Leopold Center - Jerry DeWitt: In the business of making connections

Jerry DeWitt has a goal of visiting 25 farms every year. He even keeps a list. He’s always met his goal, through 33 years at Iowa State University and more trips between Washington, D.C. and Ames than he cares to count.

When asked how many farmers he knows, DeWitt doesn’t hesitate. “Not enough,” he answers.

DeWitt’s goal goes back to what he says is at the heart of a land grant university: helping people.

“I love being on a farm and listening to farmers,” he says. “The moment they have an answer to a problem, a new insight, or they tell you they plan to think about something, you can see it in their eyes and then I know I’ve done my job.”

DeWitt coordinates ISU Extension’s sustainable agriculture programs and is passionate about helping people. He will receive the 2005 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture in November during an Iowa organic conference in Ames.

One of DeWitt’s strengths, cited in his nomination for the award, was the key role he played nearly a decade ago in helping ISU create a tenured faculty position that was devoted to organic agriculture, the first such position at any land grant university. DeWitt said the effort began at a committee meeting in Des Moines that included several organic farmers.

“They asked what it would take for organic agriculture to get support at ISU,” DeWitt recalled. “I told them that I didn’t know but that they should ask.”

DeWitt organized a meeting with then-College of Agriculture Dean David Topel and ISU Extension Vice Provost Stan Johnson. Fifteen farmers showed up to make their case. As a result, two researchers eventually were hired: Kathleen Delate, with appointments in both horticulture and agronomy, would lead ISU’s organic agriculture program, and Matt Liebman would work in agronomy.

“It was one of those simple things: just ask,” DeWitt said. “Sometimes we worry about the process and all the ‘what ifs’ when we need to just ask. It was a bold move for ISU to use the O-word but it was a shining moment for a land grant university.”

DeWitt also is credited with helping to make the connection that led to a unique partnership between Iowa State and Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI). During the late 1980s, he worked with the farmer group to develop on-farm demonstrations on energy conservation. The project was funded by some of the Exxon Oil overcharge funds distributed in Iowa.

PFI members continued to do on-farm research, a paired comparisons approach that wasn’t always appreciated within the scientific community. Again, they came to DeWitt with their concerns.

“I told them to write it down and that I’d take it to someone at ISU,” he said. “That’s all it took. Since then many ISU researchers have worked with PFI members on various projects.”

DeWitt was an administrator for ISU Extension when Rick Exner was hired to oversee PFI’s on-farm research program. Although Exner is an ISU employee with an office on campus, his salary is paid by PFI. The Leopold Center is the third partner in the equation, underwriting a major portion of the costs for the on-farm program.

DeWitt was hired in 1972 as an extension entomologist. In the 33 years since, he has worked with ISU Extension’s Integrated Pest Management program, served as associate dean in the College of Agriculture, assistant director for ISU Extension, interim director for ISU Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension, and state liaison for the National Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program of the USDA. Three times during the past 10 years he has been interim national program leader for sustainable agriculture in the SARE program, and has worked on special outreach projects for the agency.

In 1998, he took a faculty improvement leave to travel with documentary photographer and video producer Cynthia Vagnetti to record the stories of more than 35 farm and ranch families throughout the United States. The result was the 2002 book, People Sustaining the Land. The book includes first-person narratives of 26 farmers, black-and-white photographs taken by Vagnetti and color photography by DeWitt.

“Farmers are great teachers and I’ve learned so much from them,” DeWitt says. “Sustainable agriculture is a wonderful combination of learning and sharing and making connections between people and the land.”