Grants support wide variety of projects, including dairy innovation, valued-added agriculture, technology and alternative marketing. 

There’s no greater example of the impact Iowa’s successful Choose Iowa grant program is making on the state’s farmers, small businesses and nonprofits, than the expansion plans at Wills Family Orchard near Adel.

Having outgrown its capacity to store their booming production of apples, peaches and cherries, Maury and Mary Wills recently turned to the value-added grants offered by Choose Iowa to expand their orchard’s cold storage space, which will extend the seasonality of their bountiful fruit crop.

The $45,854 project will add a 20-by-20-foot refrigerator to the existing shop, said Maury, who added that it’s been a blessing to see their 60-acre property develop from its roots as a 32-acre plot he and Mary bought in 1992 that originally only housed a small shed for tools and a treehouse for the kids.

“We spent our time planting and taking care of our very first apple trees, growing a garden and building our house,” he explained. By 1997, they called friends and family to announce they had apples to share, and in the decades that followed, the orchard has grown to include 30 acres of timber, multiple fruit trees, flowers, sunflowers, strawberries, melons, pumpkins, vegetables and a play area.

Apple and pumpkin festival weekends are held from September through October with you-pick apples and pumpkins, corn pools, hay wagon rides, games, a corn maze, duck races, and goats, chickens and baby pigs to meet. 

This year, they’ll be more prepared for cold storage once the cooler is installed in August, Maury said.

“The production that we have has way outgrown our existing cooler,” Maury said. “We’re happy that Choose Iowa came along and made this all possible.”

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig toured the orchard in mid-June and said he was in awe of the farm’s beauty, resourcefulness and attention to sustainability and organic practices. The Wills’ expansion plans fit nicely into the framework of what Choose Iowa stands for, he said.

“This is exactly what we love to see,” said Naig. “Wills Family Orchard has been in business since 1992, and they are expanding. They’re adding trees, they’ve got a beautiful store and shop to process in, and now they need to add on the cooler, which will help them provide even more products.

“That’s precisely what Choose Iowa was envisioned to be … Help consumers find these farms and give them the opportunity to expand and gain market share, generating even more value.”

Growing program

Wills Family Orchard was one of the first Choose Iowa members. The program has grown to include more than 85 members in 50 of the state’s 99 counties. Members are signing up to use the brand on their products and participate in the marketing assistance the program offers. Expectations are that the program will hit the 100-member milestone soon, with hopes of being represented in every county. 

“Momentum is building,” Naig said.

Choose Iowa grants, administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, exist to identify, evaluate and financially support programs and services that add value to agricultural products, enable new technologies and support alternative marketing strategies. Dairy innovation grants provide financial assistance for projects that, for example, expand or refurbish milk plants and dairy processing units or incorporate technologies to reduce farm labor needs.

Since the program’s launch in 2022, more than $1.17 million in Choose Iowa value-added grants has been awarded to 67 projects, leveraging a total investment of $4.27 million.

In addition, year one of Choose Iowa dairy innovation grants provided $750,000 for 20 awards that will leverage an overall investment of $2.21 million. Of that, $143,509 in grant funding leverages a total investment of $290,808 in on-farm processing projects. 

Additionally, $600,503 in grants for labor-reducing technology leverages a total investment of $1.92 million.

Choose Iowa Program Director Beth Romer said the program invests in a strong Iowa agriculture of tomorrow through cost-share grants that help increase availability of local food and ag products from Iowa and boost local processing capacity.

“Each time we start a new grant cycle and read through the applications, I get so excited about the great projects planned by our farm families and ag businesses,” said Romer. “Choose Iowa grant recipients are doing so much to improve not only their own farms and businesses, but our Iowa ag industry overall. 

“Their creativity and forward thinking is inspiring, and being able to support their ingenuity through the Choose Iowa Grants is one of the most rewarding aspects of Choose Iowa.”

To learn more about Choose Iowa grants for value-added agriculture and dairy innovation, visit www.chooseiowa.com/grants. ;

Applications will begin being accepted this fall and early winter.