Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Current Grants

The Leopold Center supports projects in a variety of areas that enhance sustainability for all Iowa agriculture as part of its long-running Competitive Grants Program. These grants fund research, education and demonstration projects across four initiatives: Ecology, Marketing and Food Systems, Policy and Cross-Cutting (involving all three areas).

Projects are listed below by initiative area. Click on the title for a detailed description of the project, who is doing the work, and where it is taking place.

Here's a list of all projects new in 2012 [PDF]

Ecology
Project Title Project ID
Grazing compatibility in and for future years E2006-01*
Providing shaded pasture with perennial biomass energy plantings E2008-01*
Grazing prairie: Improving species diversity while maintaining cattle and goat productivity and resting home pastures E2008-05*
Agronomic, environmental and economic performance of alternative biomass cropping systems E2008-24*
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*
Optimizing buffer strips for improved ecosystem services E2009-09*
Evaluating denitrifying bioreactors for edge-of-field nitrogen management in Iowa E2009-11*
Greenhorn Grazing: A modular pasture and animal management curriculum for beginning and transitioning graziers E2009-14*
Quantifying the effect of perennial vegetation on soil and water quality E2009-16*
Land use conversion to perennial vegetation: Quantifying soil water regime and aeration and the implications for enhancing soil resilience to climate change E2009-18*
Evaluating canola (Brassica napus) as an alternative oilseed crop and enhancing winter cover in Iowa E2009-21*
Performance of cropping systems designed to reduce nitrate leaching into shallow municipal well aquifers E2009-22*
Assessment of woody biomass as a niche feedstock for biobased products in Iowa E2009-26*
Reconnecting Iowa riparian buffers with tile drainage E2010-01*
Impacts of conventional and diversified rotation systems on crop yields, profitability, soil functions and environmental quality E2010-02*
Transitioning to ecologically functional production systems E2010-10*
Crop availability of phoshorus in beef manure E2010-12*
Use of mob grazing to improve cattle production, enhance legume establishment and increase carbon sequestration in Iowa pastures E2010-13*
Increasing carbon sequestration of working prairie by reducing invasive species in a fire and grazing system E2010-16*
Improving soil quality by conserving insect pathogens E2010-18*
Defining the grazing season of restored natural grasslands E2010-19*
Biochar and managed perennial ecosystems: Testing for synergy in ecosystem function and biodiversity E2011-03*
Getting the most from Iowa's forests: Linking forest understory composition to stream water quality and enhancing nutrient capture in forest remnants in agricultural landscapes E2011-05*
Enhancing botanical composition, wildlife habitat and carbon sequestration of pastures in south central Iowa through soil disturbance by mob grazing of beef cattle E2011-06*
What drives corn yield stability in the context of climate variability? E2011-07*
Quantifying eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) in southern Iowa: A starting point for conversations with landowners about threats to grassland resilience E2011-13*
Systems model and prototype development to capture and use rain water run-off from a high tunnel E2011-14*
Farmer perspectives on ecosystem service management, land-use targeting and the future of cornbelt agriculture E2011-15*
Blurring the lines between working and conservation lands: Bird use of prairie strips in row-cropped watersheds E2011-20*
The complex role of tall fescue in grassland ecology E2012-01*
Winter rye cover crop effect on corn seedling pathogens E2012-03*
Investigation of bacteria transport and resistance mechanisms and implications for water quality from confinement swine and beef grazing production systems in Iowa E2012-05*
Use of grazing management to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions while increasing soil organic matter and water-holding capacity of cool season pastures in southern Iowa E2012-08*
Understanding soil organic matter change: modeling root and soil interactions across agricultural landscapes E2012-11*
Implementing an ISU Extension Master Grazier Certification course E2012-16*
Cross-Cutting
Project Title Project ID
Grass-Based Livestock Working Group G2008-01*
Meeting on-farm energy needs through conservation, efficiency and renewable energy XP2009-01*
Exploring the role of multifunctional agriculture on the future of agriculture and rural development XP2010-03*
