The land had been farmed right to the creek's edge, and the banks were eroding badly
"It looked like a moonscape," said Iowa State University professor Dick Schultz, who was part of a team of agronomists, foresters, geologists, wildlife biologists, economists and farmers who continue to do research at the site.
|
|
Schultz and other researchers saw the problems along the banks of Bear Creek, but they also saw an opportunity. Planting buffers, or strips of unplowed land with vegetation, would help prevent the agricultural runoff from polluting the creek. And those strips of land could also become "biomass plantations" with the planting of fast-growing trees and perennial grasses, and so it could provide some economic benefit to the landowner as well.
(That was 17 years ago; today the idea is much more in vogue, Schultz said.)
Nonhuman life in and around the creeks would also benefit. Pheasants, songbirds and fish are among the creatures that appreciate the diversity of vegetation that a buffer provides.
The results of the installation of buffers at Bear Creek were dramatic.
In just a few years, the creek banks were lush and green, covered with a diversity of native grasses, forbs, trees and shrubs. All the measurements of health had improved: better soils, better carbon sequestration, better infiltration, better stream temperatures and more.
Decisionmakers noticed.
From the success of the work at Bear Creek and at two other similar but unrelated research projects in Connecticut and Georgia that were started at about the same time, the buffer movement grew. Now "We Believe in Buffers" billboards dot the hillsides as a number of government agencies encourage their use, and buffers parallel many waterways across the state and country.
And none of this would have been possible without the help of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Schultz said.
While a buffer project might have seemed promising, it did not fit the typical research funding formulas. Most grants are funded for three or perhaps five years, Schultz said. But the trees that were important to the potential of using the buffers for biomass, even fast-growing ones, need longer than that to grow.
The Leopold Center had different parameters for funding, however, and allowed for a period of no data collection to let the plants get established.
"They took a gamble on that," Schultz said. "Had it not been for them, I don't think we could have gotten off the ground."
An unprecedented vision
This is the kind of success story a small group of legislators envisioned when they established the Leopold Center in 1987 - though at the time, such successes seemed far off with the problems of agriculture looming large. The farm economy had run aground; Farm Aid concerts were drawing the attention of the nation to the plight of family farmers. The effects of modern agriculture on the environment were also gaining notice: Suspicions that runoff from fields was causing high nitrate levels in drinking water, which had troubling health effects, were confirmed by studies.
Paul Johnson, of Decorah, then a state representative, was one of the people who came up with an innovative answer to these problems: A research institution for the state of Iowa that would work to reduce agriculture's negative impacts on the environment.
Other legislators involved in the planning were David Osterburg, Ralph Rosenberg and Sue Mullins.
"(The plan) was focused on research and education," Johnson said. "It was not highly regulatory. ... (The idea was,) rather than giving all the answers, let's put together a process that will help us search for the answers."
That plan was passed by the Iowa Legislature in 1987 as the Groundwater Protection Act. It included other initiatives for protecting groundwater such as dealing with landfills, underground storage tanks and household waste. Different parts of the plan were assigned to each of the regents universities; the center for sustainable agriculture was to find a home at Iowa State University.
Although nonprofits had been doing such work for some time, most of this was unprecedented on the state level, Johnson said.
Unheard of was the way the initiatives were to be funded: Through taxes on fertilizers and pesticides.
"It was unique legislation that has never been repeated," said Dennis Keeney, the center's first director. "No other state really settled down and taxed themselves to support a center like this."
Staying 'sustainable'
Even the use of the term "sustainable" was a new idea.
Keeney said he got a lot of feedback from his colleagues in the sciences when he took the position of director at the Leopold Center, and much of it was not positive.
"I got a lot of 'What in the world are you thinking?' letters," Keeney said. "A lot of my colleagues didn't think sustainability was a viable concept. ... When your own colleagues question your sanity, it shakes you up a bit."
