Project Reports
Project Lead/Researchers:
Jacqueline Comito, research manager, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering/ director, Iowa Learning Farms/Water Rocks!
The Leopold Center continued to provide support for Iowa Learning Farms and its affiliated Water Rocks! Youth education programs in 2023. Through its unique blend of in-person and online activities, Iowa Learning Farms vigorously continues to pursue its mission of building a Culture of Conservation in Iowa and making science- and research-based best practices in agriculture, land management and environmental science available to all.
In 2023, Iowa Learning Farms hosted 23 in-person field days, 7 Conservation On Tap events, 3 virtual field days and 51 webinars, reaching 11,147 total participants. Iowa Learning Farms reached an additional 6,178 people through 68 Conservation Station trailer appearances at such events as county fairs and community festivals, and 899 people through 25 supplemental outreach events ranging from guest presentations to listening sessions.
Iowa Learning Farms’ diverse offerings of events have proven to successfully connect with participants. The success of the virtual programs compliments the need for in-person engagement, offering a tremendous opportunity to expand the Culture of Conservation reach to a wider group of farmers, landowners and conservation influencers across Iowa and beyond.
As in the comments in the conclusions of ILF’s 2023 Evaluation Report: Building a Culture of Conservation:
Influencing human behavior in relationship to environmental issues such as conservation and clean water is one of the most difficult challenges faced by our state. It is important to understand how much farmers are exposed to conservation and water quality messaging and how often the status quo is reinforced by what they read and hear. The challenge isn’t the farmers who are coming to our field days. The challenge is the vast number of farmers who are staying home and having their beliefs reinforced that high yields trump conservation.
Read ILF’s complete 2023 report, available at https://www.iowalearningfarms.org, under the tab Reports/2023 Evaluation Report.