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 is a transcript of the 2005 Shivvers Memorial Lecture presented at Iowa State University.

October 2005
The Farm as Natural Habitat
Laura Jackson, University of Northern Iowa

This fact sheet explains research results from the Hoop Group regarding an alternative method of swine production.

June 2005
Leopold Center Document Hoop Barn Swine Production
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

This analysis found that Iowa's 160 farmers' markets attracted at least 135,000 people and generated $20 million for the Iowa economy in 2004.

May 2005
Leopold Center Document Consumers, Vendors, and the Economic Importance of Iowa Farmers’ Markets: An Economic Impact Survey Analysis
Daniel Otto, ISU Department of Economics, and Theresa Varner, ISU graduate student, funded by the Regional Food Systems Working Group

This was a survey of 400 northeast Iowa producers about their marketing, entrepreneurship and business planning skills and needs. See related grant project 2005-M06.

April 2005
Small and Mid-size Iowa Farmer Training Program: Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Business Planning Skills / Phase 1: Market Research
Strategic Marketing Services, University of Northern Iowa College of Business Administration

This is a final report of work done by the UNI Local Foods Project and its impact in the northeast Iowa region. The work was supported by a mini-grant from the Regional Food Systems Working Group. The project has evolved to become the Northern Iowa Food & Farm Partnership.

April 2005
Evaluating Economic Impacts of Local Food Purchasing in Several Market Channels in Black Hawk/Surrounding Counties
Kamyar Enshayan, Center for Energy and Environmental Education

This report details the assumptions and calculations used to estimate the food miles for a container of strawberry yogurt.

March 2005
Leopold Center Document Calculating Food Miles for a Multiple Ingredient Food Product
Rich Pirog, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Andrew Benjamin, ISU Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

This presentation and paper on energy and sustainable agriculture was part of the 2005 John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture.

March 2005
Energy and Sustainable Agriculture
L. Hunter Lovins and Christopher Juniper, Natural Capitalism Inc.

This study included focus groups and telephone surveys of Iowans about their understanding and knowledge of regional food systems and related concepts.

January 2005
Leopold Center Document Examining Awareness of and Support of Regional Food Systems in Iowa: Establishing a baseline of consumer knowledge about regional food systems and communication preferences
Kay M. Palan, Regional Food Systems Working Group

This report analyzes information from a survey of nearly 150 CSAs in nine Midwestern states.

January 2005
Leopold Center Document Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the Midwest United States: A regional characterization
Erin Tegtmeier, Experiment in Rural Cooperation, and Michael Duffy, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Robert Sayre, former member of the Leopold Center's Advisory Board, describes the Land Ethic and its relation to agriculture in this short essay.

January 2005
Leopold Center Document Aldo Leopold on Agriculture
Robert Sayre, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board