Common Ground
By Erica Place on February 19, 2025 in Blog
Photo by Jason Walsmith
Protecting Iowa’s landscapes through partnership is at the core of Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation’s work. If there is a need, INHF answers the call and works hard to find the right fit. That steadfast commitment positions the organization to explore creative ideas and partnerships that align with our mission.
More than 85% of Iowa’s 36 million acres is dedicated to agriculture. INHF recognizes that — beyond parks, trails and wildlife areas — there are boundless opportunities to work on protection and restoration activities on agricultural land.
We’ve implemented regenerative agriculture practices on INHF-owned lands, opting to sustainably crop or graze fields where agriculture is a compatible land use and offers income to fund other restoration. Seventy percent of the conservation easements we hold contain an agricultural component like hay, grazing or row crops, preserving these working lands as open space.
One of INHF’s newest partnerships is finding a balance of agriculture and conservation that supports healthy landscapes and successful farmers.
Small Farms, Large Barriers
In Harmony Farm, a newly formed nonprofit in central Iowa, has been working since 2022 to assist historically underserved Iowans in their quest to operate small-scale farms. At their 70-acre property in Earlham, they run a farm business development program where individuals receive access to land, needed infrastructure and a wide range of education and training to help them become independent at the end of the five-year program, all against the backdrop of environmental sustainability. The entire farm runs as an organic operation with climate-smart practices like cover crops, prairie buffer strips and rotational grazing.
In Harmony Farm’s business development program accepts applications from any new farmer. So far, all participants have been graduates from an incubator farm for immigrants and refugees run by Lutheran Services of Iowa’s Global Greens program. After getting their feet wet with cultivating Iowa soil in their quarter-acre plots, they arrive at In Harmony Farm with a foundation of skills and supplies and a desire for access to more land to grow and sell traditional Iowa produce and culturally relevant crops that support themselves and their families.
“The majority of my time is spent building relationships with the farmers,” says Sam Applegate, farm manager for In Harmony Farm. “Most of them have been farming their whole lives and know what they’re doing, especially when it comes to regenerative agriculture practices, but they’re learning the skills to be successful in an Iowa market.”
In addition to access to land and needed infrastructure like coolers, irrigation systems and washing stations, the suite of supports In Harmony Farm provides includes classes on tractor operation, bookkeeping and farm budget creation, gathering of harvest and planting data, irrigation systems, building a farm brand and more. In Harmony Farm also helps connect farmers with markets to sell their crops including wholesale options like grocery stores and the Food Bank of Iowa, which purchased more than 22,000 pounds of produce from In Harmony farmers during the 2024 growing season.
“They’re building confidence,” says Applegate, who came to In Harmony Farm after a career with the National Guard. He remembers deployments to areas where he didn’t speak the language fluently. “I know what it feels like to not be able to communicate, to be embarrassed about fumbling over your words. This program helps build confidence not only in farming, but in tasks needed for a successful business like calling a supplier or interacting with patrons at the farmer’s market.”
One such farmer is Bizimana Charles, whose family relocated to Iowa after being forced to flee their home in Burundi. Charles made an arrangement with an Iowa landowner and farmed that ground for five years, but the deal dissipated when the owner listed the land for sale at a price Charles couldn’t afford. In Harmony Farm was just getting started and was able to provide a place for Charles to land, offering plots where he could continue to grow crops and supporting his desire to grow his business.
“The classes are important for me,” says Charles. “You can go to the same class over and over and still learn something new. I like that I can keep growing my knowledge. It is helping me refine my business plan.”
Between the education, infrastructure, exposure to markets and personal relationships with Applegate and others at In Harmony Farm, the seven farmers currently enrolled in the program have everything they need to be set up for success, with one exception: where will they farm after they graduate? To build a sustainable business that offers a livable wage, graduates will be looking for 5-10-acre parcels close to their markets.
“One of the biggest hurdles for marginalized small-scale farmers is affordable access to land,” explains Sharon Krause, founder of In Harmony Farm. “Suitable-sized parcels are costly and difficult to find. The farmers don’t like moving around — they recognize their regenerative agricultural practices build healthy soils, but this building takes time. A partner like INHF could offer access to land that has a secure future.”
Putting Down Roots
In 2024, INHF began partnering with In Harmony Farm with the hope of securing donations of land within 30 miles of the Des Moines metro. INHF would partition the land into farmable plots and establish long-term leases with In Harmony Farm, who could continue to provide resources for the new farmers during this next step towards independence. Farmers and land alike would reap the benefits of regenerative agriculture, yielding returns on any investments the farmers make in soil health over the course of a long-term lease.
A central Iowa site INHF protected in 2021 will serve as a case study. The majority of the 320-acre property has been restored to prairie, with future plans to revive several drained wetlands. But a portion of the property remains well-suited for small-scale agriculture, and two In Harmony farmers — one of whom is Charles — are excited to move to their new plots come spring.
“This small-scale, diverse crop operation illustrates INHF’s vision of land protection while building vibrant communities,” explains Andrea Boulton, INHF’s Trails and Community Conservation Director and lead on this partnership.
“Natural ecosystems are really important in keeping pests and disease at bay,” Krause elaborates. “Pollinators for the prairie are pollinators for the crops, and vice versa. Wildlife will keep insect populations in check rather than relying on insecticides. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”
Symbiosis permeates throughout this project — leveraging a land trust’s skills and resources to assist a local organization in achieving their mission; providing access to land as a means of making it more resilient; letting suitable land be cultivated in order to improve soil health. It’s a holistic approach that feels beneficial for all parties.
While this is a new partnership for INHF, this is not a new idea. Access to smaller scale farm plots is an issue many other Iowa groups have been working to solve. INHF is proud to be part of the movement to address this need.
“My hope is that in five years we’ll have a working model others can copy,” Krause says. “We want to share the playbook.”
Charles is looking forward to this larger plot of land with a secure future and to growing even more of the crops his customers enjoy.
“Since I know I can depend on farming this plot for at least 10 years, I will get to enjoy the results of all the work I put in to improve the soil,” says Charles.
There is richness in partnering with organizations that have overlapping missions to make an impact on societal and environmental needs. Climate smart agricultural practices, habitat restoration and social justice activities can not only happen within the same space, but there’s powerful synergy in their combination.
“Conservation has a role in the quality of our water, the retention of our soil or human health and wellness,” Boulton says. “But even more so, conservation can build community.”