Leopold Center - The way it was, 1987-1999: Early Leopold Center challenges

Sources and systems for renewable energy occupy our attention now, but in the Leopold Center’s early days our task also was huge: helping to define the concept of sustainability in agriculture.

I was constantly asked for a definition of sustainable agriculture. All I would say was, “Watch us and others like us.” The term carried a lot of baggage, in part as a result of bombardment of the ag media by establishment farm, trade and industry groups. They used terms such as organic agriculture in a derogatory way, having no idea of the larger picture.

Some states picked softer names for their programs, such as Integrated Ag Studies, but we stayed the course. Fortunately, Iowa State University faculty embraced the Center and we had outstanding working relationships once they saw the Center would be science-based.

Environmental issues then centered largely on groundwater pollution by nitrate and pesticides. Thanks to seminal work by George Hallberg and his colleagues at Big Spring, it was shown that agriculture was the source of much of the nitrate in groundwater. That was met with a lot of denial by the industry. Monsanto was just starting its bioengineering field trials with glyphosate-tolerant soybeans, heralding a revolution in the seed industry that continues today.

The swine industry was restructuring to the confinement model that dominates it today. This created a lot of tension and concern over social, economic and environmental issues.

In many ways, the farmers were ahead of us. Practical Farmers of Iowa was moving fast on controlled grazing, and we had to catch up. They began looking at hoop houses for swine, and started practical fertilizer trials to determine the best application rates of nitrogen. And they realized before we did that local foods offered so many advantages to the local community.

Looking back, some things have changed and some have stayed the same. We still export a lot of nitrogen to the Gulf of Mexico, and atrazine is still present in ground and surface waters. The swine industry is largely restructured, but more and more people recognize the environmental and social benefits of raising livestock in animal-friendly conditions. Food is more important now, and farmers markets, locally-sourced foods for restaurants and organic sections in supermarkets are common. Soybeans and much of the corn grown now are genetically engineered.

Sustainable agriculture is an accepted, mainstream idea, with coursework, majors in land grant universities and steady funding sources from USDA and many prominent foundations.

When I started at the Center, I said the work would be a journey. It still is.