News

Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) is a deciduous tree that produces edible nuts in September and October. In Iowa Chinese chestnuts are grown more frequently in the southern half of the state.

The weekend after Thanksgiving is traditionally when most Christmas tree buying occurs. Whether you cut your own tree or buy a pre-cut tree there are several things to consider before buying and when selecting a fresh tree. Horticulture specialists with Iowa State University offer tips to make the most of your fresh tree.

Whether your agritourism destination includes livestock, food, seasonal activities, or farm stays, a successful marketing plan will expand your customer base and ultimately lead to additional revenue. This article will give you 5 steps to help improve your farm marketing.

How can a vegetable farmer know which crops are profitable enough to keep growing? Can marketing costs be analyzed by sales channel? They can with the right enterprise budgets. Learn more in this article. 

Previous issues of the Visit Iowa Farms newsletter highlighted the first three steps a business must take to provide excellent service to its customers. The final steps are: step four, Make it SATISFYING, and step five, Make it MEMORABLE.

The fruit and vegetable research taking place at Iowa State University’s Horticulture Research Station will be on full display for the Fruit and Vegetable Field Day Aug. 5.

To help ensure their operation is following best practices, a group of agritourism experts with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has put together six checklists that cover the many types of liability an owner may face.

Depending upon the severity of flooding growers could experience saturated soils, nutrient leaching, deficiencies, and above all limited oxygen for plant growth. In addition to flooding, frequent rain events have saturated the soil leaving little room for air.

Whether you operate a family farm or an agritourism destination, farm signage and labels are critical to your operation. Signage is designed to keep your family, farm workers, and visitors safe and informed. If your agritourism destination contains livestock, playground equipment, machinery or food sales, signs are a necessity.

Google’s annual Economic Impact Report features one business from 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. In their 2018 report, released today, the featured Iowa business is North Liberty's Colony Pumpkin Patch.