An Analysis of Alternative Crops in Northeast Iowa
Kendal Quandahl, Cresco, IA, defended her thesis, “An Analysis of Alternative Crops in Northeast Iowa” on March 29, 2017. She works as the Precision Training Specialist for CNH Industrial. Quandahl graduated from Kansas State University in May 2017 with a Master of Agribusiness (MAB) degree.
Quandahl Farms, a family-owned row crop operation in northern Iowa, was recently faced with the decision of possibly expanding their crop offerings to increase total farm profitability. This decision was in response to certain downward trends in the agricultural industry as adding additional crops to the farm’s portfolio could possibly lead to risk reduction. The interest in alternative crops has increased while commodity prices decrease, such as the grapes, raspberries and black currants of interest to Quandahl Farms.
“Quandahl Farms has been interested in these potential alternative crops for a variety of reasons. Grapes are of interest as the family has recently developed a passion for home brewing with thoughts of expanding the business in the future. Raspberries are under consideration as they are a popular fruit to sell as local markets and can be marketed in a variety of ways. Finally, black currants are of interest as they are a unique berry that is not commonly found in the Midwest” Quandahl said.
In her thesis, Quandahl first examined the climate and growing conditions of northern Iowa to discover if such crops would be successful and then completed a financial analysis to discover the economic implications of such a decision. She found that raspberries and black currants have a positive net present value, leading to a possible increase in projected net income by converting certain soybean and corn rotations to raspberry and black currant acres.
Dr. Vincent Amanor-Boadu, Professor and Quandahl’s thesis advisor, said, “INSERT QUOTE HERE.”
The full thesis publication can be found online on Kansas State University’s Research Exchange at add link
