News Release
Contact:
Billi Hunt, executive director
bhunt@cultivationcorridor.org
515-864-0732 or 515-480-2394
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 28, 2025
IOWA IS THE BEST PLACE FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE INNOVATION, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE, SURVEY SHOWS
New study, commissioned by America’s Cultivation Corridor®, identifies the strengths and opportunities related to Iowa’s food and agriculture industry
DES MOINES, IOWA – America’s Cultivation Corridor® today released the results from a new survey commissioned to identify perceptions of Iowa’s food and agriculture industry. The survey captured responses from a variety of professionals with different levels of experience in the sector in Iowa, across 27 U.S. states and in 13 countries. The results show Iowa is recognized for its food and agriculture leadership and momentum – as well as, or even more so, by those living outside the state.
“We realized we had the opportunity with this survey to better understand how Iowa’s food and agriculture industry is perceived, both inside and outside the state,” said Billi Hunt, executive director for America’s Cultivation Corridor. “The findings reinforce what we already know to be true about the excellence of Iowa’s industry, but also offer a few surprises, like the fact respondents from outside the state rate us higher for innovation and business opportunity than those inside the state.”
The survey asked for perspectives related to innovation, business opportunity, workforce and quality of life. Key results in each category include:
- Innovation – 70% say Iowa’s food and agriculture innovation is good or excellent and another nearly 70% say innovation is increasing. Respondents rank “visionary leadership” as the most critical driver of innovation; and 57% give Iowa a good or excellent rating for this driver.
- Business opportunity – Two-thirds (64%) say food and agriculture in the state is good or excellent, and about half say the opportunities here are stronger than elsewhere. Young professionals (ages 18-34) were 62% more likely to say Iowa’s food and agriculture business opportunities are increasing.
- Workforce – Perceptions of Iowa’s food and agriculture workforce are holding steady, despite headwinds. 44% say employment in the state is stronger than elsewhere in the U.S. and 77% say they are likely to recommend working in Iowa’s food and agriculture industry to a friend.
- Quality of life – Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Iowans rate their quality of life as good or excellent and 61% perceive it to be better than the rest of the U.S. Additionally, about half of Iowa respondents say their quality of life is improving and 74% would recommend Iowa as a place to live.
“The fact that so many people rated Iowa’s food and agriculture sector highly, despite the challenges of the last year, says a lot about the resilience of our industry and our state,” said Kevin Rassmussen, Iowa pork producer and chair of the Corridor’s Board of Investors. “As an organization, we are excited to use this data to focus our work on strengthening the leadership position we hold as the place to be as a professional or organization in this industry.”
The survey was conducted by Baton Global and fielded during July-August 2024. A total of 389 professionals who have familiarity with Iowa’s food and agriculture industry responded to the survey. See a summary of the results.
More information is available at CultivationCorridor.org, or by following on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
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About America’s Cultivation Corridor
Focused on further developing and marketing the world-renowned agricultural and bioscience economy in Iowa, America’s Cultivation Corridor is building on a rich history of innovation to accelerate value-added agriculture business development by attracting companies, talent and capital from across the globe to the state. Representing a diverse public-private coalition of stakeholders including Iowa State University, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Ames Regional Economic Alliance, nonprofits and private sector companies from across the region and state, the Cultivation Corridor is one of the nation’s foremost cluster-based economic development organizations. For more information, visit CultivationCorridor.org.
Published January 2025.