News Release Archive
December 20, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has posted summaries of nine recently completed projects on the website. Find the most current research results at http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/results.
December 6, 2011
MAXWELL, Iowa - At the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in Polk County, researchers have developed a novel tool for restoring biodiversity to a landscape choked by invasive species: Set loose a herd of hungry goats.
November 30, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Summaries of six recently completed projects are now available on the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture’s website, exploring topics that range from producing organic livestock to enhancing the quality of Iowa wines.
November 18, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Four times a day, Margaret Dunn walks out to a field at the Iowa State University Beef Nutrition Farm, strings electric wire around a new strip of pasture, and whistles for the cows.
November 15, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Three candidates will be interviewed for the director’s position of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.
The candidates are Abdullah Jaradat of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s North Central Soil Conservation Research Lab; Thanos...
November 15, 2011
GREENFIELD, Iowa -- Organic crop systems can provide similar yields and much higher economic returns than a conventional corn-soybean rotation, according to thirteen years of data from a side-by-side comparison at Iowa State University’s Neely-Kinyon Research and Demonstration Farm.
The Long-...
November 9, 2011
AMES, Iowa – Woodchip bioreactors, installed at the edge of agricultural fields, can remove 15 to 60 percent of the nitrate in tile-drained water annually. This innovative approach for protecting the water quality in Midwest streams and rivers is described in a new fact sheet available from...
November 7, 2011
CEDAR FALLS, Ia. – Farmers with small to mid-sized operations may apply for demonstration grants related to energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable energy that reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. This opportunity is through the Farm Energy Working Group (FEWG) of the Leopold...
October 20, 2011
AMES, Iowa – Researchers working with the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture report promising results from a new type of conservation practice that removes nitrate from water flowing in underground field drainage tiles before it reaches streams, rivers and other waterways.
October 20, 2011
AMES, Iowa - The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and GROWN Locally have developed a “Grower’s Manual” to help local food cooperatives improve their handling practices and meet food safety standards. The 24-page manual can be downloaded from www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs-...
October 13, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Filmmaker John Helde will offer a preview screening of his new documentary film on Thursday, October 27 on the Iowa State University campus. “Field Work: A Family Farm” is a work-in-progress that follows Judy and Charlie Swanson and their children as they pursue their...
October 13, 2011
COON RAPIDS, Iowa – Managers at Whiterock Conservancy are learning how native grasslands can provide both environmental benefits and nutritional cattle grazing. The project received a competitive grant in 2009 from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture’s Ecology Initiative, and...
October 7, 2011
AMES, Iowa - Landowners interested in establishing native prairie alongside crop fields have a new resource to consult, a four-page color fact sheet developed by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. The fact sheet offers recommendations based on research conducted by a multidisciplinary...
October 6, 2011
AMES, IOWA--Is there a water quality problem in Iowa?
This question is posed to Iowans in the latest video produced by Iowa Learning Farms. “Out to the Lakes” is a provocative and engaging film that encourages viewers to think about water quality and their personal relationship with...
October 6, 2011
By FRED KIRSCHENMANN, Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow
Jean Wallace Douglas, the daughter of Henry A. Wallace, passed away September 23 at her home in Washington D.C. She was 91.
Wallace was Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President under Franklin Roosevelt, and a fervent supporter of rural...
October 5, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Andrew Revkin, author and award-winning blogger on environmental issues, will speak at Iowa State University on Monday, October 24 for the 2011 John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture.
September 28, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center’s website has a new look and features designed to better share what’s been learned from the Center’s many projects and partnerships.
September 19, 2011
The Center for Rural Affairs and the Iowa Farmers Union, with financial support from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, have released results of a survey of Iowa producers, agricultural lenders and crop insurance agents. The purpose was to understand each sector’s attitudes and...
September 6, 2011
CHARITON, Iowa -- Local honey, fresh-cut ham and seasonal vegetables—that’s just a handful of the items that will be available for sampling at the first Taste of Southern Iowa Local Foods Banquet held in Chariton on September 13.
The event will take place in Carpenter’s Hall from...
August 30, 2011
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa -- For Iowa farmers, nitrogen loss from fields means that dollars spent on fertilizer aren’t being used effectively. For urban citizens, it means a higher risk to drinking water supplies. A project funded by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture plans to address...
August 22, 2011
PRAIRIE CITY, Iowa -- Small prairie strips growing at key points in corn and soybean fields at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge are yielding more than good crops; they’re improving soil and water quality as well as creating beneficial habitat for insects and birds. Research exploring...
August 12, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- The James Beard Foundation announced its leadership awards in New York City last week, and among the honorees are Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann, recognized for his lifelong work furthering sustainable food and farming practices. Kirschenmann and nine other...
August 10, 2011
AMES, Iowa – Iowa has a new statewide program that aims to boost production, processing, distribution, marketing and consumption of Iowa-grown food.
The Local Food and Farm Initiative’s purpose is to increase profitability for farmers and the number of jobs in local foods. The program...
August 9, 2011
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Iowa Farm Energy Working Group has awarded $4,000 in demonstration grants to two Iowa farmers to demonstrate how they will meet their energy needs through energy efficiency or the use of renewable energy sources on their farms.
The University of Northern Iowa Center for...
August 2, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture website is featuring results from seven recently completed projects. The Center provides support for research, education, and demonstration projects to help Iowa farmers at all levels with production and marketing issues. Among the...
July 27, 2011
AMES, Iowa – Bare soil is a common sight in Iowa in the wintertime. Corn and soybean, Iowa’s dominant cropping systems, are summer annuals that leave soil exposed to erosion, nutrient loss and weed invasion during the rest of the year. A project funded by the Leopold Center for...
