IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Johnson County officials say they aren’t surprised that a new study has recognized the county as a hot spot for organic food.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen (http://icp-c.com/1RwXCaZ ) reports that a Pennsylvania State University study released Wednesday by agricultural economist Ted Jaenicke named Johnson County and five other Iowa counties as organic hot spots.
They were identified as having high levels of organic agricultural activity whose neighboring counties also have high organic activity. Jaenicke found that these hot spots reduced poverty levels by an average of 1.3 percentage points and increased median household incomes by an average of $2,000.
Allamakee, Clayton, Dubuque, Howard and Fayette counties were also listed as organic hot spots in Iowa. More than 200 counties across the United States were named as hot spots.
