There are two broad views of agriculture, one being conventional and the other sustainable. When these two views clash, the result often is contrary to each view-an agriculture that is both unsustainable and unconventional-which is acceptable to no one. Instead, we need to incorporate both views to create an agriculture that is both sustainable and conventional.
In reality, sustainable and conventional agricultural practices carried out by most farmers have more similarities than differences. Conventional agriculture has evolved, thanks to the use of science and technology that help us understand basic processes, from the biology of soybean plant development to the chemistry of soil fertility. The legislative mandate to establish the Leopold Center also emphasized sustainable agricultural practices based on scientific research.
Conventional agriculture becomes unsustainable when fields extend too close to a stream, or farmers apply too much fertilizer (chemical or manure) to manage their risks. Yet this might not be conventional agriculture, but simply the result of uninformed decision-making. On the other hand, the refusal to use therapeutic antibiotics to control an infectious disease outbreak in livestock is not a sustainable agriculture practice but arrogance. The future of agriculture depends on science and information from well-controlled laboratory experiments as well as astute observations by farmers.
The new Leopold Center director, the staff, advisory board members and others have begun a process to envision the future for the Center. Based on my experience as a board member, interim director of the Center and long-time faculty member at Iowa State University, I think we need to first look at the needs of agriculture in the future, and critically evaluate progress the Center has made. The Center's most successful efforts have been in areas where a coalition of farmers and university personnel has worked on a problem. Farmers bring their observations and perspectives to the table, and university personnel bring their expertise in conducting sound research. University personnel need to leave their lectures behind and listen more than they talk, while farmers must bring open minds for new ideas.
The Center can use its experience in creating an environment for productive dialog between farmers and university researchers. We need to bring people with diverse agricultural views together so we can evaluate past and future practices, develop new systems and bring about new policy. If this happens, sustainable agricultural practices truly will become a conventional thing. - Allen Trenkle, Interim director