Winneshiek County Extension Office gets local food grant

The Winneshiek County Extension Office has received a $15,750 grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture to create programming to help Northeast Iowa fruit and vegetable producers

The state grant is a pass through of federal funding from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.  Winneshiek County was one of 14 recipients of grants totaling $271,296.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said, "Specialty crops are a very important part of Iowa agriculture as they allow farmers to diversify and give customers access to locally grown products.  These federal funds will support a variety of efforts that will make these Iowa grown crops more available and encourage Iowans to choose fruits, vegetables, nuts and flowers that are produced right here in our state."