Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Pubs & Papers

Research can take many forms and lead to many different outcomes. The ultimate goal is sustainability – for the landscape, Iowa’s people and natural resources. Below is a list of intermediate outcomes of Leopold Center-supported projects, partnerships and activities. Included are extension publications, in-house research projects, informative presentations and other reports – all with some link to the Leopold Center.

All Pubs & Papers are PDFs, which require a free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click on the image or title to view the PDF.

Leopold Center Document These materials were written, reviewed or presented by Leopold Center staff. All other materials are related or based on projects supported by the Leopold Center.

Pub & Papers here are sorted by date with the newest at the top. You can filter the list by selecting a topic area below and clicking "Apply." To see all again you can select "<Any>" as the topic, or click here. There is also an alphabetical listing available.

This document summaries the sessions at a 2008 Leopold Center conference, "Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico: Implications and Strategies for Iowa."

October 2008
Leopold Center Document Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico: Implications and Strategies for Iowa - Summaries of Sessions
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

This was a nationwide survey of 750 consumers that showed increasing concern about environmental impacts and safety of the food supply.

September 2008
Leopold Center Document Food, Fuel and the Future: Consumer Perceptions of Local Food, Food Safety and Climate Change in the Context of Rising Prices
Rich Pirog, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Rebecca Rasmussen, ISU graduate student

This fact sheet presents user-friendly information on weed emergence and growth.

September 2008
Relative Emergence Sequence for Weeds of Corn and Soybeans
Iowa State University Extension SA 0011

Detailed information on using conventional corn/soybean planters to interseed small-seeded forages into sod. This publication is part of a series, “Conservation Reserve Program: Issues and Options series,” designed to help CRP contract holders assess the land-use options available to them when the contracts expire. The series began as a project of the Leopold Center based on research supported by the Center.

September 2008
Interseeding Small-Seeded Forages into Sod with Conventional Corn/Soybean Planters
Iowa State University Extension CRP-21

Compares the economic return to management of three crop rotations: conventional corn-soybean, organic corn-soybean-oat/alfalfa-alfalfa, and low external input corn-soybean-oat-alfalfa. This peer-reviewed publication details the production and market assumptions made and also mentions non-economic factors that can affect rotation decisions. Read about the competitive grant projects for LTAR and Low-External-Input.

September 2008
Economic Analysis of Three Iowa Rotations
Craig Chase, Kathleen Delate, Matt Liebman and Kelvin Leibold, Iowa State University Extension PMR 1001

This study looked at which method was most energy efficient: farmer delivery or customer pick-up food products for an Iowa Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) enterprise.

June 2008
Leopold Center Document Assessing Fuel Efficiency and CO2 Emissions of Two Local Food Distribution Options in Iowa
Rich Pirog, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Rebecca Rasmussen, ISU graduate student

Paper presented by Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann at the 16th International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Organic World Congress, Modena, Italy in June 2008,

June 2008
Leopold Center Document It Starts with the Soil and Organic Agriculture Can Help
Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann

Strip intercropping can result in higher yields and profitability than monocropping systems. Sound weed management is critical for this system. Learn about an example of a corn, soybean, and oats system. This publication is part of a series, “Conservation Reserve Program: Issues and Options series,” designed to help CRP contract holders assess the land-use options available to them when the contracts expire. The series began as a project of the Leopold Center based on research supported by the Center.

June 2008
Strip Intercropping: A CRP Conversion Option
Iowa State University Extension CRP-17

Proceedings of a workshop hosted by Value Chain Partnerships and the Leopold Center about how to use communities of practice to address current issues.

April 2008
Leopold Center Document Making Value Chains Work: Best Practices for Success – Workshop Proceedings
Value Chain Partnerships

This is a brief look at national sales and consumption of sausage products.

March 2008
Leopold Center Document Understanding National Food Supply Chains: Sausage Products
Sue DeBlieck and Randy Boeckenstedt, Center for Transportation Resesarch and Education