Leopold Notes January 2012
Notes from the Leopold Center Archive
NEW DIRECTOR APPOINTED FOR LEOPOLD CENTER
A microbiologist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been named the next director of the Leopold Center. Mark Rasmussen, supervisory microbiologist and director of the Division of Animal and Food Microbiology at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine in Laurel, Maryland, will begin by June 1. His appointment follows a nationwide search.
NEW RESEARCH RESULTS
Read summaries of nine recently completed projects funded by the Leopold Center:
- Toward a new Homestead Act: Designing a farmstead transfer and leasing program for high-value farming and farmstead preservation
- Experiential educational engagement with working groups and communities of practice
- Engaging community planners and local elected officials with local food systems producers to integrate local food systems into community plans and policies
- Assessing the business development strengths and needs of women and Latino farmers in Iowa
- A food distribution network for the Northern Iowa Food and Farm Partnership
- Building student awareness and involvement in the Farm to ISU program
- Research and assistance in support of the Foodsheds in the Upper Midwest Initiative to measure the economic impacts of increased local food production and consumption
- Corn silage test plot to increase profitability for dairy farmers and reduce winter wind and water erosion
- Energy use and nutrient cycling in pig production systems
KIRSCHENMANN TO RECEIVE PFI AWARD
Practical Farmers of Iowa will present Fred Kirschenmann with its annual Achievement Award during the winter conference January 13 in Ames. Congratulations, Fred! He also will present a talk about soil at a Tedx event January 21 in Manhattan, Changing the Way We Eat.
More about the Changing the Way We Eat event
WOMEN CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE
That’s the theme for the annual gathering of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN) January 20-21 in Des Moines. The Leopold Center is a co-sponsor of the event, which features a presentation by FoodCorps co-founder Debra Eschmeyer.
More about the Women, Food and Agriculture Network annual conference
FOOD STORIES
All things food is the theme for the latest issue of STORIES magazine from the ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Read about many activities in the College on this topic, including several projects of the Leopold Center.
CLEAN WATER STARTS WITH US
The December issue of this newsletter from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources features several projects with ties to Leopold Center work: “Passing on the land,” “Retaining nitrate for crops while reducing impacts on wells,” and “Network in the community to make conservation change” has Leopold Center support.
MARKETING LOCAL FOODS
A new report from the USDA looks at how local foods are marketed.
Read the report, Direct and Intermediate Marketing of Local Foods in the United States [USDA-ERS website]
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture |
Ames, Iowa 50011 |
(515) 294-3711 |
leocenter@iastate.edu