Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Leopold Notes December 2012

Notes from the Leopold Center Archive

UNSUNG HEROES
Graduate students work behind the scenes collecting soil samples, crunching numbers and writing reports. They are the leaders of our next generation who hope to create a better world. We are introducing some of the wonderful students involved in Leopold Center-funded research in a new series called “Superheroes in Training.” Go to our Facebook page to read about Stefan Gailans (canola and cover crops), Anna MacDonald (birds in prairies) and Todd Ontl (landscape biomass)

Go to the "notes" button on our Facebook page

BIOCHAR – BOON OR BANE?
Our newest On the Ground video takes you to western Iowa, where ISU researchers are studying the effects of biochar soil amendments on prairie plants in natural ecosystems. This carbon-rich material is a byproduct of pyrolysis – burning feedstock at high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment – used to make biofuel. When applied to crop fields, biochar has many of the same benefits for soil health as fertilizer, and it sequesters carbon underground for decades or centuries.

Watch two new On the Ground videos about this project

REGIONAL FOOD
The Regional Food Systems Working Group (RFSWG) will host its winter meeting Friday, December 14 at the ISU Memorial Union. RFSWG has 17 groups working in almost every county in Iowa. The meeting will include highlights from each group leader and an opportunity to meet managers of Iowa’s two largest produce auctions in Cedar Valley and Drakesville. The meeting is for supporting organizations and individuals working to develop community food systems.

See an agenda and register to attend

CLEAN WATER
Iowans have until January 4 to review and comment on a new plan to reduce nutrient loading from farms and sewage treatment plants to improve water quality and shrink the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Details about this effort

VALUE ADDED AGRICULTURE
The Leopold Center is among the co-sponsors of the 14th Annual Midwest Value Added Agriculture conference December 12-13 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Laura Jackson, University of Northern Iowa biology professor and a member of the Leopold Center’s advisory board, is among the keynote speakers.

Details on our event calendar

ALL ABOUT COVER CROPS
Case studies, practical information and challenges of using cover crops will be discussed at a regional workshop hosted by the Soil and Water Conservation Society on December 13-14 in Altoona. Members of the Iowa Cover Crops Working Group are helping to plan the event.

Details on our event calendar

LOCAL FOOD RESOURCES
Did you know that the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor, the EPA and many other federal agencies have resources to support local food systems? That's why USDA has just expanded its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass.

Go to website for stories and a searchable map of projects

EMMY WINNER
The first full-length film about Aldo Leopold has won an EMMY for Best Historical Documentary at the 54th annual Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The film, “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time,” was produced by the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the Center for Humans and Nature and the U.S. Forest Service. It will be available to all public television stations for Earth Day in April 2013.

Official Green Fire website

BEST WISHES FOR A SUSTAINABLE NEW YEAR!

Back to Notes from the Leopold Center Issues