Information was gathered by a conservation group to aid the Southern Iowa Development and Conservation Authority in creative planning for future land management.

Education on financial management techniques, individual assistance, and valuable information was provided to several of Iowa's small meat processing firms.

A spreadsheet was created to provide producers, distributors, and marketers with more information about county-level supplies of local food products.

Linear programming tools are used to gauge regional potential for local diversified agriculture required to meet the dietary needs of the population.

Rural residents share their opinions about current farm policy and prospects for the next federal Farm Bill.

Salmonella are commensal bacteria frequently present in the intestinal tracts of commercial poultry. Unfortunately, these microbes will contaminate the flesh of the bird during slaughter, thus creating one of the most important food safety hazards. It is clear that commercial broilers are susceptible to intestinal colonization by Salmonella, but it is unclear if this susceptibility is related to selective breeding for rapid growth and increased feed efficiency. Since non-commercial heritage breeds have genetic profiles diverging from the commercial broiler, we hypothesized that some heritage breeds may exhibit diminished susceptibility to Salmonella colonization of the intestine. To test this hypothesis we experimentally infected 38 heritage breeds and one commercial breed (Cobb 500) with Salmonella enterica and monitored the Salmonella present in each breed.

Presentation to the Iowa Land Tenure Policy Working Group about critical issues in land ownership. Results of a recent landowner survey in two Iowa watersheds also are presented.

This project provides a model for formation of a consortium of organizations to encourage and oversee the development of a local food system based upon sustainable farming practices.

Community agriculture and food systems offers many inviting opportunities for communities of varying sizes. This project engaged in efforts to increase and enhance local food options in three Iowa communities.

The development and use of targeted conservation practices was the subject of modeling, interviews and support tools researched by the project investigators.