News and Reports

Upcoming events feature writings of Leopold Center visionary Paul Johnson

Goodbye to Frederick Kirschenmann, former Leopold Center Director and Sustainable Agriculture Leader

Janke adds new role as Leopold Center associate director

This month, Adam Janke adds a new line to his job titles as the associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture (LCSA) at Iowa State University, where he is an associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources Ecology and Management and state wildlife specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

“I am very pleased to introduce Adam Janke in a new position with the Leopold Center,” said LCSA Interim Director Stephen Dinsmore. “I have developed great respect for Adam’s work at the intersection of water and wildlife conservation in agricultural landscapes. I look forward to working with him -- and having his support -- to keep the Leopold Center relevant and vital.”

Leopold Center 2024 annual report highlights relations between people and land

The 2024 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. The four-page report begins with messages from Interim Director Stephen Dinsmore, and Adam Janke, who will serve the center in a new role as associate director. The relation of people to the land is highlighted in many ways in the report’s news briefs and research summaries.

Through in-person and virtual discussions with farmers, extension specialists and each other, the unique Land Stewardship Leadership Academy (LSLA) helps early-career natural resource professionals in Iowa gain knowledge to build relationships with farmers and increase confidence in their skills as conservation professionals. Inspiration for LSLA came from awareness, backed up by research, that many people working at the interface between agriculture and conservation lack an agricultural background. LSLA is funded with support from ISU Extension and Outreach, the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, registration fees and travel and staff time of the participating organizations.

Trees and tiles: Quantifying ecosystem goods and services of saturated riparian forest buffers

Impacts of Disturbance on Central Iowa Forests (LCSA 2023-2025)

Mapping eco-geomorphic traits in floodplain plant communities

Iowa Learning Farms & Leopold Center: A 20 Year Success Story

Sustainable Cocoa farming and health in Uganda

Jonathan Lundgren to present 2025 Shivvers Memorial Lecture, Feb. 5

Award-winning scientist and pioneering farmer Jonathan Lundgren, will present the 2025 Shivvers Lecture on Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m., in the Sun Roon of Iowa State University’s Memorial Union. Lundgren, an agroecologist, farmer, rancher and beekeeper, is executive director of Ecdysis Foundation and CEO of Blue Dasher Farm, Estilline, South Dakota. His research and education programs aim to help applied science evolve in ways that foster the evolution of a regenerative food system. View a recording of this event.

ISU Neely-Kinyon Farm organic field day showcases great promise for organic crops

Leopold Center releases 2023 Annual Report

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.

Leopold Center Selects Pollinator Champion Jamie Beyer for Spencer Award

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.

2022 Iowa Farmland Ownership & Tenure Survey insights on ag land conservation

Iowa Learning Farms programs build a “Culture of Conservation”

Decoding Iowa Farmers Understanding of Edge-of-Field Conservation Practices: Evidence from Two Surveys in 2022 and 2023

Organic Pioneer John Reganold presents 2024 Shivvers Memorial Lecture, March 18

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.

Sustainability in corn production