowa products sold directly to consumers and wholesale to restaurants and institutions. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $17,234.21
Wilson's Orchard | Solon | $20,000.00
Wilson’s Orchard plans to expand the distribution of their refrigerated apple products by purchasing a more reliable refrigerated truck. Wilson’s Orchard is known for its value-added apple products, including jugged sweet cider, canned sparkling cider, apple cider vinegar and apple cider donuts. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $45,000.00
Kittleson Bros. | St. Ansgar | $25,000.00
Kittleson Bros. plans to remodel their facilities this summer, which will include safer, more efficient and more modern equipment. They plan to install a new potato wash line in this revamped facility. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $353,202.08
Minerva's Meadow | State Center | $25,000.00
Minerva's Meadow will restore a 1950's barn to create a processing space and cooler for flower processing, bouquet making, oil distillation, educational classes and demonstrations, as well as wholesale markets and florist deliveries. They will also build a staircase and larger access to the hay loft, allowing them to use the space for farm activities, including storage, drying flowers and herbs, and a workspace for creating value-added products. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $72,228.43
WW Homestead Dairy | Waukon | $25,000.00
WW Homestead Dairy will purchase a refrigerated truck to allow for increased access and expansion to new markets within Iowa. Anticipated Total Project Cost: $50,000.00
Choose Iowa is the state’s signature branding and marketing program for Iowa grown, Iowa made and Iowa raised food, beverages, and ag products. The Choose Iowa program was launched by Secretary Naig and is administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The Choose Iowa value-added grant accompanies similar Choose Iowa grants to support dairy innovation projects and expand meat processing. Choose Iowa’s marketing and brand program, now with more than 340 statewide members, continues to build momentum and visibility. Questions about Choose Iowa and its member benefits, grants and programs can be emailed to ChooseIowaGrant@IowaAgriculture.gov. Find members at ChooseIowa.com.
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