News Release Archive
December 20, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Beginning farmers, as well as those who lack the capital to expand pasture acres, may want to consider contract grazing, where the grazier provides grass and management but does not own the cattle.
“Custom grazing arrangements can help the younger, or undercapitalized producers...
December 17, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will honor Laura Krouse, a farmer and biology instructor from Linn County in eastern Iowa, with its 2007 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture.
Krouse owns and operates a 72-acre farm near Mount Vernon, where she teaches full-time at...
December 12, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Thanks to a gift from Chipotle Mexican Grill, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will offer 10 Iowa farmers an opportunity to participate in a national sustainable agriculture conference March 25-27 in Kansas City.
The farmers who are selected will receive a free trip to...
November 13, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- After nine years of comparison, the clear differences between organic and conventional crop production systems are emerging: the longer rotations and careful management of the organic system show greater yields, increased profitability, and steadily improved soil quality over...
November 12, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Karen Jacobson, accountant for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, recently received top honors at the Joint National Conference of the American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) and the American Women’s Society of Certified Public Accountants (AWSCPA).
November 9, 2007
AMES, Iowa – How have existing on-farm conservation efforts affected Iowa’s water quality and what value do they have?
November 6, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Ideas and proposals are sought for a unique program pairing farmers with Iowa State University researchers to work on topics related to conservation and sustainability.
Proposals are due on Dec. 17 for the 2008 ISU On-Farm Research and Demonstration Grant Program.
The program is a...
October 29, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Rapidly rising machinery costs and the shortage of skilled labor are affecting some farming operations in the Midwest. Some producers are sharing these resources to reduce costs and increase efficiency. However, a number of factors need to be considered before entering sharing...
October 23, 2007
AMES, Iowa – What Iowan doesn’t know about corn? We grow more of it than anyone else; it’s everywhere around us, in many of our foods, and increasingly is filling our fuel tanks. Yet sometimes it helps to have a set of fresh eyes, which is exactly what is offered by a new feature...
October 16, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Organic sales have more than doubled in the past five years, reaching $16.9 billion last year, according to the Organic Trade Association. The demand for organic crops currently exceeds supply and growers everywhere are encouraged to consider the potential for organic production.
October 3, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Physician, environmental researcher and human rights advocate Robert Lawrence will explore the linkages between health, agriculture and U.S. farm policy when he speaks at Iowa State University on October 22.
September 25, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- With the end of cheap oil and signs of climate change appearing globally, Americans are sleepwalking into a future of hardship and turbulence. Such is the provocative scenario described by author and social critic James Howard Kunstler, who will speak at Iowa State University on...
September 24, 2007
AMES, Iowa - It used to be if you wanted to buy a bottle of wine produced in Iowa, you headed to the Amana Colonies and hoped the dandelion crop had been a good one.
It wasn't always that way. During the early 20th century, Iowa was the nation's sixth-largest grape producer. The industry...
September 17, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS — The Rural Youth Summit to be held next month will connect young people from rural communities around the country to exchange ideas on the challenges and opportunities of living in rural areas. The “Rural Youth Summit: Revitalizing Rural America” will be...
September 11, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- A recent survey shows that American consumers are skeptical about the safety of the global food system and many believe that local foods are safer and better for their health than foods from afar.
September 7, 2007
AMES, Iowa – What did Iowa farm women have to say about the 2007 Farm Bill deliberations? How can buffers help stabilize western Iowa’s Loess Hills soils? Can local food producers use contracts to expand their market opportunities with foodservice outlets? Does fire have a future as a...
August 7, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Payment limits and commodity programs usually dominate debates about federal farm legislation, but a report prepared for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture shows that options to help beginning farmers may be just as important for the future of agriculture.
August 7, 2007
SUTHERLAND, Iowa -- What's been the impact of sustainable agriculture practices in northwest Iowa over the past 20 years and what lies ahead?
That's the question O'Brien County organic farmer Paul Mugge hopes to answer when he and his wife Karen host an August 25 Practical Farmers of...
July 17, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Four new members have been appointed to begin terms on the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board in 2007. They join 13 other board members representing several Iowa educational institutions and agricultural and farming interest groups. Among the new appointees are...
July 13, 2007
Corning, Iowa — An air-conditioned tour bus will be taking both cattlemen and landowners on a grazing tour ofthe 4,000 acre Dunn Ranch in northern Missouri. The tour will also visit grassland sites in Ringgold County, Iowa. The tour will see different grazing management methods, and...
July 13, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is hosting a seminar on Thursday, July 19, featuring the managers of two successful farmer-owned cooperatives that distribute seasonal produce on the East and West coasts.The seminar, which is open to the public, will be 3 to 5 p.m. in...
July 5, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University wants to work with Iowans who have innovative ideas for sustainable agriculture alternatives. The 2007 Request for Pre-proposals (RFP) has been issued for possible projects in the Center’s three initiative...
June 28, 2007
AMES, Iowa – Conference goers at the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture on July 11 in Ames will have a smorgasbord of activities, happenings, presentations, displays and demonstrations to enjoy. In addition to marking the Center’s two decades...
June 21, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The 20th anniversary celebration of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture on July 11 will showcase a new technology recently named to a top 10 list even David Letterman would envy.
The Impellicone anhydrous ammonia manifold, conceived through a Leopold Center research grant...
June 18, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Agricultural policies should focus more on developing and rewarding sustainable, multifunctional landscapes that benefit both varied commodity production and the environment, and less on merely maximizing crop yield, according to a policy forum article in the June 15 edition of the...
