The ELA Program.
The ELA program connects landless individuals with a background in agriculture, to fertile land in the area…while removing all barriers of entry that exist. The program works by having the farmer dictate what type of seeds, irrigation, and equipment is needed for them to be successful and reduces their start-up cost to zero. This allows for an equitable approach by allowing the farmer to grow culturally relevant crops through the methods most familiar to them.
The ELA program has two sub-programs.
Economic Development Program
This is a competitive 3-year program designed for professional farmers who want to farm again as a main income as they establish homes in Iowa. The program includes LLC formation, building markets, food safety certification, and research in growing culturally relevant crops.
Community Ag Program
The community ag program works to connect farmers to plots of land in the urban corridor in close promixity to their homes. Feed Iowa First works with businesses, places of faith, and private landowners to place underserved farmers on land with water access. Farmers can attend certification and training and sell their produce, but the program provides more flexibility, especially for women with children.
The Locations.
Multiple locations within the Linn County area are supporting the efforts of the ELA program.
The Wanatee Farm
Feed Iowa First’s new Wanatee Farm is located at 6945 Lakeside Rd Marion. This 11-acre field supports 5 ELA Economic Development Farmers and Feed Iowa First Free Community Distribution Expansion fields.
ELA Community Ag fields are located at:
Linn County Resiliency Hub
St. Andrews ELCA Church
Buffalo Methodist
Alliance Church
Private Residences
Lead Sponsor
Thank you to our friends at Frontier for providing operational and infrastructure support for the Equitable Land Access program to support emerging multi-cultural farmers in Linn County.
