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
2008
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Pawpaw trial maintenance E2004-23 2008
Developing potatoes with horizontal resistance to the Colorado potato beetle E2004-26 2008
Integration of natural seed treatments in organic and open-pollinated corn systems E2004-28 2008
Developing ecologically sound and profitable alternative fertilizer and manure phosphorus management strategies E2004-29 2008
Integrating hunting and grazing: Loess Hills and south central Iowa on-farm management experiences E2004-43 2008
Bird nesting on rotationally grazed warm- and cool-season grass paddocks in southern Iowa E2006-05 2008
Whiterock Conservancy baseline data project ESP2006-04 2008
Reduced stormwater runoff via increased use of rain gardens ESP2007-02 2008
Pilot project to identify and measure the relevant costs of production for sustainable agriculture products M2004-05 2008
Business organization and coordination in niche hog marketing M2004-22 2008
Growing Your Small Market Farm Business Planning Program M2005-19 2008
Organic, natural and grass-fed beef: Profitability and constraints to production in the Midwestern United States M2005-30 2008
Bridging the gap: What does it take to bring small- and medium-sized producers and retail and foodservice distributors together? M2006-05 2008
Assessing needs and fostering agricultural entrepreneurship among immigrants in several Iowa communities M2006-07 2008
Investigation of the economic feasibility of pasture-based dairy operations in northwest Iowa M2006-09 2008
Determining the methods for measuring the economic and fiscal impacts associated with organic crop conversion in Iowa M2006-12 2008
2009
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
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
Leveraging student expertise to solve food production marketing problems M2003-04 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
2010
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Integrated soil and weed management production systems for perennial food crops E2006-02 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
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
Iowa recreational property ownership: Identification, contact and social dynamics of multiple-use perennial landcover E2007-19 2010
2011
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Optimizing legume establishment in winter cereal grains E2006-10 2011
The impact of biodiversity services in row crop production in annual verses perennial landscapes E2006-13 2011
The Landowners' Decision: Grazing and fire as management tools on Iowa grasslands and oak savannas E2007-05 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
Energy use and nutrient cycling in pig production systems E2008-03 2011
Reducing pesticide use in Iowa vineyards: Alternatives to herbicides for vineyard weed management E2008-18 2011
Corn silage test plot to increase profitability for dairy farmers and reduce winter wind & water erosion E2009-02 2011
Feasibility of unheated large gutter-connect greenhouses for winter organic vegetable production in Iowa E2009-24 2011
Adapting land retirement programs in response to Iowa's changing economy EP2007-30 2011
Distillers Dried Grains (DDG) feeding and impacts on meat quality for grazing steers ESP2006-03 2011
2012
Project Title Project IDsort icon Completion Year
Soil moisture dynamics and plant transpiration under contrasting annual-perennial cover types E2008-17 2012
Site specific implementation of practices that alter the spatial/temporal distribution of grazing cattle to improve water quality of pasture streams in the Rathbun Lake watershed E2009-08 2012
Optimizing buffer strips for improved ecosystem services E2009-09 2012
Evaluating denitrifying bioreactors for edge-of-field nitrogen management in Iowa's tile-drained landsacpes E2009-11 2012
Conversion to perennial vegetation: Quantifying soil water regime, aeration, and implications for enhancing soil resilience to climate change E2009-18 2012
Assessment of woody biomass as a niche feedstock for biobased products in Iowa E2009-26 2012
Increasing carbon sequestration of working prairie by reducing invasive species in a fire and grazing system E2010-16 2012
Defining the grazing season of restored natural grasslands E2010-19 2012
Quantifying eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) in southern Iowa: A starting point for conversations with landowners about threats to grassland resilience E2011-13 2012
Systems model and prototype development to capture and use rain water run-off from a high tunnel E2011-14 2012