Leopold Center News
September 13, 2024
Kathleen Delate and Sabrina Ruis discuss the organic corn crop this year, which is showing great promise, despite excessive rains in May, delaying planting and weed management.
August 9, 2024
AMES, Iowa -- The 2023 annual report from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, released this week, reviews an active year of Leopold-supported activities and research.
July 15, 2024
Jamie Beyer, an advocate for bees and conservation, has been selected as the 2024 winner of the Spencer Award, presented by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. This year's award presentation is planned for the annual meeting of the Conservation Districts of Iowa, Aug. 19, in Ames. Read Beyer's comments upon receiving the Spencer Award.
February 16, 2024
Award-winning researcher, educator and author John Reganold, Regents Professor of Soil Science and Agroecology at the Washington State University, will present the 2024 Shivvers Lecture on March 18, at 7:30 p.m., in Room 2226 Bessey Hall, 2200 Osborn Drive, on the Iowa State University campus.
The Shivvers Memorial Lecture—focused on issues of sustainability, agriculture and the food system—has been presented by the LCSA at Iowa State University since 1969 in honor of John Shivvers, who farmed near Knoxville, Iowa, with support from the Shivvers Family.
Of Interest
Evidence from surveys in 2022 and 2023 indicate that widespread adoption of edge-of-field (EOF) practices—such as saturated buffers, bioreactors, and water quality enhancement wetlands—is vital to achieving the goal of 45% nutrient reduction outlined in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. However, few farmers in the state have embraced EOF practices on their land. Read the report from a research project, Decoding Iowa Farmers’ Understanding of Edge-of-Field Conservation Practices, conducted by the Conservation Learning Group with support from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa Nutrient Research Center and State Soil and Water Quality Committee,
Findings from a Leopold Center-supported grant were reported in the article Cover crop mixtures versus single species: Water quality and cash crop yield by Emily Waring, Mark Licht, Elizabeth Ripley, Ann Staudt, Sara Carlson and Matthew Helmers, published in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (December 2022).
A 10-year field-scale study on the effects of winter rye cover crops on corn and soybean yields showed no significant impacts on cash crop yields attributable to cover crop use. The study by Iowa Learning Farms and Practical Farmers of Iowa was supported by state funders and LCSA.