July 22, 2011
LUTHER, Iowa – As the nation moves toward a future of renewable energy, Midwest farmers are turning their attention to biofuel. In Iowa, researchers are helping to shape that future by developing a portfolio of sustainable systems for growing biofuel feedstock. The team will hold a public...
July 20, 2011
AMES, Iowa – The Fruit and Vegetable Working Group, a community of practice within the Value Chain Partnerships program, has developed a new online tool to help vegetable growers construct efficient wash stations. The detailed designs, based on wash stations used at One Step at a Time Gardens...
July 18, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- A recent survey shows that hoop barns for beef cattle production are becoming more common in Iowa, offering benefits for the environment. The survey was conducted by Mark Honeyman, interim director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and professor in Iowa State...
June 29, 2011
PRAIRIE CITY, Iowa -- Perennial prairie strips can help improve ecosystem health on Midwest farms without compromising the benefits of agriculture, according to a multi-year project led by researchers at Iowa State University. The project began in 2007 with funding from the Leopold Center for...
June 22, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University has begun a nationwide search for the next director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
ISU President Gregory Geoffroy appointed Sharron Quisenberry, ISU Vice President for Research and Economic Development, to chair the search committee. Members...
June 16, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is looking for innovative ideas that will help fulfill its mission to identify and reduce negative environmental and socio-economic impacts of agricultural practices and contribute to the development of profitable farming systems that...
June 14, 2011
AMES, Iowa – Farmers, researchers, and native plant aficionados are invited to a one-day workshop exploring how to enhance the ecosystem services provided by beneficial insects. Iowa State University’s Departments of Entomology and Natural Resource Ecology & Management, with support...
June 1, 2011
AMES, IA -- The popular directory “Learning about Local,” compiled by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, has recently been updated to help Iowans stay in touch with the growing number of organizations supporting local foods efforts.
May 27, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Water is a huge issue in agriculture – just ask a Louisiana farmer watching floodwaters rise, or an Iowa farmer waiting to plant corn after a wet spring. But what if there was a way to better manage water with existing conservation practices?
May 26, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Farms need to be resilient as well as sustainable to continue producing food, fuel and fiber in an uncertain future marked by erratic weather due to climate change, rising energy costs and other unpredictable shocks in the system.
May 26, 2011
By DENNIS KEENEY, first director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
May 16, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Grapes and greenhouses, dairy cows and prairie insects—these topics represent just a few of 11 recently completed projects sponsored by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Summaries of the research results are now available on the Leopold Center’s website here...
May 13, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Investing in Iowa’s small meat processing plants could have positive local impacts in rural communities, according to a new report by Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson.
Swenson analyzed the state’s meat processing facilities for the Marketing and Food Systems...
May 12, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- A handbook for establishing and managing prairies on farmland, “Incorporating Prairies into Multifunctional Landscapes,” has gone into its second printing, and the updated version is now available from the Iowa State University Extension Online Store.
May 9, 2011
AMES, Iowa --The Leopold Center is now accepting nominations for the 2011 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture, which honors Iowans committed to sustainable practices on family farms. Anyone who has made advancements toward ecologically and economically sound farming practices can apply,...
April 21, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University faculty and staff will work with 11 Iowa producers as part of the 2011 ISU On-Farm Research and Demonstration Grant program. The grants go to faculty-farmer teams to answer specific questions. The goal of the program is to address important challenges facing the...
March 4, 2011
AMES, Iowa — Lois Wright Morton is stepping down as interim director of Iowa State University’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture to lead a regional research project on climate and agriculture.
On a short-term basis, Mark Honeyman, a professor of animal science, will assume the...
March 2, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa -- A two-year study of sustainable agriculture and land tenure in Iowa has analyzed legal questions relating to Iowa farmland ownership and the transfer of land to a new generation of owners, many of whom will rent or lease farmland to others.
Drake University's Agricultural...
February 28, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- The FY2010 annual report from by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University echoes the year’s theme of “Transitions.” It reflects the Center’s efforts to continually reshape its programs to meet the changing needs of Iowa...
February 22, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- The Leopold Center has awarded grants for 19 new projects that address the need to move toward agricultural sustainability and resilience on the Iowa landscape.
The projects will fund a wide range of activities, from research on prairie strips to hold nutrients and biochar to improve...
February 21, 2011
AMES, Iowa – Curt Meine’s documentary film about Aldo Leopold, Green Fire, will be shown for the first time in Iowa during “Ames Reads Leopold” on Sunday, March 6, at the Ames Public Library.
February 19, 2011
AMES, Iowa - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) has awarded a $20 million grant to Iowa State University for regional research on keeping Midwest cornfields resilient in the face of future climate uncertainties.
February 8, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Rich Pirog, associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, has accepted a position at Michigan State University.
Pirog will become senior associate director of the Center for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU. He will lead the new center...
January 19, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- No matter how you describe it, Iowa’s climate is changing and the impact on Iowa agriculture will be very significant. Iowa State University professor Gene Takle will address this controversial issue, and how shifting weather patterns also are changing how Iowa farmers do...
January 11, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- A new statewide plan would boost the local food economy and increase opportunities for those who want to buy or sell Iowa-raised meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fruit, vegetables and other crops in local and regional markets.
These recommendations are part of the Iowa Local Food and Farm...
January 7, 2011
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University seeks ideas and proposals for a unique program pairing farmers with Iowa State University researchers to work on topics related to conservation and sustainability. Proposals are due on February 23, 2011 for the ISU On-Farm Research and Demonstration Grant Program...
January 4, 2011
Growers interested in improving food safety and post-harvest handling of fruits and vegetables can learn both at Iowa State University Extension workshops this winter. The workshops will be held during January and February at seven Iowa locations and will also cover the implications of recent...
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture |
Ames, Iowa 50011 |
(515) 294-3711 |
leocenter@iastate.edu