Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Leopold Notes April 2012

Notes from the Leopold Center Archive

HIGH TUNNEL BUILD
You can watch a high tunnel go up in central Iowa – from start to finish – at a workshop hosted by Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI). The High Tunnel Build will be April 23-24 at Table Top Farm near Nevada. This is PFI’s third workshop on how to build a high tunnel, a hooped structure that allows farmers to extend seasons for growing food crops. PFI received a grant from the Leopold Center Competitive Educational Support Program to cover a portion of the event costs.

Details

CATCH THAT WATER
Another Leopold Center competitive grant supported work on designing a system to capture rainwater runoff from high tunnels to irrigate crops growing inside the hoop structure. A new publication and 10-minute video explain the project for growers who might want to make the adaptations in their own operation.

Rainwater Catchment from a High Tunnel for Irrigation Use publication

Watch video

2012 SPENCER AWARD
Know a dynamic farmer, teacher or researcher? Nominate that person for the next Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 award.

News release about Spencer Award


HELP US CELEBRATE!
Iowa State University will celebrate the 10th anniversary of is Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture (GPSA) on Wednesday, April 11. At the program’s annual research symposium, ISU Distinguished Professor Emeritus John Pesek will share how the program began. The Leopold Center has been associated with the GPSA by providing funds to support student research teams and assistantships each year.

More about this anniversary event

SUCCESSFUL SCREENINGS
Nearly 400 people turned out in Ames and Cedar Falls for the Iowa premiere of Deborah Koons Garcia’s new documentary, Symphony of the Soil. Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann served as an advisor for this project filmed on four continents. Check our website for links to shorter clips (soil sonatas) for viewing, and an Iowa Public Radio program with Garcia and Kirschenmann

Symphony of the Soil

IOWA LOCAL FOOD SUMMIT
More than 120 people registered for the April 3 summit that will help determine future directions for the Local Food and Farm Initiative (LFFI) in Iowa.

Event details and upcoming report

LOCAL FOOD GROUPS IN IOWA
A new report summarizes interviews with leaders of 15 local food groups across Iowa that was conducted in Summer 2011 by Leopold Center graduate intern Joanna Hamilton.

The Current State of Regional Food System Work in Iowa publication

COVER WITH CANOLA
A Leopold Center research project on canola as a cover crop is the top story in the Spring 2012 issue of the Clean Water Starts with Us newsletter for watershed improvement in Iowa.

Link to the newsletter [this is a PDF, Iowa DNR website]

SMALL-SCALE MEAT PROCESSING
Arion Thiboumery is featured in a new annual report from the national Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, 2011/2012 Report from the Field. He worked with one of the Value Chain Partnership’s working groups and produced several publications.

Download the report free here [SARE website]:

INTERNSHIPS
Women interested in hands-on experience with farm work can apply for internships via the Women,
Food and Agriculture Network. The Leopold Center is among the supporters of this program.

Details here [WFAN website]
 

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