Ecology initiative 

What's New | Projects | Reports | Resources | About | Grassland Ag

This initiative supports a wide range of research and demonstration anchored in the development of ecologically friendly production systems, systems that are more resilient and less costly to farmers, communities and the environment. This includes identifying how farming practices can use free ecosystem services, enhance biodiversity, and use natural processes as models to increase agricultural productivity.

What’s new

• Flood lessons  Preliminary results show that even young perennial plants can minimize soil erosion in crop fields when planted in the right places. More  Watch a video about the project.
  
  

• New web site  The Midwest Cover Crops Council has launched a new web site with resources for farmers in eight states. The Leopold Center is part of this group. Iowa farmers with experience growing cover crops are invited to share information at this site. The Iowa coordinator is Sarah Carlson at Practical Farmers of Iowa, (515) 232-5661 or sarah@practicalfarmers.org. More info on our cover crops resource page.
   

• Grazing, wildlife Leopold Center research at the Adams County CRP Farm near Corning has resulted in a new publication, Benefits of Grazing CRP for Recreational Landowners [PDF]. The publication discusses how to manage land for pasture and wildlife habitat. More
   

Projects

• 2008 competitive grants  Read about six newest grants of the initiative. Grants for ten ongoing projects also were renewed. Read descriptions of projects and profiles of the people who will be doing the work.
  
  Earlier projects of the initiative  Read about projects that began in 2007, 2006 and 2004.
   

• Grassland Agriculture is a program area of the Ecology Initiative designed to identify and address the barriers to the development of grass-based systems in Iowa agriculture. South central Iowa farmer John Sellers, Jr. of Corydon coordinates grass-based activities and outreach that inform the program. Recent special projects include support for an upcoming CRP use survey and the management handbook for the Iowa Beef Center cow-calf risk management series.
   

• Boone River Watershed is a multi-partner, performance-based project that focuses on producer participation in development of land treatment and water management systems. One goal is to define local responses to environmental standards that also reflect agricultural objectives.
  
  Gordon's Marsh case study: The Ecology Initiative is funding this study of the social and economic climate that led to voluntarily implemented water management practices. Results will be used to develop estimates of associated costs and benefits and incentive gaps to encourage this kind of community-driven land use change.
  
  Baseline study: The Ecology Initiative is contributing funds for this work that will begin the process of integrating soil and water conservation models with economic models. The long-term goal is to estimate costs and incentive gaps that might encourage or discourage adoption of specific water and soil management practices.
   

• Internet decision-making tools, I-FARM, and Excel spreadsheet tool FARM-OR are both supported by the Ecology Initiative.
  
  I-FARM allows producers to create "what-if" scenarios on virtual or actual farms containing both crop and livestock enterprises. Users can also evaluate the impact of conservation incentives on these "virtual" farmsteads.
  
  FARM-OR (an acronym for Farm Optimization and Risk Analysis) is still under development. It is designed to assess price and production risks for Iowa family-sized farms looking for alternative crop and livestock enterprises. The tool combines linear programming (to get an optimal enterprise mix) with repetitive simulation (to provide risk analysis of the mix over time).
   

• Support for producers  Producers who have an interest in forage-related enterprises can apply for a limited amount of funds to attend educational conferences and workshops. More
   

• Re-issue of the 1948 USDA Yearbook of Agriculture, GRASS. With a special grant from the Wallace Genetics Foundation, Inc. and a national planning team, the Ecology Initiative is spearheading a re-issue of what is widely held as a landmark yearbook in the series. An editorial committee headed by former ISU agronomy professor Walt Wedin coordinates the planning team.
   

• Targeted projects  The Ecology Initiative supports a number of special research projects in areas specific to initiative goals and objectives.
  
  Sustainable biomass feedstock production, 1 year beginning April 2006, Matt Liebman, ISU Department of Agronomy; Project summary [PDF] News release (8-24-06) [PDF]
  
  Other funds are being used for: Living Mulch in Corn-Soybean-Forage Cropping Systems, Feasibility of Double-cropping Field Peas in Southeast Iowa, Expanding Farm Options with a Fall-calving System, Cover Crop User Survey, and Evaluating the Green Lands Blue Waters Work.
   

• Green Lands Blue Waters work
  In Iowa ~
  The Ecology Initiative directs an Iowa coordinating committee and stakeholder learning group that will help define an Iowa role in the multi-state Green Lands Blue Waters (GLBW) consortium. Committee members represent agencies and individuals involved in Iowa agriculture. They meet quarterly to learn more about viable alternatives to increase both environmental and economic productivity for farmers. Eventually this group will discuss possibilities for partnerships in watershed level work. More about the Iowa group
  
  In the Region ~
  The Ecology Initiative partners with multiple universities, agencies and nongovernmental organizations in the Green Lands Blue Waters (GLBW) consortium. GLBW is a long-term comprehensive effort to support development of and transition to food and agricultural systems in the Mississippi River Basin that integrate more perennial plants and other continuous living cover into the agricultural landscape. One project of the consortium is to organize a stakeholder network in the basin. This includes survey and mapping of nutrient management efforts throughout the basin and conducting stakeholder workshops. This group is a partner in Rivermap.org.
   

