Iowa Secretary of Ag Naig visits Jóia farm

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Wendy Johnson welcomed Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig to Jóia Food & Fiber Farm on Wednesday, April 16.

Taking a tour of Johnson’s farm as part of his annual statewide tour, Naig said he was interested in seeing the unconventional products produced at the conservation-focused farm.

“This visit came highly recommended,” said Naig. “Wendy has been a real leader. We have learned a lot from her experience.”

Started in 2015 as Jóia Food Farm, Johnson has been focused on raising free-range livestock and perennial grains in ways that are both environmentally conscious and economically sustainable. More recently, Jóia has expanded into wool, bringing in the Jóia Sleep brand to sell wool products from sheep raised on the farm.

Jóia is a founding member of the state’s Choose Iowa program, which promotes locally grown products and supports getting those products to local consumers.

“This is a great example of what we’re seeing,” said Naig. “There’s so much interest.”

While touring the farm, Naig also got feedback about where Iowa’s agriculture infrastructure could be improved, as Johnson explained that while Jóia products are grown at the farm, many need to be sent out of state to be processed and packaged. For example, Jóia’s kernza grain is processed in Minnesota while the wool pellets used to supplement fertilizer have to go to Wisconsin and back.

Naig agreed that targeting those gaps in the production chain would be a benefit to Iowa.

“Then you capture all that value here in the state,” he said.

Johnson said she is also hoping to be approved for a Choose Iowa grant, which would help facilitate the construction of a food hub where local producers can have their products stored and sold.

“We’ll be selling local food out of it and doing delivery service,” said Johnson.