The bottom line at the end of a challenging year of revenue transfers and belt-tightening at the Leopold Center is that the research continues.
Work is underway on 37 research and educational projects funded by the Leopold Center's
competitive grants program. All were in progress when the fiscal year began July 1, 2002, and funds already had been set aside for their support.
Included are 24 projects in their second or third year that began under the Center's
previous competitive grants program. The remaining 13 projects are in their first year as part of the Center's new marketing, policy and ecology initiatives.
Projects in their second or third year focus on alternative crops such as grapes,
switchgrass, muskmelons and black walnuts, as well as more sustainable ways to raise conventional crops and livestock. Second- and third-year projects also look at specific pest, nutrient management and water quality problems, including biological control of purple loosestrife, tillage to manage wooly cupgrass, and the impact of hog manure applications on the levels of bacteria, nitrates and phosphorus in surface water runoff.
Projects in their first year take a broader, more integrated approach to farming systems,
which is part of the Center's new direction and initiatives.
One first-year grant supports a project in the Elk River watershed to develop plans for at
least one type of environmentally friendly cattle feedlot for family farming operations. Other projects focus on alternative farrowing systems for cold weather, a feasibility study on related business opportunities if a packing plant specializing in organic or naturally raised animals is built, economic and management issues of combining hunting and grazing in southern Iowa, and a community-based reforestation project in northeast Iowa.
The research is being conducted throughout Iowa on private property as well as Iowa State
University research and demonstration farms. Project cooperators include ISU and USDA researchers, extension field specialists, conservation districts for soil, water and natural resources, local food system and watershed groups, and other organizations including the Iowa Cattleman's Association, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Iowa Beef Center. Second- and third-year project grants total approximately $424,600; first-year grants total approximately $267,500. Fifteen of the 37 ongoing projects will need funding beyond the current fiscal year to complete work.
For a summary of current grant projects, contact the Center at (515) 294-3711, leocenter@iastate.edu.
List of FY2003 Renewed Grants
Agriculture and Community
- Developing a local food system in association with business and industry, year 2 of 3, $20,560; W. Johnson, Limestone Bluffs RC and D, Maquoketa (2002-67)
- An internship program to help institutional food buyers develop links to local farms in
northeast Iowa, year 3 of 3, $17,000; K. Enshayan, Center for Energy and Environmental Education, University of Northern Iowa (2001-13)
- Local food connections: From farms to restaurants, year 2 of 2, $12,000; R. Karp, Practical
Farmers of Iowa, Ames (2002-29)
- Sustaining agricultural producers through direct marketing of processed foods, year 2 of 3,
$6,100; C. Chase, Black Hawk County ISU Extension, Waterloo (2002-16)
Agroforestry
- Black walnut cultivar performance, year 2 of 3, $1,000; B. Hanson, Iowa Nut Growers Association, Centerville (2001-01)
Crop and/or Forage Systems
- Development of dormancy breaking mechanisms in Eastern Gamagrass, year 3 of 3, $20,000; L.R. Gibson and A.D. Knapp, ISU agronomy (2001-19)
- Development of switchgrass as a viable agricultural commodity for farmers in southern Iowa, year 2 of 2, $9,000; D. Guffey, Chariton Valley RC and D, Centerville (2002-26)
- Evaluating the adaptability of forage species and varieties in northwest and south central Iowa, year 3 of 3, $4,200; D. Haden, ISU Northwest Research and Demonstration Farm, Sutherland (99-41)
- Evaluating pork production systems for niche markets, year 3 of 3, $4,000; D. Stender, Cherokee County Extension (2001-10)
- Improving productivity of warm season pastures by interseeding legumes, year 3 of 3, $25,175; K. Moore, ISU Agronomy (2001-35)
- Incorporating grassland agriculture into row crop production systems, year 2 of 3, $20,000; M. Mensching, USDA-NRCS, Knoxville (2002-39)
