Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Completed Grants

This is where you will find all of our grant reports. The Leopold Center has operated a competitive grants program since 1988, funding more than 420 Iowa-based projects in every county in Iowa.

The most recently completed projects are listed first. Click on the title to see the abstract, key findings and links to printable summaries of findings from each project. For more details about a project than what is included in the project summary documents, contact the lead investigator (email address is in the longer project summary).

  • To see grant reports from projects just in the Ecology Initiative, go here
  • To see grant reports from projects just in the Marketing and Food Systems Initiative, go here
  • To see grant reports from projects just in the Policy Initiative, go here
  • To see grant reports from the Cross-Cutting Initiative, go here
  • Grant reports from earlier projects not part of any initiative are on the list that starts below.

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View grants completed in year...

2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992
2011
Project Title Project ID Completion Yearsort icon
Energy use and nutrient cycling in pig production systems E2008-03 2011
Agronomic, ecological and economic comparisons of conventional and low-external-input cropping systems E2007-09 2011
Custom grazing contracts: Successful models to grow profit, avoid pitfalls E2007-11 2011
Routing foods into southeast Iowa M2009-10 2011
Building student awareness and involvement in the Farm to ISU program M2009-14 2011
Research and assistance in support of the Foodsheds in the Upper Midwest Initiative to measure the economic impacts of increased local food production and consumption M2009-07 2011
2010
Project Title Project ID Completion Yearsort icon
On-line learning: Using webinars to teach about succession and enterprise development issues XP2009-02 2010
Sustainable economic development through organic and grazing dairy farm establishment and transition D2007-01 2010
Iowa recreational property ownership: Identification, contact and social dynamics of multiple-use perennial landcover E2007-19 2010
Adding a new generation to Iowa's sustainable farms M2008-15 2010
Latino farmers and local multicultural food and marketing systems M2008-27 2010
Establishing an Iowa Microenterprise Foundation M2008-28 2010
Pottawattamie County Farm to Fork M2008-08 2010
New Farmer Jump Start Project M2008-14 2010
Is the meat goat enterprise profitable and sustainable? M2007-28 2010
Strategies to stabilize locally grown produce for year-round sales: A feasibility study M2006-21 2010
Integrated soil and weed management production systems for perennial food crops E2006-02 2010
Shaping a functional and sustainable biofuels industry through bridging industrial needs with farmer production capabilities P2009-06 2010
Building a direct-to-consumer distribution system in Iowa M2007-19 2010
Beginning and mid-size Farm Bill analysis: Policy option development and education initiative P2006-09 2010
New strategies to enhance sustainability of apple orchards E2006-04 2010
Development and implementation of low-input delivery systems for ethanol co-products in forage-based beef systems E2006-12 2010
Tunnels to tables: High tunnel production and distribution model for produce M2007-05 2010
Strategies to effectively promote and market on-farm retail enterprises M2008-16 2010
Participatory ecology for 'Agriculture of the Middle': Developing tools and partnerships to bridge gaps among science, people and policy in landscape change E2006-20 2010
2009
Project Title Project ID Completion Yearsort icon
Leveraging student expertise to solve food production marketing problems M2003-04 2009
Strengthening the local and regional food system in the Iowa Valley: Iowa Valley Regional Food Initiative M2008-17 2009
Strengthening the regional and local food systems in the Iowa Valley: Enhancing the sustainability of the University of Iowa food system, a Factor-10 approach M2007-22 2009
Investigating the feasibility of establishing food processing and distribution centers for western Iowa M2007-33 2009
Grinnell Area Petroleum Replacement Initiative, Phase 2 M2008-12 2009
Mapping biomass markets in Iowa M2008-04 2009
Community economic impact assessment for a multi-county local food system in northeast Iowa M2008-05 2009
Southwest Iowa institutional foods survey and producer training program M2005-12 2009
A study of the factors that influence consumer attitudes towards beef products using the conjoint market analysis tool M2005-27 2009
Functional quality management systems for livestock producers M2006-03 2009
Plan demonstration farm to include farm business incubator and educational use M2006-24 2009
Planning a facility for value-added farm business incubation and educational use M2006-25 2009
Northeast Iowa local food survey summary report RWG2007-01 2009
Organic agriculture program viability study M2007-03 2009
Effects of ambient temperature and transportation distances on the resulting pork quality M2007-13 2009
Researching and evaluating an effective web-based local food sales template M2007-31 2009
Safe food handling practices on the farm: Meeting the needs of foodservice operations M2007-36 2009
Effects of biomass harvest on soil erosion E2003-07 2009
Establishment of a field school for weed ecology and management E2004-06 2009
Quantifying the role of riparian management to control non-point source pollution of pasture and cropland streams E2004-24 2009
The role of herbaceous woodland perennial diversity for improving nutrient uptake of riparian areas E2006-03 2009
Native cover crops and timing of planting: Effects on 15N uptake, weed invasion and prairie establishment E2006-11 2009
Assessing soil quality impacts after conversion of marginal cropland to productive conservation E2006-17 2009
Improving the impact and benefits of USDA research and grant programs to enhance mid-size farm profitability and rural community success P2003-14 2009
Evaluating the Conservation Security Program utilizing the perceptions and economics of producer participation: Implications for land stewardship in Iowa agriculture P2006-06 2009