The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is an important hub of interdisciplinary, hands-on, community-based research training the next generation of farmers, teachers, scientists, and community leaders.
We were not surprised to learn that the Center was pivotal in attracting students to Iowa and ISU. We also weren’t surprised that the Center uses its funding to generate an exponential amount of research, funding, leadership, and programs that have changed career and life paths, our landscape, and our communities.
Here are just a selection of the powerful statements we heard from current and former students:
“I’m a farmer in eastern Iowa, both urban and rural. My husband and I recently moved back to our family’s 500 acre cow/calf and corn/soy farm. As a direct result of the research completed by recipients of awards from the Leopold Center, I am able to access and share science which directly relates to on-farm decisions that are relevant to our family’s farm management. It helps us make better choices and stay informed, shaping us as beginning farmers and land stewards. In addition, I manage an urban farm in Dubuque which provides food to a community free-meal program 365 days a year. The Ag Urbanism toolkit and the LC’s other work with food systems are essential resources in addressing community needs and impacts for urban farms.” Ashley Noonan, Bernard, IA
“The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture provided crucial funding for my PhD program in agronomy and sustainable agriculture. They’ve also supported programs for scores of my colleagues who work on crop rotations, cover crops, water quality, agroecology and socio-economic concerns. I am now the research and field crops director at Practical Farmers of Iowa–a farmer-member organization that spans the state and spans farm production systems. The Leopold Center supported my graduate studies that trained me to be a scientist and prepared me for my position today. I currently work with farmers to design on-farm research trials to test farm practices that seek to improve both the farmers’ productivity, stewardship and bottom line. Support from the Leopold Center while in graduate school was vital to preparing me for my current position.” Stefan Gailans, Ames, IA
“My graduate education in Community and Regional Planning and Sustainable Agriculture was funded through a Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Policy Initiative grant. We created a guidebook aimed at addressing local zoning issues in regards to a variety of urban agriculture practices. Our research outlined best practices and provided guidance on how to manage health, safety, and welfare concerns associated with local food production. From keeping chickens to managing an urban farm, this research provides valuable information for local jurisdictions and those interested in practicing these activities to find common ground and craft informed regulations. The Leopold Center is instrumental in bridging disciplines in support of a robust and diverse food system. CALS would not be able to provide the support the Leopold Center does in funding projects that provide cross-cutting research on scientific, economic, and policy issues related to agriculture.” Andrea Vaage, Des Moines, IA
“Since 2014, I’ve worked as the Farm Marketing Specialist for Global Greens, a program of Lutheran Services in Iowa that reconnects farmers who came to the U.S. with refugee status to the land. The Leopold Center was instrumental in the creation of this program – providing our initial planning grant – and has continued to be a crucial support as Global Greens has moved from being a great idea to the important and successful reality it is today. We now support over 200 families in accessing community gardens and growing food – especially produce that can’t be found in stores – for their families and are helping 24 families grow their market farming businesses. In 2016, these families made over $60,000 in sales to their neighbors in the Des Moines area – providing income to the farmers and healthy food to the community. The Leopold Center has helped LSI in our efforts to give these farmers an opportunity to share their knowledge, gifts, and passion for agriculture with their new neighbors. I am also a board member and former employee of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network. The Leopold Center has been instrumental in providing funding for much of the important work done by WFAN, which exists so that women can give each other the information, connections, and encouragement they need to be effective practitioners and supporters of sustainable agriculture and healthy localized food systems. Women are leaders in the sustainable agriculture movement, and the Leopold Center has funded WFAN’s programming to provide research opportunities and education for women farmers, landowners, and food system practitioners. This funding is so important to the women who benefit from this programming as well as to the future of the land and people of Iowa.” Jess Soulis, Des Moines, IA
“Without the Leopold Center, I would not be in Iowa, and I definitely would not be pursuing my PhD at Iowa State University.” Robert Valek, Ames, IA
“The Leopold Center has been incredibly important in my professional life; they funded the project I worked on as a research assistant while a senior in college (1999-2000) on composting swine bedding from hoop barns. The Leopold Center came up with the initial funds in 1990 for the Bear Creek riparian buffer project that I was privileged to work on full-time as Research Associate from 2003-2012. The Bear Creek watershed has been recognized as a National Restoration Demonstration Watershed by the US EPA and as a National Research and Demonstration Area by the USDA, and was the model for the riparian forest buffer Conservation Reserve Program practice. Because of the support of the Leopold Center, people nationally and internationally, know not only how riparian buffers can protect soil and water quality, but also how they increase wildlife habitat and can be a source of niche agricultural products. The Leopold Center also helped fund my M.S. thesis research on soil quality under long-established riparian buffers; the results of this research support keeping buffers in place longer than standard Conservation Reserve Program contracts allow. There are over 400 projects that have been funded in the past 30 years by the Leopold Center, and only a portion of those are related to soil and water conservation. Diverting the funds dedicated to the Leopold Center would mean that issues important to diversifying Iowa’s agricultural base, such as integrated pest management, alternative livestock systems, and growing and marketing niche crops, would not be researched.” Leigh Ann Long, Ames, IA
“Currently my research seeks to foster local food systems and increase community food security in Iowa. One-in-eight Iowans experiences food insecurity, and Iowa ranks last in the nation in fruit and vegetable consumption. That means that for many Iowans, accessing fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables is not an easy option. I work with communities across the state, in rural and urban areas, to build up community donation gardening practices. My research focuses on how communities can work together to build the networks, relationships, capacities, and skillsets needed to increase locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables distributed at food pantries, senior citizen centers, schools, and other food access sites. Beyond direct financial support of my research, the Leopold Center has helped shape this work by having housed local foods research, education, and outreach at Iowa State University and continuing to support that work at the university and across the state. They have demonstrated the vital connection between a robust local food system and a more sustainable agriculture in Iowa, for example convening the Regional Food Systems Working Group, conducting numerous food system assessments in Iowa, funding marketing research on the economic impact of local foods, and developing marketing and promotion efforts for local and regional food businesses. There is no doubt in my mind that the Leopold Center has been at the forefront of developing the local foods movement in Iowa, a movement that is helping Iowans grow stronger and healthier and making Iowa agriculture more socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable.” Carrie Chennault, Ames, IA
“The biggest way the LC has helped me shape my path was by making me move (and stay) in Iowa. I am now a resident of Iowa, pay my taxes and vote here. At the Leopold Center, I learned the importance of research, the necessity of a space to incubate projects that drive rural economies (food hubs, strips, farm to school, farm incubators, etc.). I currently work for a national nonprofit, and am on the Board of Directors of a food hub in Northeast Iowa.” Alice Topaloff, Decorah, IA
“Through a work-study program, the Leopold Center gave me the opportunity to work directly with a rural community (Perry) to strengthen its local food economy. Without the Leopold Center’s leadership, rural communities across Iowa, such as Perry, would not have access to the resources and knowledge they need to build vibrant local food economies. Through its leadership in convening region-specific local food working groups, the Leopold Center has developed a model of collaboration that we are trying to replicate in the rural South. Through its research and collaborative partnership building, the Leopold Center has made Iowa a national leader in building local food economies.” JOhn Dean, Alexandria, LA
“LCSA funded my PhD research. This support was absolutely necessary for being able to conduct this work, which focused on land use options for bioenergy production, and proper citing of these for maximizing environmental benefits for Iowa’s farmers. I work for the USDA helping land managers (farmers, foresters, ranchers) incorporate climate change into their management decision making.” Todd Ontl, Houghton, MI