Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University was created in 1987 as part of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act. The goals of the Center have been to identify and develop new ways to farm profitably while conserving natural resources as well as reducing negative environmental and social impacts. 

The Center is named for Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), a native of Burlington, Iowa, known internationally as a conservationist, ecologist, and educator. He saw the need for development of a land ethic, outlined in his 1949 book of essays, A Sand County Almanac.

Mark Rasmussen is the Leopold Center director.  A 17-member Advisory Board advises the director on policies, budget and program review.

 Completed Grants

Leopold Center News

ISU’s Leopold Center Awards Sustainability Scholarships to Iowa Undergraduates
January 21, 2020

Proposals from five undergraduates representing Iowa State University, Drake University, Grinnell College and the University of Northern Iowa have been awarded funding in the first round of a new scholarship program supported by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University.

ISU’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Announces New Round of Scholarships for Iowa Undergraduates
December 18, 2019

Junior and senior undergraduates at Iowa four-year colleges and universities are invited to submit proposals to apply for the second round of the sustainability scholarship program sponsored by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

LCSA Advisory Board Meets November 13
October 31, 2019

The Leopold Center's Advisory Board will meet Nov. 13, 2019, starting at 10:00 a.m., in Room 142 of Curtiss Hall, 513 Farm House Lane, on the Iowa State University campus in Ames. The meeting is open to the public. Agenda 

Leopold Center Selects Farmer Researcher Paul Mugge for Spencer Award
Paul Mugge in white speaking at farm field day
October 30, 2019

AMES, IA – Sutherland farmer Paul Mugge has been selected as the 2019 winner of the Spencer Award, presented by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

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Of Interest

In the article, "Leopold Center Helping Iowa," in Wallace's Farmer, Dec. 20, 2019, LCSA Director Mark Rasmussen discusses current activities of the center and ongoing work to fulfill its mission. 

New research shows integrated organic crop and livestock production systems can conform to food safety standards. In-kind support from the Leopold Center provided student assistance for the research, led by Kathleen Delate, professor of horticulture and agronomy at Iowa State, and Angela Shaw, associate professor of food science and huan nutrition at ISU. 

Findings of LCSA-supported research on the "effect of social cohesion and social networks on perceptions of food availability among low-income consumers" are published in the "Journal of Business Research" January 2020 issue, by Priyanka Jayashankara, assistant adjunct professor in Iowa State's Ivy College of Business and the Seed Science Center, and Sekar Raj, chair of the Ivy College of Business Department of Marketing.   

A story on Iowa chestnut growers on KGLO News.com, in September 2019, featured comments by LCSA Director Mark Rasmussen and Jeff Jensen, president of the Iowa Nut Growers Association. 

A story in Feedstuffs online highlighted findings of a Iowa Beef Center study comparing sustainable cattle production systems, a project originally funded by the center.