Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Meeting Highlights

Back to Leopold Letter Winter 2010

January 7-8
The 2010 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture will be presented to Vic and Cindy Madsen at Marshalltown Community College at 6:30 p.m. January 7 during the annual conference of Practical Farmers of Iowa. The Leopold Center also is providing travel support for New Zealand beef producers Mike and Sharon Barton, who are keynote speakers at the conference.

February 1
The Leopold Center will host an online webinar with four local food system consultants. Check the web for details.

February 6
The 2011 Shivvers Memorial Lecture will focus on climate change with a presentation by Gene Takle, “Will climate change impact the sustainability of Iowa farms?” The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the ISU Memorial Union in Ames. The event is free and open to the public. Takle leads Iowa State University’s Climate Science Initiative team that was established in response to the public concern over global climate change and its impact on every segment of society.

March 31
The Leopold Center Marketing and Food Systems Initiative and the Center-led Regional Food Systems Working Group will host a day-long workshop at Gateway Hotel and Conference Center in Ames. The event showcases the Center’s work in local food systems and related projects funded by the initiative and the Value Chain Partnerships working groups. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required to ensure a meal ticket. Details to come.

Toward a Greener Iowa
Leopold Center interim director Lois Wright Morton moderated a capstone panel at the Iowa Environmental Council annual meeting in October. Panelists included (left to right) Roger Wolf, Iowa Soybean Association and director of the Clean Water Alliance; ISU Professor Emeritus Erv Klaas; food writer, consultant and lawyer Susan Roberts; and Craig Cox, Environmental Working Group. Not pictured: Mark Ackelson, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. All offered ways that Iowans could develop a shared vision for a sustainable landscape.

Back to Leopold Letter Winter 2010