Leopold Center - Other Sustainable Agriculture Events

Other sustainable ag events

Events on this page are provided as a service to groups doing work in sustainable agriculture and is not an endorsement by the Leopold Center. To list your event here send information to lwmiller@iastate.edu. Other calendars are maintained by the ISU Extension sustainable ag program, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Iowa environmental educators, and the Sustainable Agriculture Network of the USDA.

See a list of events sponsored or co-sponsored by the Leopold Center.

Announcements

MOSES Award Nominations Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) is seeking
nominations of organic farmers with outstanding efforts for their 2009 'Organic Farmer of the Year' award. The award will be presented at the Organic Farming Conference to be held next February 26-28, 2009 in La Crosse, WI. Nomination deadline is September 15. Nomination materials and more information Posted 7-18-08
USDA Resources The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers a number of grants for producers, from grants and guaranteed loans to help finance systems that reduce energy and operational costs to grants for value added enterprises that help producers receive a greater share of the consumer dollar. These fact sheets explain qualifications and deadlines: Value Added Producer Grant Program, Guaranteed Loans for Renewable Energy Systems, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program. Other helpful links: USDA Rural Development Iowa Energy home page, and the USDA Rural Development Iowa Value Added Producer Grant Program home page. Posted 1-31-08
Award nominations The Glynwood Center invites nominations for their sixth annual Harvest Awards for individuals, organizations and businesses that do an exceptional job of supporting sustainable agriculture and regional food systems. Nominations must be postmarked or electronically submitted no later than July 21, 2008. Contact: Kim Vargo, (845) 265-3338 x. 131, kvargo@glynwood.org. Nomination materials Posted 6-26-08

