Rural entrepreneurs can find a supportive network of partners and resources here in Iowa to help successfully launch or grow their companies, said business owners last month.

Renew Rural Iowa, the Iowa Farm Bureau’s business development initiative, hosted a panel discussion on rural innovation during the Iowa Farm Bureau annual meeting in Des Moines.

Featured speakers included three Iowa business owners who have turned to Renew Rural Iowa for mentoring and support: Tony Halsted of Hoover’s Hatchery in Rudd; Elizabeth Caven of UpCraft Club, a digital sewing pattern distributor in Des Moines; and Roby Miller of Telepharm, an Iowa City-based company bringing telepharmacy services to rural communities.

The panelists all said they appreciate the pro-business environment that Farm Bureau and Iowa organizations provide for entrepreneurs.

Miller, whose telepharmacy serv­­ice now extends into eight states and...