• Agricultural Systems Initiative.  The Leopold Center is a partner in the ISU College of Agriculture's new initiative. Projects will focus on improving soil and water resources and associated landscapes through designing systems that make better use of ecological relationships to improve economic and/or resource use efficiencies

Reports

• New publication  Leopold Center research at the Adams County CRP Farm near Corning has resulted in a new publication, Benefits of Grazing CRP for Recreational Landowners [PDF]. The publication discusses how to manage land for pasture and wildlife habitat.
  
  

• Building low-cost dairies  ISU Extension dairy specialist Larry Tranel has used a Leopold Center grant to show how to turn a stall barn into a low-cost dairy parlor. Hear and see his presentation. Find related resources. 
   

• Clear Creek Watershed: 150 years of landscape change  This fact sheet summarizes the findings of a Leopold Center Ecology Initiative grant (E28-2004) that looked at landscape changes in the Clear Creek watershed in east central Iowa since 1940 using aerial photos and historical records. More information is available on the ISU Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department web site. December 2006
  
  Grass-based meat  This project used consumer focus groups to refine the marketing message for grass-based meat. Teaching materials also are available using information from the focus groups and case studies. More
   

• Weed Seed Predation in Agricultural Fields [PDF], February 2006.  This ISU Agronomy research bulletin discusses results of research funded by the Leopold Center Ecology Initiative and the USDA National Research Initiative.
   

• Re-integrating crop and livestock enterprises in three northern states  The Leopold Center was among the many partners collaborating on this four-year USDA project. During the course of the project, the research team interviewed several innovative farmers who agreed to share their stories. Read the stories.
   

• Bird use of rotationally grazed pasture, 2003 E6
   

• Squaw Creek watershed social assessment: Values, beliefs and perceptions of water quality and landscape change, 2003 E1
   

Resources

• Sweet on Silvopasture  This issue of Inside Agroforestry published by the USDA's National Agroforestry Center, is devoted to silvopasture systems that combine trees, forage and livestock. Updates on recent research, success stories and how to transition are included. Winter 2007. More resources on the National Agroforestry Center web site
   

• Environmental benefits and management of small grain winter cover crops in corn-soybean rotations  March 2007 presentation [NOTE: file is 5.7 MB in size]. Includes results from 2006 cover crop use survey funded by the Ecology Initiative, as well as other work in Iowa on cover crops. Researchers in Michigan are taking the lead in activating a Midwest cover crops working group. In Iowa, participants are from ISU, the Leopold Center, Practical Farmers of Iowa and the National Soil Tilth Laboratory. Contact: Rick Exner,  PFI program specialist, (515) 294-5486, dnexner@iastate.edu.
   

• Cover crop resources and related web sites  Resources compiled by the Leopold Center Ecology Initiative
   

• Mississippi Monitor  This is a publication of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium located in Dubuque. Sign up on their web site to receive the newsletter or download the most recent issue here [PDF].
   

• Rivermap.org  This is a web site designed to map and summarize the various efforts in the Mississippi River Basin on issues related to nutrient management and hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. The project is a partnership between the Mississippi River Basin Alliance, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Leopold Center, Green Lands Blue Waters and the Sustainability Institute. It is supported through funds from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Bush Foundation and McKnight Foundation. More
   

• I want to put some conservation practices on my land. What programs are available to help me?  The Natural Resources Conservation Service has assembled a guide for Iowa landowners that gives an an overview of all the programs offering financial and technical assistance to implement conservation practices on private lands. More
   

• The science of alternative fuels  This is a January 2006 presentation to the Iowa General Assembly by faculty experts from Iowa's public universities about ethanol, biodiesel and other bio-based alternative fuels. Issues addressed included energy balance, performance, tax incentives, mandates and sustainability. View presentation [PDF]
   

• How to Direct Market Your Beef   This 96-page book from the Sustainable Agriculture Network includes information about processing, labeling, packaging, sales outlets and marketing basics. A section of feature stories profiles successful agricultural entrepreneurs. Order a copy or download a PDF
   

• CRP Land: It's in your hands  This publication prepared by the Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service takes landowners through three options for a 120-acre plot. [NOTE: PDF is 2.15 MB in size.] February 2006
   

• Weed Emergence Sequences: Knowledge to guide scouting and control shows common weeds at various stages of emergence. The research was funded by the Leopold Center. Posters can be ordered from ISU Extension (ask for IPM 64).
   

• Pasture Management Guide.  The Leopold Center funded development of this 104-page guide that includes colorful photos, worksheets and other information for beginning graziers. Available from ISU Extension, ask for PM 1713. Order form [PDF]
   

• Lessons Learned from Bear Creek   This poster, designed by the Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service, highlights key results of this long-term project that was started by the Leopold Center's  Agroecology Issue Team in 1990. [NOTE: PDF is 3.5 MB in size.]
   

• Tune-up for Grass-based Beef Production and Marketing, January 2006 workshop sponsored by the Leopold Center Ecology Initiative and Practical Farmers of Iowa
   

• The Farm as Natural Habitat, October 2005 Shivvers Memorial Lecture, Laura Jackson, University of Northern Iowa biologist

About the initiative

• The Ecology Initiative vision is of a "new generation" food and agricultural system that meets the challenges of the 21st century with more productive and profitable farms, ecologically resilient landscapes, and healthy rural communities.
   

• The Ecology Initiative supports research, demonstration and outreach projects that range in scale from subwatershed and landscape to field and plot. The common thread in the work is to support the kinds of transitions that will need to be made to move us to the “new generation” vision.
   

• Initiative overview, printable version [PDF]