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There is one additional dairy that has established an Iowa base, but has done so under an E-2 Visa. All of the others are utilizing the EB-5 Visa and have located in one of the 77 Iowa counties designated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. The economic impact of these new dairies is very significant. A Minnesota source estimates total economic impact of a dairy to be $15,000 per cow. That would give an economic impact of $15,000,000 on Iowa's economy from the first 4 immigrant dairy farm families to establish in Iowa.

This article describes a novel grain marketing simulation game called Marketing in a New Era (MINE) that was developed for use in Extension producer meetings and other educational settings. Key benefits of MINE are that users can personalize the game's marketing simulation environment by incorporating information specific to their operations or regions, users receive immediate feedback about their marketing simulation performance, and users can engage in numerous marketing simulations within a short time period.

extension county extension education directors Summary and ImplicationsGrowing the dairy industry in Iowa has taken many facets. The Iowa New Farms Project started 4 years ago with 3 pilot communities, Butler County, Stacyville, and Brooklyn. The first dairy relocated to Butler County and started operation on November 15, 2005. The 350 cow dairy is owned by a former Dutch dairy farmer who immigrated to the United States on an EB-5 visa. Additional dairy farm families are in the process of developing their business plans for a similar move in 2006.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Testing Agricultural Performance Solutions (TAPS) program involves use of farm management competitions to increase engagement across producers, industry, and universities. Participants make several management decisions throughout the growing season in a controlled field trial held at the university research station. Results are analyzed, and awards are presented for most profitable farm, most efficient farm, and farm with the greatest grain yield. The TAPS program involves several techniques for facilitating participatory assistance, including two-way communication and transformational learning. It has resulted in participants' questioning their past management decisions and realizing that they need to improve their marketing skills to improve profitability.