May 25, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- An Australian scientist will share how woolgrowers in Tasmania are learning to follow Aldo Leopold's land ethic in becoming strong conservationists as well productive farmers.Jann Williams will present "An Australian perspective on the multiple dimensions of managing biodiversity in...
May 23, 2007
AMES, Iowa – The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture marks two decades of innovative research and creative solutions during its 20th Anniversary Celebration July 10-11 at Iowa State University. The festivities highlight the Center's many partners and successes and, more importantly...
May 9, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa Learning Farm has the power to make it rain.
Researchers at Iowa State University have developed a machine that simulates the impact of raindrops to various land surfaces when it rains. The machine is portable so it can travel to field days or events.
“The...
April 18, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Does it pay locally to help farmers convert their operations from conventional to organic crop production? Iowa State University economists offer some detailed answers, using as their model the unique Woodbury County plan to provide tax abatements for producers who transition from...
April 9, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is seeking nominations for the 2007 Spencer Award, one of Iowa's largest awards in sustainable agriculture. Nominations are due April 27, 2007.
April 9, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- New and thriving research programs, major leadership changes, and significant progress by research initiatives marked the past fiscal year at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and are summarized in the Center's new annual report.
March 30, 2007
AMES, Iowa — A series of lectures associated with the 150th celebration of the founding of Iowa State University and the College of Agriculture begin April 2.Three lectures are scheduled to take place the week of April 2 and will begin a year of lectures sponsored by the College of Agriculture, its...
March 23, 2007
CHICAGO, Illinois – A new association backed by major farm and food service interests today announced an innovative way to make sure that American farmers, ranchers and fishermen can supply the healthier, better tasting, and environmentally sustainable food consumers increasingly demand....
March 9, 2007
AMES, Iowa - Last year, $153,000 worth of ISU Dining's food purchases was from local growers and other niche producers in adjacent states. Director Nancy Levandowski has a five-year plan to grow that figure significantly, a plan she launched Feb. 28.
March 5, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University has awarded grants for 26 new projects that support a wide range of activities from custom grazing and grass-based dairies to the financial and technical challenges faced by farmers interested in accessing niche...
February 27, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Nationally known farmer, writer, conservationist and philosopher Wendell Berry promises to tackle a host of contemporary agriculture issues as he delivers the 2007 Shivvers Memorial Lecture on Sunday, April 15, at Iowa State University’s Memorial Union.
Berry’s rare public...
February 22, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa – The story of Iowa as told through Dutch letters, popcorn, creamy Maytag blue cheese and other foods is now just a click away.
February 21, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa farmers and food processors interested in seeing their local products on the menu for Iowa State University students and staff are invited to a February 28 information meeting.
The meeting will be 9 to 11 a.m. on campus in the South Ballroom of the ISU Memorial Union. Farmers and...
February 16, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has a new associate director, Rich Pirog, who has been with the Center since 1990.The appointment was announced by Director Jerry DeWitt, who praised Pirog for his leadership of the Center's successful Marketing and Food Systems...
February 16, 2007
MADISON, WI, – Industrial agriculture faces painful challenges: the end of cheap energy, depleted water resources, impaired ecosystem services, and unstable climates. Scientists searching for alternatives to the highly specialized, energy intensive industrial system might profitably...
February 9, 2007
Producers interested in learning how to market to foodservice and retail distributors are invited to attend a “Bridging the Gap – Selling to Distributors and Forming Supply Networks” workshop in Iowa on March 13 and 16, 2007. The meetings are sponsored by Iowa State University Extension, Value...
February 9, 2007
AMES, Iowa — The seventh John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture, which honors a retired Iowa State University agronomy professor, will explore the potential for the agricultural sector to respond to climate change.
February 6, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa Learning Farm, a project involving more than 30 Iowa farmers with an active interest in conservation, has joined forces with the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.
January 26, 2007
STORM LAKE, Iowa -- Iowa residents are invited to share how they would like the region’s energy economy to evolve over the next 50 years at a free dinner meeting Tuesday evening, February 13, 6 to 9 p.m. in the Harold Walter Siebens Forum Building at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake Iowa.
January 22, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., a Denver-based restaurant chain that focuses on "food with integrity," is selling calendars to support the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
The 2007 Chipotle calendars are available in its 530 stores nationwide for $5 apiece. Proceeds...
January 19, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Rapidly rising machinery costs and the shortage of skilled labor is affecting some farming operations in the Midwest. Some farmers are sharing these resources to reduce costs and increase efficiency. However, producers need to consider a number of factors before entering sharing...
January 10, 2007
AMES, Iowa - Allen Trenkle, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture, has been researching the use of corn milling co-products in livestock rations for more than 20 years. Many others at Iowa State University also are working in this area. Here's a sampling of recent research...
January 10, 2007
AMES, Iowa – Count Allen Trenkle among those who think increasing ethanol production in Iowa is a good thing. "I'm enthusiastic about it. We have opportunities in Iowa that other parts of the country don't have, and one of those is to use this increase in ethanol production to...
January 9, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- Jerry DeWitt has been appointed Director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, effective January 1, 2007. He had been serving a two-year term as Interim Director since November 1, 2005.
The appointment was approved by Iowa State University President Geoffroy as a...
January 7, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Unpredictable weather and climate changes can wreak havoc for livestock producers who rely on rotational grazing and outdoor year-round systems.
January 5, 2007
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has helped develop a new web-based map and database designed to connect organizations throughout the Mississippi River watershed working on water quality.
RiverMap.org is an on-line database and interactive mapping system that highlights...
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture |
Ames, Iowa 50011 |
(515) 294-3711 |
leocenter@iastate.edu