We'd like to hear from you ...

Dear Readers,
Since I came to the Leopold Center four years ago this month, I've been eager to help the many forward-thinking people in Iowa develop a vision for agriculture that supports farmers, keeps rural communities strong, and enhances our natural resources. 

This task has required a lot of work -- conversations with hundreds of farmers and community leaders, meetings with our researchers, partners and many other organizations. To make this vision come about, we've changed how we do business at the Leopold Center -- how we support conferences and events, how we focus research on initiatives in policy, marketing and ecology. 

Now it's time to look at another aspect of the Leopold Center -- how we communicate with you, particularly with this newsletter. 

We want to hear what you think about the Leopold Letter. Does it have the kind of information you want and need?

To help us in this effort, we've developed a short questionnaire. In the next several days, we'll be mailing it to a scientifically selected random sample of readers. If you receive the survey, please take a minute to answer the questions and return it to us.

If you don't receive the questionnaire, we'd still like to hear from you. Call us and we'll send you a copy in the mail (responses will be kept separate from the random sample), or you can go to our web site to answer our questions on-line, www.leopold.iastate.edu/survey.htm. We need all responses by September 15.

We'll use your responses to improve the newsletter and develop articles to serve the diverse interests and needs of our readers. In the process, we'll seek to live up to the mission set out nearly 15 years ago for the Leopold Letter:

To inform diverse audiences about Leopold Center programs and activities; to encourage increased interest in and use of sustainable farming practices; and to stimulate public discussion about sustainable agriculture in Iowa.

Instead of a regular newsletter for our Summer 2004 issue, we're doing the readership survey -- it's that important. The last time we surveyed our readership was in 1995. It's time to hear from you again.