- Sustainable grape production for the reestablishment of Iowa's grape industry, year 2 of 3, $20,880; G. Nonnecke, ISU horticulture (2002-46)
- The value of CRP filter strips for grassland bird communities, year 2 of 2, $5,000; L. Best, ISU animal ecology (2002-04)
Nutrient Management/Soil Quality
- Agronomic and environmental soil testing for phosphorus and threshold levels in soils, year 3 of 3, $24,000; A. Mallarino, ISU Agronomy (2001-11)
- Optimizing solid manure application by improving distribution, year 3 of 3, $29,400; M. Hanna, ISU agricultural and biosystems engineering (2001-24)
Pest Management
- Biotic interference of biological control of purple loosestrife, year 3 of 3, $8,290; J. Obrycki, ISU Entomology (2001-33)
- Evaluating sustainable, integrated management of muskmelon diseases, weeds and insect pests, year 3 of 3, $20,361; M. Gleason, ISU plant pathology (2001-21)
- Investigation of the influence of tillage for management of wooly cupgrass, year 3 of 4, $10,375; M. Owen, ISU agronomy (2001-56)
Water Quality
- Economically sustainable riparian buffer to promote bank stability and reduce gully erosion and phosphorus runoff in the Loess Hills, year 2 of 3, $27,500; J. Kelly, ISU forestry (2002-30)
- The effects of thrips on strawberry production in Iowa, year 2 of 2, $10,770; J. Obrycki, ISU entomology (2002-47)
- Evaluating the effectiveness of restored wetlands for reducing nutrient losses from agricultural watersheds, year 3 of 3, $26,637; A. Van der Valk, ISU botany (2001-60)
- Effects of grazing management on sediment and phosphorus losses from pastures, year 2 of 3, $35,000; Leopold Center agroecology and animal management issue teams and Iowa CattlemanÕs Association (2002-U19)
- Impact of swine manure applications on phosphorus, NO3-N and bacterial concentrations in surface runoff and subsurface drainage water, year 3 of 3, $27,010; R. Kanwar, ISU agricultural and biosystems engineering (2001-55)
- Understanding the potential of phosphorus transport to water resources via leaching, year 2 of 2, $24,064; J. Baker, ISU agricultural and biosystems engineering (2002-40)
List of FY2003 Grants in New Program Areas
Marketing and Food Systems
- Grinnell area local food system initiative, 2 years; $17,500; J. Andelson, Center for Prairie Studies, Grinnell College
- Life in Iowa Homecoming Institute, 3 years; $15,000; N. Bevin, ISU Extension
- Let the vineyards be fruitful: A study of the potential market for Iowa grape juice, 1 year; $4,220; J. Higgins-Freese, Prairiewoods Center, Hiawatha
- Industrial co-location opportunities for meat processing, 1 year; $23,559; Mary Holz-Clause and Sev Johnson, ISU Extension Value-Added Program
- Johnson County food education project, 1 year; $18,400; C. Hunt, Johnson County Soil and Water Conservation District
- Investigating Iowa plants as natural dyes, 2 years; $11,516; S. Kadolph, ISU apparel, educational studies, and hospitality management
Ecology
- Alternative farrowing systems during cold weather, 2 years; $25,064; M. Honeyman, ISU Research Farms; J. Harmon, ISU agricultural and biosystems engineering; and J. Kliebenstein, ISU economics
- Biological control of the soybean aphid in organic an d sustainable soybean production systems, 3 years; $32,706; J. Obrycki, ISU entomology; R. Exner, Practical Farmers of Iowa and ISU Extension
- Developing prototypes of environmentally sustainable family-owned beef feedlots in the Elk River watershed, 3 years; $40,000; B. Van Laere, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Clinton County; J. Zacharakis-Jutz, ISU Extension
- Integrating hunting and grazing Ð A southern Iowa investigation into management issues, 1 year; $34,370; J. Lawrence, Iowa Beef Center; J. Pease, ISU animal ecology; and D. Otto, ISU economics
- Squaw Creek watershed Ð Rapid assessment of water quality and natural resource knowledge and beliefs, 1 year; $9,746; M. Wagner, ISU landscape architecture; Jim Cooper, Prairie Rivers RC&D, Nevada
- Upper Iowa hot spot reforestation project, 2 years; $15,000; L. Friest, Northeast Iowa RC&D
Policy
- Development of potential savanna/prairie conservation models for southern Iowa, 1 year; $20,000; D. Sand, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
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