A Letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins
We are Iowa farmers calling on you to reinstate the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program and the Local Food for Schools Program.
Dear Secretary Rollins,
We are rural Iowa farmers writing to express our disappointment and great concern about the USDA’s decision to terminate the funding of the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program and Local Food for Schools Program. These programs provided vital supply chain development opportunities for small and midsized farmers, such as us, here in Iowa. Without these programs, our supply chains will be less resilient, our communities will have less economic activity, and our institutions will have less opportunity (if any) to procure local foods.
We believe the only appropriate course of action is to ask the USDA to reverse their decision and immediately reinstate the LFPA and LFS programs.
Take, for example, the significant positive impact the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program has had on our farms in eastern Iowa, including Over the Moon Farm, a diversified livestock operation. This program has allowed beginning farmers Anna and Shae Pesek of Over the Moon to increase production and access an annual sales boost of around $20,000. This additional revenue has enabled us to raise more animals while also supporting local businesses such as our butcher and feed mill. Supporting small to mid-scale butcher shops helps keep jobs rooted in communities while providing more opportunity for livestock producers to sell their product in varied outlets, ultimately creating a more diverse and resilient agricultural economy.1 Feed mills were once a staple business in small-town America, but as independent livestock producers have become few and far between, the demand for such businesses has weakened. Businesses like ours play a vital role in sustaining those who remain. The economic benefits of the programs extend beyond our farm. Over the Moon’s production of animal proteins sold direct-to-consumer has allowed our business to grow on and alongside the Pesek family’s grain and cattle farm. The increased market access made possible by the LFPA and LFS programs has supported the viability of our business.
Just down the road from Over the Moon is another vibrant multi-generational farm. Buffalo Ridge Orchard, owned by Emma and Marcus Johnson, has been selling through the two programs since their inception. Buffalo Ridge Orchard is currently a diversified 80-acre fruit and vegetable and row crop farm. When the hog market dropped in the mid-nineties, Emma’s parents had to make some tough decisions as they operated in the red. They shifted their former hog confinement operation to local food production of fruits and vegetables. This shift brought Emma and her husband Marcus back to the farm because the farm could be profitable again and support both families. The Local Food Purchasing Programs are one of the reasons our small family farm could operate in the black. In 2024, Buffalo Ridge Orchard sold over $65,000 through these two programs. We were directed by our food hub partners to increase production for these programs to closer to $100,000 for the 2025 season. In order to meet this target, we kept two full-time and two part-time staff employed through the winter in order to scale up our capacity for the 2025 season.
This included processing over 20,000 pounds of our 2024 crop of apples into dehydrated apples (apple chips) for the 2025 LFS program. We can all agree that apple chips, which are a one-ingredient food, are a great healthy alternative to potato chips. This funding supports Buffalo Ridge Orchard, allowing them to provide stable, well-paid jobs to rural Iowa while feeding our local community.
Rural areas, including our home in northern Linn County, Iowa, are in urgent need of economic development to ensure long-term viability in the face of population decline and disinvestment that has been rampant since the 1980s farm crisis.
Strengthening local agriculture through programs like this not only supports farmers, but also helps sustain rural communities by creating jobs, supporting related small businesses, and keeping dollars in our region. Investing in rural economies is essential for building a resilient and prosperous America by building a resilient and prosperous Iowa. The same is true across the rest of rural America! The time to take strong action to support rural communities is now.
The importance of these programs is underscored by their broad reach and economic impact. As of January 1, 2025, there were 290 producers in Iowa selling through the program, and institutions have purchased over $6 million worth of products—$6,231,015.32 to be exact.2
We know that when Local Food Farmers are supported, they keep the dollars in their rural communities.
Economic studies show that 32 jobs are created for every $1 million in revenue generated by local food farmers, compared to 10.5 jobs for nonlocal food farmers. This is largely because the local food farmers purchase on average 89 percent of their inputs locally, compared to 45 percent for non-local food farmers.3
The decision to end the program is shortsighted and ignores the widespread bipartisan support of local food purchasing initiatives across the country.
Marketing programs with price support structures have been a cornerstone of support for commodity farmers since the 1930s, helping them weather economic challenges.
This program offers similar opportunities, but for farmers growing a wider range of products, allowing us to diversify and strengthen our agricultural economy. We urge you to support the continuation of this vital supply chain development program. By investing in this program, you help build more resilient and sustainable supply chains, supporting farmers and rural communities across Iowa and the nation. We strongly ask for your commitment to ensuring its future and continued success.
Sincerely,
Anna Pesek, Shae Pesek, Emma Johnson, Marcus A. Johnson
Over the Moon Farm
Buffalo Ridge Orchard
