Iowa Organic Association



Home	About the IOA We are pleased to announce the formation of the Iowa Organic Association (IOA) and to invite you to become part of this association. The IOA is a non-profit group of like-minded individuals, organizations, companies and associations dedicated to the advancement of Iowa's organic production and industry. The IOA has come together to serve as an umbrella association whose goal is to represent all facets and concerns of Iowa's organic farmers, wholesalers, retailers, processors, handlers, educators, researchers, consumers and advocates. Iowa has always been in the forefront of leadership and advancements in agriculture. The time has come to provide this leadership again so that Iowa's organic agriculture can grow and prosper. Organic is one of the best solutions for maintaining a family-farm system of agriculture in our state. We are in danger of losing business to foreign competition by our failure to recognize and pursue the opportunities that are available to us. Economically, it is important to have more of our processing and manufacturing of organic foods here in our own state. The challenges are many, but with your help we can all share in the bounty of our rich soil, people and our communities. The mission statement of the Iowa Organic Association is: “ To advance organic opportunities by fostering education, research, promotion and market development and policy.” The core activities of the association will center on these four areas. No one group of stakeholders will be given more priority than the other. The activities of the organization will be guided by the membership and the elected Board of Directors. The Executive Director, when that position is filled, will carry out those activities. The four core areas of concentration for the Iowa Organic Association are:		Click here for info about our board members.
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	1.	*Education* - IOA will establish a network of farmers, handlers, processors, researchers, policy makers, consumers and other organizations to raise awareness of the health benefits of organic foods and the economic benefits of organic agriculture.
	2.	*Research* - IOA will help advise organic research priorities in the state and help to identify funding opportunities and additional resources for research.
	3.	*Promotion and Market Development* - IOA will provide public relations and promotional assistance to publicize Iowa's organic industry, to help develop markets for Iowa's organic products, and to attract organic companies to the state.
	4.	Policy - IOA will act as a unified voice to educate and work with the Iowa Legislature to advance the interests of Iowa's organic industry.
	The last decade has resulted in the formation of a sound foundation for organic agriculture in Iowa. It is time to bring it to the next new and exciting level. Historically, it has been difficult to address issues of all interested parties because there has been no mechanism to serve as the collective and cohesive voice for Iowa's organic community. We believe that with the commitment of interested individuals, companies, organizations and associations, the IOA will emerge as the cohesive voice for Iowans interested in organics.
©2006 Iowa Organic Association