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John Carroll, professor of environmental conservation at the University of New Hampshire, has published a new book, The Wisdom of Small Farms and Local Food: Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic and Sustainable Agriculture. Focusing on the land grant universities, particularly in New England and the Midwest, Carroll’s book provides a vision of where public land grant universities might focus in research, teaching and outreach. Carroll spent time at the Leopold Center while doing his research. The book can be ordered from the University of New Hampshire (also the publisher) by contacting Carroll at (603) 862-3940, or e-mail, carroll@hopper.unh.edu. The Leopold Center’s Summer 2005 Request for Preproposals resulted in 62 submissions including 25 for the Marketing and Food Systems Initiative, 26 in the Ecology Initiative and 12 in the Policy Initiative (one preproposal was submitted to two initiatives). The Center’s advisory board and staff have reviewed the preproposals and investigators for 31 projects are being asked to submit full proposals for consideration. If approved, grants for the new projects will be awarded January 2006. Members of the Leopold Center Advisory Board elected officers at their September 7 meeting. University of Northern Iowa geography professor Tom Fogarty will be chair, with Drake University law professor Neil Hamilton as vice-chair, and northwest Iowa farmer Paul Mugge as member-at-large. Dallas County farmer Marvin Shirley had served the past two years as chair, and Fogarty as vice-chair. A new group hopes to raise awareness about Aldo Leopold’s land ethic in Burlington, Leopold’s hometown. The Leopold Heritage Group is hosting a variety of events in Burlington, including a lecture October 18 by Leopold biographer Curt Meine. The Leopold Center has supported the effort by providing some copies of Leopold’s landmark book of essays, A Sand County Almanac, for community book readings. The group’s facilitator, Jerry Rigdon, said retired University of Iowa English professor (and longtime Leopold Center board member) Bob Sayre approached him nearly a year ago, suggesting that they do something in Burlington to honor Leopold and acknowledge how important his philosophy regarding man’s interaction with nature remains today. Both Rigdon and Sayre have noted that Leopold is revered by naturalists, environmentalists and ecologists worldwide, yet has received very little formal recognition in the town where he grew up and the state in which he was born. For more information, contact Rigdon at (319) 753-2661, or by e-mail at ledgerguy@lisco.com. The Leopold Center has received a supplemental grant of $115,758 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to build on activities of the Value Chain Partnerships for a Sustainable Agriculture (VCPSA) project. The VCPSA project and four others nationally were selected to become part of Kellogg’s new market-based change project cluster. The Kellogg Foundation has contracted with Robin Hood Consulting, a national consulting firm that works with natural and organic food businesses, to help VCPSA and its partners develop a multi-year third phase to expand and increase VCPSA’s effectiveness with Iowa food and fiber businesses. The grant will end July 2006 and a proposal for a new model will be developed for the Kellogg Foundation and other funders. A $400,000 USDA National Research Initiative
grant will link Iowa State University researchers,
veterinarians and extension field specialists with niche
pork producers to help them better understand and manage
their herds. As part of a two-year project, Herd Health and
Production Cost Management for Niche Pork, 80 swine
producers will keep extensive records of their feed,
facility and labor costs. The ISU Veterinary Diagnostic
Laboratory will analyze healthy pigs from 40 antibiotic-free
farms and sick pigs from 100 other antibiotic-free farms. |
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Back to Fall 2005 Leopold Letter
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