WEST BRANCH, Iowa (KWQC) - An Iowa farmer is having to make changes amid uncertainty after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut several programs.

Corn and soybeans dominate Iowa’s crops, but Suzan Erem, owner of Draco Hill Nature Farm, is growing something different: chestnuts, Asian pears, and heartnuts.

She started farming two years ago, hoping to bring these foods to more people, especially kids in schools and food banks.

“I want people to know that farming is not an either-or proposition,” Erem said. “We can have all kinds of food and commodities growing in Iowa that build a healthy economy and a healthy environment for all of us.”

In March, the USDA canceled a program that gave schools and food banks money to buy food from local farmers. As a result, Iowa farmers lost an estimat

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