Media Advisory
Des Moines, Iowa
June 1, 2023
For more information, contact
SfL: Ernie Shea, President eshea@solutionsfromtheland.org 410-952-0123
Iowa Smart Agriculture Forum: Circles of Life
In November 2022, the Iowa Smart Agriculture Work Group (IASA), released a white paper focused on Iowa agriculture in the 21st Century entitled Iowa Smart Agriculture: Solutions from the Land– A New Vision for the Future. The report sets out a vision for Iowa smart agriculture, discusses challenges producers face, offers a path forward for finding and putting in place Iowa solutions from the land and concludes with five farm and landscape level system recommendations. Written by farmers, for farmers, the IASA white paper is a call to action to all who make decisions about Iowa’s agricultural landscape, its croplands, livestock, wetlands, forests, rivers, and the complex value chain that supports and extends Iowa’s reach beyond state and national borders to the world.
In their next phase of work, IASA leaders are inviting agricultural stakeholders to share their thoughts on how together we can achieve the vision of a more circular Iowa agriculture. In support of this outcome, on June 6/7, 2023, IASA in partnership with the World Food Prize Foundation is hosting a two-day forum in Des Moines.
The afternoon and evening on June 6th will be devoted to a field review of innovative circular systems and approaches to farming, including stops at a food bank, a biorefinery, a controlled environment leafy green farm, and a farm that is experimenting with innovative conservation practices and circular systems.
On June 7th, IASA stakeholders will convene at the World Food Prize Foundation to identify and forge consensus on priority enabling policies, programs, partnerships, and markets to achieve the outcomes described in the Iowa Smart Agriculture: Circles of Life report.
Thanks to our generous sponsors, there is no cost to attend either day of the forum. For those attending in-person you can register for the field tour here and the forum here. For those interested in joining the June 7th session virtually, you can access the meeting through the following Zoom link.
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