Book focuses on Iowa's rural renewal

Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack is helping the Leopold Center and other sponsors launch a book about Iowa’s “rural renewal.” After more than a year in the works, Renewing the Countryside – Iowa is ready for readers.

The 160-page volume includes a collection of photos, stories and essays about Iowans who are revitalizing rural areas of the state. The book honors those who have found a way to make a living while supporting their communities and protecting the environment [read Christie Vilsack’s book review].

A program and exhibit were planned at the Downtown Farmers Market in Des Moines to introduce the book and many of the Iowans featured in it.

In May 2002, the Leopold Center joined other sponsors to cover up-front publishing costs and help develop ideas for the book. The book’s other major sponsors are the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the Iowa Rural Development Council and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Additional support comes from Practical Farmers of Iowa, Northwest Area Foundation, Northern Great Plains, Inc., Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development, Humane Society of the United States, Center for Respect of Life and Environment, and the USDA Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service.

Eight chapters cover people-based stories ranging from conservation, farming, tourism and culture, marketing, innovative production, energy, community and learning. At the end of each chapter are essays by some of Iowa’s most insightful writers including poet Michael Carey, conservationist Paul Johnson, and author Mary Swander, among others.

The book includes a foreword written by Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and an introduction by Leopold Center director Fred Kirschenmann. ISU professor and photographer Jerry DeWitt provided most of the book’s 120 color photographs.

Renewing the Countryside – Iowa is $39.95 (hard cover) and $24.95 (paperback) and is available at major book sellers. It also can be purchased from the publisher, Renewing the Countryside, Inc., at 2105 First Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404, (866) 378-0587, on the web at http://store.rtcmarket.org, and by e-mail, rtc@iatp.org. The Iowa version is the second in a series of books on rural revitalization, following on the 2002 Minnesota version.

Back to Fall 2003 Leopold Letter

Published by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Ames, Iowa 50011, (515) 294-3711
URL: www.leopold.iastate.edu