Photo courtesy of Blueberry Bottom social media

As part of Iowa Ag Week, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced on Wednesday the recipients of 2024 Choose Iowa Grants. This year, 26 Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants were awarded to Iowa farmers, small businesses, and non-profits in 22 counties, totaling $463,000. 

Among the recipients is Blueberry Bottom Farm in Brighton. The farm received a grant in the amount of $13,072. This will go towards enhancing blueberry production via the transition to moisture retaining to fabric mulch and adding day-neutral strawberry production. 

Choose Iowa is the State’s signature brand for Iowa-grown, Iowa-raised, and Iowa-made products. These grants match up to $25,000 per project, and were created to help ag professionals increase or diversify their agricultural product offerings, expand markets, and shorten supply chains. 

Since the launch of the grants in 2022, more than $1 million in Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants have been awarded to 67 projects.