They weren't the only ones doubting the sustainability of sustainable agriculture. Keeney guesses that at the time, well over a majority of Iowans thought sustainable agriculture would destroy Iowa agriculture. For a time, even the Leopold Center staff questioned whether they should use the term "sustainable," though they soon learned that the legislation that created the center tied them to that word; other agencies had not been able to get the funding they needed with that idea, Keeney said, and instead had to come up with words that didn't have such a negative connotation.
A home at ISU
The concept of sustainability has gained more widespread acceptance today, perhaps in part because of the Leopold Center's work. The center tries hard to involve the people it does research for, according to Johnson, which may have brought some of the antagonists into the sustainable fold.
The center also has a unique relationship with ISU's College of Agriculture. It is part of the college, but it has a separate mandate and separate funding stream (though this state funding has been cut in recent years, the center now pursues grant funding and donations as well). But much of the research work the center funds is done by ISU researchers, according to Fred Kirschenmann, who was the director of the center from 2000 to 2005 and remains a distinguished fellow of the center.
"But we have a different mandate, so the focus of our research is somewhat different" than work done in the rest of the College of Agriculture, Kirschenmann said. While the College of Ag focuses more on best management practices, the Leopold Center explores alternative systems. The work of one complements the other, he said.
Johnson is happy to see that.
"I'm very pleased with the fact that (the Leopold Center) has not been marginalized," Johnson said. "It's an integral part of Iowa State and the College of Agriculture."
And he's thrilled to see that progress continues to be made on the issues that spurred the Groundwater Protection Act, even as other environmental concerns emerge. The Leopold Center still supports many water quality initiatives, but it also does work on alternatives to animal confinement operations, diversification of agriculture, new markets for food products and more.
"It continues to evolve along with agriculture, which is as it should be," Johnson said.
Heidi Marttila-Losure can be reached at 232-2161, Ext. 352,
or hlosure@amestrib.com.
Mission and events
Mission statement:
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture explores and cultivates alternatives that secure healthier people and landscapes in Iowa and the nation.
For more information, go to www.leopold.iastate.edu.
Anniversary events
* "A Conversation with Wendell Berry," which will also include his daughter, Mary Berry Smith, will be at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 15, at the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Read more about this event in Tuesday's Tribune.
* A conference titled "Building the Past, Growing for the Future" honoring the Leopold Center's 20th anniversary will be Wednesday, July 11, in the Scheman Building in the Iowa State Center.
* A Dennis Keeney Distinguished Lecture will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, in Curtiss Auditorium. The speaker will be Robert Lawrence, founding director of the Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md.
Six guidelines will shape center's future
By William Dillon
Staff Writer
On Jan. 1, 2007, Jerry DeWitt began his three-year interim appointment as director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.
With rising land prices, a dramatic shift to an ethanol economy and the ripples it is creating in water and soil quality and the state's livestock industry, the center has laid out six steps that will shape its mission and the focus during Dewitt's tenure as director.
1 Work needs to continue to reflect a more diverse landscape. "The key is that we need to rethink our landscape," DeWitt said. Livestock must be a key component to that continued work, he said, focusing on the best way to reintroduce livestock to uphold the sustainability of the landscape.
2 Iowa's soil and water continues to need protection and renewal. A more diverse landscape would help water quality and soil quality by creating less of an erosion risk and less of a need for purchased inputs and pesticides, DeWitt said.
3 The needs of Iowa's midsize farmer. The center wants to look at how the midsize farms can grow to be more profitable, DeWitt said. It's the section farms, 640 acres or less, that are a target of the center. "We are concerned about a good number of the average size farms in Iowa," he said. "I think the greatest value to Iowa is to maintain and increase the family farms." DeWitt said an average of 1,500 farms are lost per year. "I cannot tell you a lot of good out of that," he said. "More people on the land equals more prospering people in the community."
4 A focus on the connection between health and food. "Consumers are becoming more aware of the implications of what they eat and their health," he said. "Why don't we grow for what the consumer wants to buy?" DeWitt is not implying that Iowa farmers grow everything that is consumed in Iowa, but to a better job than they are doing now. "If we listen to the trends and desires, it will drive change," he said.