July 22	Annual Summer Symposium of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society (NPSAS), 8 a.m., Wilcox and Johnson Farms, Madison, S.D. The Johnson farm is a 2,400-acre certified organic operation with a 175-head cow-calf herd of Angus and Gelbvieh-cross cows. The Wilcox farm includes a small cow-calf operation and a 250-head finishing lots plus organic corn, oats and alfalfa fields. The day-long workshop will cover various aspects of organic production and working with ag educators. Pre-registration is requested by July 7. Contact: Crystal Klein, (701) 883-4304, cknpsas@drtel.net.
July 26	ISU Research Farm Demonstration Garden Field Day, 9 a.m., Northwest Research Farm, Sutherland. Featuring heirloom and modern tomato varieties, 40 types of herbs, small watermelons and flowers. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
July 26	Make Your Own Biodiesel Workshop, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Green World Biofuels, Tiffin. Steve Fugate, owner of Green World Biofuels and founder of Yoderville Biodiesel Cooperative, provides a hands-on seminar covering many topics of biodiesel production. Cost is $60, includes lunch, pre-registration required. To register, contact Green World at 319-545-7022.
August 2	ISU Research Farm Demonstration Garden Field Day, 4 p.m., Northeast Research Farm, Nashua. Featuring heirloom and modern tomato varieties, 40 types of herbs, small watermelons and flowers. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
August 2	Water Festival for All Ages, 2:30-5:30 p.m., East Park, Mason City. This event will kick off Project AWARE 2008. Learn about the water cycle through “The Incredible Journey” of a water droplet, and trace the route for this year’s canoe float and river cleanup. Contact: Rebecca Kauten: 319-610-7507, rkauten@cfu.net.
August 2	Organic Apple Field Day, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Elm Tree Farm, Afton, Minnesota. A unique learning opportunity for those interested in small-scale, commercial, organic apple production. The owner of the farm, Patricia Bliska, will share not only from her experience to date, but her graduate degree work on organic apple production. Roger Schnitzler of Farmco, LLC, will inform growers about a new farm insurance program available to Minnesota and Wisconsin growers. Registration required by July 25. Contact: Deirdre Birmingham, 608-967-2362, deirdreb@mindspring.com.
August 4	ISU Research Farm Demonstration Garden Field Day, 6:30 p.m., Muscatine Island Research Farm, Fruitland. Featuring heirloom and modern tomato varieties, 40 types of herbs, small watermelons and flowers. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
August 4	ISU Research Farm Crop Production Field Day, 6 p.m., Northwest Research Farm, Doon. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
August 5	ISU Research Farm Demonstration Garden Field Day, 6:30 p.m., Horticulture Research Station, Fruitland. Featuring heirloom and modern tomato varieties, 40 types of herbs, small watermelons and flowers. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
August 6	ISU Research Farm Demonstration Garden Field Day, 6:30 p.m., Armstrong Research Farm, Lewis. Featuring heirloom and modern tomato varieties, 40 types of herbs, small watermelons and flowers. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
August 7	ISU Research Farm Demonstration Garden Field Day, 6:30 p.m., Northern Research Farm, Kanawha. Featuring heirloom and modern tomato varieties, 40 types of herbs, small watermelons and flowers. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
August 22-23	Iowa Farmers Union Convention 2008, Best Western Regency Inn, Marshalltown. Two days of lectures and workshops, featuring a lunch of Iowa-grown food. Speakers will include NFU President Tom Buis, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, and Iowa Kellogg Fellow Angie Tagtow. For more information, contact the Iowa Farmers Union, (800) 775-5227, info@iowafarmersunion.org. Registration form
August 25	ISU Research & Demonstration Farm Field Day, 1-4 p.m., Ag Engineering/Agronomy Research Farm, Ames. New Century Farm plans for an integrated biomass production and processing research facility, bioenergy crop plots, biochar as a soil amendment, instruments for measuring soil and water effects, bioenergy crop residue harvesting equipment, woody crops for biomass and biomass refining. There is a $5 fee per person for the tours. Meet at farm headquarters, 1308 U Ave. The farm is located west of Ames on Highway 30, one-quarter mile south on U Avenue. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
August 29	ISU Research & Demonstration Farm Field Day, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., Ag Engineering/Agronomy Research Farm, Ames. New Century Farm plans for an integrated biomass production and processing research facility, bioenergy crop plots, biochar as a soil amendment, instruments for measuring soil and water effects, bioenergy crop residue harvesting equipment, woody crops for biomass and biomass refining. There is a $5 fee per person for the tours. Meet at farm headquarters, 1308 U Ave. The farm is located west of Ames on Highway 30, one-quarter mile south on U Avenue. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
September 2	ISU Research Farm Crop Production Field Day, 6 p.m., Northwest Research Farm, Sutherland. The farm is located 11 miles north of Cherokee on U.S. Highway 59 and a quarter mile east on county road B62. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
September 3	ISU Research Farm Crop Production Field Day, 9:30 a.m., Northern Research Farm, Kanawha. The farm is just south of Kanawha on county road R35. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
September 4	ISU Research Farm Crop Production Field Day, 1:30 p.m., Northeast Research Farm, Nashua. The farm is located one mile west of the Highway 218 and B60 intersection in Nashua, one mile south and a quarter mile east. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
September 5-6	Taste Iowa, Conrad. Local Food Festival including vendor's market, producer, consumer, and children's workshops, celebrity chef demonstration, recipe contest, Iron Chef contest, an 'All-Iowa' meal, live entertainment, and more. Sponsored by Grundy National Bank, Northern Iowa Food & Farm Partnership, and the Iowa Farm to School program. Contact: Andrea Geary, Northern Iowa Food & Farm Partnership, andrea.geary@uni.edu. More information
September 10	ISU Research Farm Crop Production Field Day, 1 p.m., Southeast Research Farm, Crawfordsville. From Crawfordsville, the farm is located one and three-quarter miles south, two miles east on G62 and three-quarters of a mile north on the Washington/Louisa county-line road. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
September 16	ISU Allee Demonstration Farm 50th Anniversary Field Day, 9:30 a.m., Allee Demonstration Farm, Newell. The 50th anniversary celebration of the Allee Demonstration Farm will include an antique tractor display, 1950s-era corn plot and speakers. The field day will conclude with tours of the mansion of George Allee, an early developer of corn hybrids. A gift from his estate established the farm in 1958. He also bequeathed hybrid genetic material to Iowa State's corn-breeding program. Go 1.5 miles west on the gravel road that intersects Highway 7 at the curve southeast of Newell. Contact: Dennis Shannon, (515) 294-1608, shannond@iastate.edu. More information
October 17	Waters That Unite Us, Iowa Environmental Council annual conference, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Botanical Center, Des Moines. The conference will explore where and how humans are having positive and negative impacts on Iowa waters and some of the ways individuals and communities can participate in solutions. Speakers include Cornelia F. Mutel author of “The Emerald Horizon – The History of Nature in Iowa,” and Cornelia Butler Flora, Director of North Central Regional Center for Rural Development. Contact: Lynn Laws, Iowa Environmental Council, LynnLaws@iaenvironment.org , 515-244-1194, www.iaenvironment.org.
October 20-22	Farming with Grass: Sustainable Mixed Agricultural Landscapes in Grassland Environments, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This conference is planned by the Grazinglands Research Laboratory of the USDA in conjunction with the Soil and Water Conservation Society. It will be targeted toward mixed agricultural systems in grassland ecoregions, which would include the Great Plains into Canada, much of the southeastern U.S., New England, the Appalachian Piedmont, and similar environments where agriculture is comprised of a complex mix of cropland, pasture land, rangeland, with a diversity of animal based agriculture. Contact: Jean Steiner, (405) 262-5291, ext. 228, Jean.Steiner@ARS.USDA.GOV.
November 8	Gallery Walk with Claude Baillargeon, 2 p.m., Brunnier Art Museum, Ames. Take the opportunity to join Guest Curator Claude Baillargeon for an in-depth look at the exhibition Imaging a Shattering Earth: Contemporary Photographs and the Environmental Debate. Contact: Nancy Gebhart, ISU Museums, (515) 294-3342, nancyg@iastate.edu.
November 9	The Photography of Poisoned Ecologies, 2 p.m., Brunnier Art Museum, Ames. Curator’s lecture by Claude Baillargeon. This presentation features case studies from around the world from the dual perspective of reckless stewardship and collateral damage. Using representative samples from a multiplicity of photographic practices, this talk emphasizes the dramatic impact that globalization is having upon our shared environment, while bringing attention to some of the people afflicted by its sprawling toxicity. Contact: Nancy Gebhart, ISU Museums, (515) 294-3342, nancyg@iastate.edu.
December 13 & 14	Family Favorites – Imaging a Shattering Earth, 1-4 p.m., Brunnier Art Museum, Ames. Opportunity for families to view the current exhibition, Imaging a Shattering Earth; Contemporary Photographs and the Environmental Debate. Each family is invited to fill out a ballot telling which object is their favorite and why. The object receiving the largest number of votes will be announced on our website and each family that participates will be entered to win a drawing for a family membership to University Museums. Contact: Nancy Gebhart, ISU Museums, (515) 294-3342, nancyg@iastate.edu.