Current Competitive Grant

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

Project ID: XP2011-02

This 3-year grant for $150,000 was awarded in 2011.

Location: Adair county

The Long-Term Agro-ecological Research (LTAR) Experiment was established in 1998 at the ISU Neely-Kinyon Farm in Greenfield to compare conventional and organic cropping systems. The proposed research evaluates alternatives to the traditional corn-soybean rotation in Iowa, and investigates production processes based on agroecological principles, designed to reduce off-farm energy demand and to increase the internal resilience of agroecosystems, which consequently increases their adaptability to potential climate changes.

Kathleen Delate

Kathleen Delate's research lab conducts projects across the state at Iowa State UniversityResearch Farms and as on-farm trials. These include the following: research/demonstration plots of organic agronomic crop production with various crop rotations; organic soybeans following CRP land; variety trials; production of organic herbs (St. John's Wort and catnip), fruits (grapes and apples) and vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, edamame soybeans and sweet corn). The lab also maintains long-term agroecological plots that compare conventional and organic systems. Cynthia Cambardellais a Research Soil Scientist with the USDA-ARS at the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment (NLAE) in Ames, IA, and Associate Professor of Soil Science in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. She works at multiple scales across space and time to define impacts on critical ecosystem services such as C sequestration, nutrient cycling, water storage, and erosion mitigation. Craig Chase is a farm management specialist for Iowa State University Extension. His interests include, business planning and business start-ups, also insurance and risk management tools and techniques, organic and food-based alternative agricultural enterprises, regional food systems, sustainable agriculture and water quality issues, and whole farm and enterprise financial analysis and decision-making.

Co-Investigator(s):

This competitive grant project is part of the Leopold Center's Cross-Cutting Initiative.

The Leopold Center was established by the 1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act as a research and education center at Iowa State University to develop sustainable agricultural practices that are both profitable and conserve natural resources. Iowa State does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may contact the Director of Affirmative Action, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.

This page was found at http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/grants/xp2011-02 on 01/20/2013