The 17-member Leopold Center Advisory Board has two new representatives from Iowa State University. Maynard Hogberg and Jack Payne replace long-time advisory board members Allen Trenkle, Distinguished Professor of Animal Science who had served on the board since 1989; and Wendy Wintersteen, Dean of the College of Agriculture and advisory board member since 1990. ISU’s third slot on the advisory board is held by Paul Lasley, appointed in 2006. Lasley chairs the Sociology and Anthropology departments at ISU.

ISU alum appointed
Hogberg chairs the ISU Department of Animal Science and brings to the board a long-standing interest in improving the sustainability of agriculture systems in the upper Midwest.

“I think I can bring the perspective of how animal agriculture provides an important link in developing long-term sustainable food production systems,” Hogberg comments. As a member of the ISU Animal Science faculty since 2003, he has a wealth of experience gained during his tenure at Michigan State University, plus an Iowa perspective as a native of Stanton. He also is a graduate of ISU, where he earned B.S., M.S. and doctorate degrees in animal nutrition.

Hogberg sees the Leopold Center as the nexus of various disciplines needed to approach sustainability. “The Leopold Center brings together a variety of disciplines and backgrounds to look at ag production systems that can evaluate how mainstream agriculture can improve its long-term sustainability.” He adds, “There is a great opportunity to identify and prioritize issues with the Leopold Center.”

Hogberg was chair of the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State from 1984 through 2002. His work has focused on swine extension, swine management, and applied research in swine nutrition and management.

After completing his bachelor’s degree at ISU, Hogberg taught vocational agriculture for five years in Ida Grove in northwest Iowa.

Leopold links to new member
Aldo Leopold provides the most important connection for Iowa State’s other new board representative, Jack Payne. Payne is Vice President for Extension and Outreach at ISU and professor in the Natural Resource, Ecology and Management Department. His connections to Aldo Leopold and the Leopold Center were the topic of an article in the Spring, 2006 Leopold Letter.

“My graduate degrees are in wildlife management and Aldo Leopold has a special place in that discipline because he is considered the father of wildlife management,” Payne explained in that article.

Payne came to ISU from Utah State University in Logan where he served as vice president for University Extension, director of the Utah Cooperative Extension Service, dean of continuing education, and was a tenured professor in the College of Natural Resources. He also served on the faculties of Texas A&M University and Pennsylvania State University, and spent ten years with Ducks Unlimited as their national director of conservation.

Payne’s unique perspectives as a long-time student of Aldo Leopold’s writings will bring a special perspective to his board work. “As a wildlife graduate student, I had some of Leopold’s graduate students as my professors, so I like to think of myself as a third generation Leopoldian!”

Payne has a deep tie to the Leopold ethic. “Aldo Leopold to me personifies the understanding that those of us who love the land need to have. By that I mean that Leopold tied land (environment) to the human conscience.”

“It is a real privilege for me to have this opportunity to serve on the board of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture,” he said.