Governor Tom Vilsack is appointing a “Food Policy Council” to determine how much food eaten in Iowa is actually grown here — and how to raise the amount of Iowa-grown food consumed by Iowans.Vilsack wants the group to come up with recommendations by April of next year. Vilsack says the Council’s findings could be the impetus family farmers need to begin planting “alternative” crops rather than just corn and soybeans.Vilsack says one out-growth of the initiative might be broader use of “farmers markets” to sell Iowa-grown produce.Drake University’s ag law center, the Ruan family of Des Moines and the Wallace Genetic Foundation will bankroll the Council’s work.
