An Acre at a Time – A New Flavor for Iowa Agriculture

Jill Lyle’s maternal alarms were clanging. Her husband Levi had just cheerfully reported that their one year old, Olivia, had eaten several handfuls of a newly discovered purple berry from their neighbor’s yard. The evidence remained on her stained fingers. They were called aronia and apparently Olivia couldn’t get enough of them. She snacked on aronia happily while their elder neighbor told Levi all about the health benefits of his aronia berries. Jill needn’t have worried. Those deep purple luscious berries would play an important role in her young family’s future.

Iowa’s Superfruit

If you’ve never heard of aronia, you’re not alone. Levi and Jill discovered them quite by chance that summer evening and were surprised to learn that aronia is Iowa’s own native “superfruit”.
Aronia is a native prairie bush that can thrive in Iowa’s stickiest clay soils. It isn’t fazed by our bitter winters or blazing summers, either.
Its tart, juicy berries were used by Native Americans to make pemmican, a mixture of dried bison and aronia berries, it is a highly nutritious, portable food. Native peoples didn’t know it, but aronia is packed to the brim with antioxidant nutrients that may neutralize cancer-causing molecules in humans.
Aronia has the distinction of being the antioxidant champion of the fruit world. No other fruit ever tested has demonstrated higher levels of antioxidants – not blueberries, cranberries, or the currently-trendy South American açai berry. The world of health and nutrition has taken a keen interest in aronia as a superfruit that may play an important role in a healthy, cancer-fighting diet.

A New Flavor for Iowa Agriculture

Levi and Jill Lyle grew up in Keokuk County farm families and like a growing number of Iowa farm kids they were drawn back to the rural fabric they loved.
Levi says, “Looking at old farmsteads, you can see that at one time Iowa agriculture was small-scale and diversified. Every family had a few chickens, a garden, and an orchard. At that time, small vibrant communities blanketed the state. We felt there had to still be room for diversity in Iowa farming.” It’s this realization that lead them back to the farm.

An Acre At A Time

Levi made the leap to aronia farming in the summer of 2008. He planted an acre of aronia on his family farm near Keota, using land that was not currently in tillage. He says that’s another key benefit of aronia – it can often thrive on ground that’s not suitable for conventional crops.
After his first harvest, Levi hit the farmer’s market circuit in southeast Iowa, selling fresh and dried berries, jellies, and baked goods. But the real debut for his berries was RAGBRAI 2011, when he, along with help from family and friends and support from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, handed out aronia smoothies at a rest stop in Homestead. “People went nuts for them”, Lyle says. “The fruit tastes like a cross between pomegranate and blueberry, and you can use them in any recipe calling for berries.”
Levi ‘s wife, Jill, as well as, his mother, Joy Lyle, have created a range of recipes that feature the surprising addition of aronia berries. Their “Aronia Anti-oxidant Salsa” won 2nd place at the Washington County Salsa Taster’s Choice Competition. Joy’s “Aronia Black Bean Chilli” was a 1st place winner at the Indian Hills Community College Annual Cook-off. Enjoy Jill’s Aronia-Apple Crockpot Oatmeal featured.
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A New Way of L.I.F.E.

To market his aronia berries, Levi founded a company called L.I.F.E., for “Levi’s Indigenous Fruit Enterprises” (www.aronialife.com). “This season’s harvest is just wrapping up so you can find our Fresh Organic Aronia Berries in Iowa City at New Pioneer Coops and Hy-Vees. A complete listing of stores that carry L.I.F.E Aronia Berries is on our website”.