Leopold Center - Iowa Learning Farm, Leopold Center join forces

2-6-07

IOWA LEARNING FARM, LEOPOLD CENTER JOIN FORCES

AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa Learning Farm, a project involving more than 30 Iowa farmers with an active interest in conservation, has joined forces with the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

Leopold Center Director Jerry DeWitt is the new coordinator for the Iowa Learning Farm project. The five-year conservation education and research project was set up in 2005 to improve Iowa's water quality through increased use of conservation systems among Iowans who operate midsize to large farms. The Iowa Learning Farm promotes active learning by involving producer partners in addressing the impact of conservation practices on water quality. The project also engages a broad set of agencies, agribusinesses and the general public, as well as several research and demonstration projects throughout the state.

"The primary focus of the Iowa Learning Farm is to help strong conservationist farmers teach other farmers about systems that will improve the quality of Iowa's soil and water on their farms, while remaining profitable and sustainable," DeWitt said. "I am looking forward to increasing the visibility of this project and the good work that can be done."

As project coordinator, DeWitt works with an administrative team from four academic departments at Iowa State: Agronomy, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Economics and Sociology. An extensive education and outreach program offers field demonstrations, field days, field training, regional meetings and a statewide conservation systems conference. Ways to increase conservation ethics and practices, and the economic aspects of soil conservation systems also are being examined.

DeWitt said the goals of the Iowa Learning Farm fit well with the goals of the Leopold Center.

"Working with farmers to improve the quality of the soil and water on their farms also is a part of the Leopold Center's mission," he said. "We hope to make available what we’ve learned at the Leopold Center to the 31 farmer-cooperators in the Iowa Learning Farm project," he added.

The Iowa Learning Farm's institutional partners include the Conservation Districts of Iowa, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

More information is available at the Iowa Learning Farm web site: www.extension.iastate.edu/ilf.

Through its research and education programs, the Leopold Center supports the development of profitable farming systems that conserve natural resources. Center funding comes from state appropriations and from fees on nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides, as established by the 1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act.