Increasing Iowa farmers' resiliency through the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) cooperators' program XP2011-01*
The Long-Term Agroecological Research (LTAR) Experiment: Ecological benefits of organic crop rotations in terms of crop yields, soil quality, economic performance and potential global climate change mitigation XP2011-02*
Iowa Farm Energy Working Group XP2011-03*
Drainage water quality impacts of current and future agricultural management practices XP2011-04*
Building social networks to capture synergies in wood-based energy production and invasive pest mitigation XP2011-07*
Demonstrating farrowing alternatives for small farms: Insulated tents for sows and pigs XP2012-04*
The University of Iowa Biomass Partnership Project XP2012-05*
Farm metered energy analyses: Getting baseline data, ground-truthing changes XP2012-06*
Attracting pollinators and natural enemies to add value to Iowa agriculture XP2012-07*
Marketing
Project Title Project ID
New Champions Expanded Scope: Developing an action plan for building an expanded regional food economy in Black Hawk and surrounding counties M2007-07*
Developing and implementing a strategic plan for farm-to-school programs in northeast Iowa M2009-04*
Developing production, processing and marketing of aronia berries on small family farms in southeast Iowa M2009-05*
Growing up local: A value chain analysis of local produce in Iowa M2009-11*
Enhancing value and marketing options for pawpaw (Asimina triloba) by developing pulp separation and preservation techniques M2009-20*
An automated mechanical intra-row weed removal system for vegetable crops M2009-23*
Cultivating the agrarian dream: Aspiring agri-entrepreneurs helping one another choose their path M2009-24*
Building a food system framework to advance the health of Iowans - A blueprint for action M2010-02*
Mapping potential foodsheds in Iowa: A system optimization modeling approach M2010-04*
Transplant production decision tool for vegetable producers M2010-10*
Impacts of GAPs and post-harvest handling practices certificate training on producers' on-farm food safety behaviors and perceptions of customer assurance M2010-14*
Increasing access to healthy, fresh and local food to students in three rural public schools in northeast Iowa M2010-18*
Evaluating the impact of regional food system work on growers M2010-19*
South central Iowa local foods network M2010-20*
Regional Flavors M2010-23*
Connecting family, community and health from a food system perspective M2010-30*
Research and development of an online local foods buying club cooperative M2011-03*
Developing permaculture techniques for increased production and profit in sustainable year-round agriculture for beginning farmers and ranchers in southwest Iowa M2011-05*
Involving new immigrants and minorities in local food systems M2011-08*
Iowa immigrant and refugee incubator farm program M2011-13*
In good company M2011-15*
Local food in every pot: Growing farmers in northeastern Iowa through public and private partnerships M2011-16*
Establishing shared-use processing facilities at three possible locations in central and south central Iowa M2012-06*
Procurement tools to develop sustainable local food purchasing models for farm to school chapters M2012-07*
Convening the Regional Food Systems Working Group (RFSWG) M2012-08*
Machinery management for small- and medium-sized horticultural farms M2012-11*
Transitioning farmers to produce for wholesale markets M2012-12*
Micro-farming: Reducing rural and urban food deserts through job training M2012-13*
Improving profitability for small and very small meat processors in Iowa M2012-16*
Field evaluation and system improvement of a semi-automated mechanical intra-row weeder for vegetable crops M2012-24*
Policy
Project Title Project ID
Iowa farmers and credit, crop insurance and sustainable agriculture P2009-07*
Renewable energy feed-in tariffs: Potential opportunities for Iowa P2010-02*
The extent and impact of trust ownership on the sustainability and resiliency of Iowa’s agricultural landscape P2012-01*
Sustainable Agricultural Land Tenure (SALT) Initiative II P2012-04*
Investigating opportunities for enhancing farmer adoption of strategically targeted prairie strips in Iowa P2012-08*

Projects with * asterisk: Work on these grant projects has been completed and is awaiting a final report.

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 35 to 45 new research and demonstration projects to fund. A Request for Pre-proposals (RFP) is issued in June, pre-proposals are due in late summer, and decisions on full proposal development are made in early fall. Final funding decisions occur in January. More details here.