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Laura Krouse
Laura Jackson, on behalf of the Leopold Center Advisory Board
Jerry DeWitt presents
plaque to Krouse.
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2007 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture
Presentation at the Practical
Farmers of Iowa annual conference Johnson County farmer Susan Jutz says she had always admired Laura Krouse, a colleague whom she nominated for the Spencer Award. "I think she teaches as much about
sustainable agriculture and local foods as she does
about biology in her classes at Cornell College,"
Jutz told a gathering of peers at the PFI annual
conference. "She always manages to include it in her
classes." "Laura also loves corn," Jutz explained, referring to the open-pollinated seed corn business that Krouse also owns. "I am intimidated because she knows so much about corn." |
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Leopold Center Director Jerry DeWitt said he was pleased to honor Krouse, the first small-market farmer to receive the Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture. "Laura's small farm offers enormous diversity, including a restored wetland and constructed pond used for crop irrigation," he said. "Although CSAs do not represent a large part of agriculture at this time, they offer a viable alternative and help build awareness for local foods, which Laura has done in an exemplary way."
Krouse said one of the best things about the award was hearing from so many people who had sent their congratulations.
"I thought maybe this award might give me
leverage to do what I really want to do and that is to be
'queen of Iowa'," she added with a characteristic bit of
joviality. "When I'm queen there are two things I want to
do: no cows will walk in any creek and no tillage equipment
or planter will run parallel to any grassed water way."
Planting the seeds of sustainability [Winter 2007 Leopold Letter]