Leopold Notes April 2011

NEW INTERIM DIRECTOR
ISU animal science professor and research farms coordinator Mark Honeyman has been serving as interim director since March 7, when Lois Wright Morton stepped down to lead a regional research project on climate and agriculture. Honeyman has worked at Iowa State for more than 30 years, and led the Center-funded Hoop Group research team. Read more about the transition in our Spring 2011 Leopold Letter.

MORE NEWSLETTER ARTICLES
Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann explores the ‘feeding the world’ debate and guest columnist Laura Jackson explains the difference between resilience and efficiency (When your boat rocks, you want resilience not efficiency) in our quarterly newsletter. To see a list of all articles, go to the table of contents page for the Spring 2011 issue.

SUSTAINABLE FARM LEASES
The Leopold Center and Drake University’s Agricultural Law Center have joined forces to offer a new website with a variety of resources on sustainable agriculture and land tenure in Iowa. The website, http://SustainableFarmLease.org, has a 56-page “Landowner’s Guide to Sustainable Farm Leasing,” also links to videos and podcasts with explanation of important lease provisions and landlord-tenant laws. Announcement about the project

A NEW ZEALAND MODEL
A couple who raises grass-fed beef in New Zealand visited Iowa to share how they have had to operate under a cap on the amount of nitrogen that leaches from their land. It’s been a huge shift for farmers because they have not been able to increase production without increasing nitrogen output. Read their story

SPENCER AWARD
It was a happy occasion for Vic and Cindy Madsen, who received the Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture during the Practical Farmers of Iowa annual conference in Marshalltown. Here is a photo from the event,

RESILIENCE WORKSHOP
On May 25, the Leopold Center will host a workshop for current and future grantees to explore sustainability and resilience. Exactly what do we mean by those terms, and how to we measure them? Leopold Center assistant scientist Corry Bregendahl addresses these questions in our Spring newsletter.

PODCAST
If you missed the 2011 Shivvers lecture this year (the same night as the Super Bowl), you’re in luck. Noted Iowa State climate scientist Gene Takle explored this question: Will Climate Change Impact the Sustainability of Iowa Farms? Links to a podcast of his presentation, Takle’s overheads and a newsletter article are available here.

APRIL 20 WEBINAR
Water quality is the topic for the next monthly webinar of the Iowa Learning Farms on Wednesday, April 20 at noon. ISU agricultural and biosystems engineer Matt Helmers will discuss nitrogen management and water quality. Download a PDF with instructions for first-time viewers (or find links to view past webinars) on the Iowa Learning Farms home page: www.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/

CLEAN WATER STARTS WITH US
That’s the name of a quarterly newsletter about watershed improvement in Iowa. It is produced by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Division of Soil Conservation, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The latest issue takes about how local governments are making water quality a priority. View the newsletter as a PDF here.

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