Fruit and Vegetable Vendors Serving Iowa

Joe Hannan
Commercial Horticultural Field Specialist
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
jmhannan@iastate.edu

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is “where do I get commercial seeds and supplies for growing produce?”.  The right supplies can make all the difference between a successful year and a mediocre year but finding the right supplies to grow fruit and vegetables in the state can be challenging.  Unless you are in-the-know, how do you know?  There are in fact many companies that are stationed in Iowa, have field representatives for Iowa, or service Iowa from a distance.

One of the first places to find vendors that service Iowa is at local conferences.  There are four conferences in Iowa each with tradeshows for fruit and vegetable growers; the Iowa Organic Conference, the Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference, the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association Annual Conference and the Iowa Smalls Farms Conference.  There are several other conferences in the Midwest with excellent tradeshows as well. Each of these conferences are fantastic to attend and have many exhibitors on site.  Some conferences including the Great Lakes Expo, Great Plains Growers Conference, and Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association Annual Conference maintain an exhibitor list freely accessible online.

Iowa Organic Conference

• November 19 – 20, 2017
• Iowa City, IA

Great Lakes Expo

• December 5 – 7, 2017
• Grand Rapids, MI

Illinois Specialty Growers Conference

• January 10 – 12, 2018
• Bloomington, IL

Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference

• January 19 – 20, 2018
• Ames, IA

Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference

• January 25 – 26, 2018
• Ankeny, IA

Iowa Small Farms Conference

• February 10, 2018
• Ames, IA

Moses

• February 22 – 24, 2018
• La Crosse, WI

Disclaimer: The following vendors serve Iowa fruit and vegetable growers.  This list is not intended to be a complete list.  No endorsement is intended by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach of companies or their products mentioned nor is criticism implied of similar companies or their products not mentioned.

Many of the businesses that service the fruit and vegetable industry in Iowa have local sales representatives or sales representatives dedicated to this region.  Get to know your local representative.  They know their products well and are an excellent resource when making purchases.  Many of them also farm and can offer real world reports on their products as well as their competitors.  Many offer discounts for farmers, cash payments, or early orders.  Others offer other perks such as free delivery.  While many of the businesses are categorized below, keep in mind that many offer a wide range of supplies.

Cover Crop Seed

Vegetable seeds are readily available everywhere; every garden center, grocery store, and seasonal tent has seed for sale.  These seeds are often sold in small garden size packages and are not the most economical sources for commercial scale quantities.  They generally are not the latest cultivars with the most advanced genetics either.  Commercial seed vendors on the other hand have the latest varieties with the best vigor, yield, taste, disease package, and are available in bulk quantities.

Vegetable Seed

Fruit trees or strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry plants should be ordered from a commercial nursery.  For fruit trees, this allows you to choose which cultivar and rootstock combination you want.  A word of caution though, if you need to custom order a specific combination, you may have a two to three year wait.  In addition, some nurseries have minimum orders while others do not.  Berries should be ordered in the fall for next season’s planting as popular cultivars sell out quickly.

Nurseries

Horticulture and Farm Supplies

Harvest Containers and Packaging Supplies