Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

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This is our quarterly 12-page newsletter. Below is a description of what you'll find in each issue. Click on issue date for links to newsletter articles, download a PDF by clicking on the newsletter image, or sign up to receive the Leopold Letter by email or in your mailbox.

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Leopold Letter Winter 2007

Grazing by contract, beyond food miles

A Leopold Center project expands opportunities for livestock producers, and the Center gets involved in research that will take us “beyond food miles." Director Jerry DeWitt says sustainability must include animals, and Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann says healthy soil must include crop residues. You'll also meet Laura Krouse, Spencer Award winner and hear from another female farmer and conservationist.

Other features: A new study on the cost of conservation practices; reports from two well-attended lectures hosted by the Leopold Center; free trips for Iowa farmers to attend a national conference, and a big honor for a Leopold Center staff member.
 

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Leopold Letter Fall 2007

Local foods, livestock options

The Leopold Center examines work to expand options for livestock producers, from hoops and niche pork to support for grass-based systems. Director Jerry DeWitt shares what he has heard from hopeful young people who are planning to enter agriculture in a new way, and Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann talks about why we need to "think like a community."

Other features: Reports from our 20th anniversary conference, a new survey on consumer attitudes about local foods, reflections from one of the authors of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act, questions on the sustainability of the new bioeconomy, and a lecture to honor former director Dennis Keeney.
 

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Leopold Letter Summer 2007

Two successes: Soil quality, soil tests

Learn about two Leopold Center successes: long-term soil quality improvements under an organic system and soil test methods that guide nitrogen and phosphorus management on cropland. Director Jerry DeWitt explains the value of on-farm research and Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann urges action on climate change. Also lots of information about our 20th anniversary celebration.

Other features: A look back by one of the Center's longest-serving advisory board members, comments and quips from Wendell Berry's April visit to Iowa, and details about a field day recognizing Leopold Center contributions to on-farm research.
 

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Leopold Letter Spring 2007

Buffers and the bioeconomy

Bear Creek is a jewel in the Leopold Center crown of successes while the emerging bioeconomy is a challenge to sustainability, notes former director Dennis Keeney. Current director Jerry DeWitt discusses why it's important to celebrate 20 years since passage of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act, and Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann writes about the need to "reinvent the human."

Other features: Details about new grant projects, a unique way to manage land for grazing with fire, and a new on-line food crop calculator.
 

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