The approximately 345 employees of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship are responsible for a wide range of programs that affect the quality of life of every Iowan. Both Iowans living on the farm and those in our towns and cities are impacted almost daily by the work of the Department.
Land stewardship is central to the work of the Department. The Division of Soil Conservation & Water Quality provides farmers with expertise and funds to help them install practices that preserve our highly productive soil, prevent erosion and protect our critical waterways. The Department is focused on making sure future Iowans can experience the same high quality of life that past generations have enjoyed in our state.
The Consumer Protection & Industry Services Division and the Food Safety & Animal Health Division are responsible for a wide variety of consumer protection and agriculture promotion programs including regulating meat processing, commercial feed and fertilizer, pesticide application, grain warehouses and dealers, egg handler licensing and dairy production and processing. The Weights and Measures Bureau makes sure both buyers and sellers are treated fairly at the gas pump, grocery store or grain elevator.
The State Climatologist, State Entomologist, and State Veterinarian are also all part of the Department. Other areas of responsibility for the Department include Agriculture Statistics, and the Iowa Horse Breeding Program.
The Department helps promote the more than 170 farmers markets located across the state and administers the Farmers Market Nutrition Program for seniors and residents participating in the WIC program. It also is very involved in agricultural diversification and organic production.
The Century and Heritage Farm program, which recognizes farms that have been in the same family for 100 or 150 years respectively, is also run in partnership between the Department and Iowa Farm Bureau.
In all of these areas, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s mission is to provide leadership for all aspects of agriculture in Iowa, ensure consumer protection and promote the responsible use of our natural resources.
