This planning grant looks at ways to transfer scientific knowledge gained from the STRIPs (Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairies) project at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. The investigators will interview project stakeholders and identify potential ways for establishing a network of demonstration sites, with the goal of identifying practical steps needed to gain widespread support for incorporating targeted prairie strips into the Iowa landscape.
Competitive Grants
The Leopold Center supports projects in a variety of areas that enhance sustainability for all Iowa agriculture. Since 1988, the Leopold Center has operated a Competitive Grants Program that has funded nearly 500 Iowa-based agricultural and research projects in every county in Iowa.
About the grant process
The Leopold Center’s Competitive Grants Program that is open to all Iowa educational and non-profit organizations. Each year, the Center selects new research and demonstration projects to fund. The next Request for Pre-proposals (RFP) will be issued June 3, 2013 with pre-proposals due on July 19, 2013. Decisions on full proposal development will be made in September, and final funding decisions announced in mid-December 2013.
More information for grantees - This page shows where the Leopold Center is in the current RFP process.
Project Spotlights
Here's a sample of some of the projects we are funding.
Development of an online food safety training for employees of university farms and school gardens
Investigators will develop two specialized online food safety educational modules and two user manuals to lower the risk of foodborne outbreaks at school gardens and university farms. They will also perform a mini pilot project to evaluate the impact of the developed materials.
Improving soil quality by conserving insect pathogens
Naturally occurring fungi that act as insect pathogens live in the soil, but they might be reduced or compromised by conventional farming practices, specifically by different kinds of fungicides. This project compares the abundance of these below-ground fungi in conventional and organic cropping systems. The project results will be used to better understand the role such insect-pathogenic fungi can play as part of a suite of integrated pest management practices.
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture |
Ames, Iowa 50011 |
(515) 294-3711 |
leocenter@iastate.edu