5 Explore the role of energy conservation in the emerging bioeconomy. The center will push for the protection of soil and water quality in Iowa through various programs as the bioeconomy moves forward. The center views it as an opportunity, DeWitt said, to work with farmers on the topic of energy conservation, how to change the way farmers farm so that they are not so dependent on the oil economy. "We are talking about the possibility of rotations, alternative crops," he said. "In a sense, all of this ties back to the diverse landscape. It will need attitude changes."
6 A focus on local policies that support sustainability in Iowa. "The Farm Bill is important, but it does not solve all of the problems," DeWitt said. The center wants to produce data models and demonstrations that local legislators can invest in. "We can move faster locally than changes can be made in the farm bill," he added.
Some other notable projects from the Leopold Center:
BASIC SOIL TESTS
Work on a late-spring soil nitrate test and the P-index have given Iowa farmers more information about essential soil nutrients that helps them reduce costs and avoid over-application of nutrients.
Since 1992, more than $250,000 has been invested for soil nitrate test development and adoption in Iowa. Iowa's nitrogen use on corn dropped significantly between 1985 and 1995 - more than 12 percent. While per acre use varies greatly dependent on rainfall and other environmental factors from year to year, Iowa's rate of application has remained below that of other neighboring agricultural states.
HOOPED STRUCTURES
The Leopold Center led support for alternative swine production and housing systems (hooped structures) that has won international recognition.
More than 240 farms have been identified by the Pork Niche Market Working Group, and Iowa pork products have been showcased nationally. The Leopold Center project has led to research on hoops for beef cattle as an economical and environmentally friendly option for Iowa farmers.
LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS
The Leopold Center is a national leader in food systems research aimed at providing new options for adding value to Iowa cropland and is the most accessed Web site for information on local foods and the concept of "food miles."
The Leopold Center has written three reports that examine the number of miles that food travels after it leaves the farm, and leads the Value Chain Partnerships project to support new supply networks for farmer-led food, fiber and energy enterprises that follow sustainable practices.
LONG-TERM AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
The Long Term Agricultural Research initiative, started by the Leopold Center in 1998 at the Neely-Kinyon Research Farm near Greenfield, is believed to be the largest randomized, replicated comparison of organic and conventional crops in the nation.
The Neely-Kinyon Farm research is testing whether organic systems can provide stable yields, soil quality and plant protection. Those results are being compared with a corn-soybean rotation with greater levels of external, fossil-fuel based inputs. The rotations used on the organic plots have been corn-soybean-oat/alfalfa and corn-soybean-oat/alfalfa-alfalfa.
Leopold Center timeline
1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act signed by Gov. Terry Branstad.
1988 Dennis Keeney is chosen as the Center's first director.
1990 First Leopold Center conference celebrates opening of the center with Paul Johnson as the keynote speaker.
1995 Center moves offices to Curtiss Hall. World Wide Web site established.
1997 Marking 10 years since passage of the IGWPA, the center celebrates 1997 as the Year of Water. Branstad signs proclamation declaring Year of Water in Iowa; more than 70 groups sign on to participate and related programs continue throughout the state in 1997.
2000 Fred Kirschemann, North Dakota organic farmer and nationally known sustainable agriculture leader, becomes the Leopold Center's second director July 1.
2002 The Iowa Legislature transfers $1 million to the state's general fund from the Leopold Center's earmarked funding in the Groundwater Protection Act. The center will fund existing research projects but will seek no new research proposals during this fiscal year.
2005 On Nov. 1, Kirschenmann becomes Distinguished Fellow of the center. Jerry DeWitt, longtime ISU entomology professor and ISU Extension state sustainable agriculture coordinator, becomes interim director of the center for a two-year term.
2006 Jerry DeWitt accepts a three-year appointment as Leopold Center director.
2007 Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI ) honors the center at its annual conference, kicking off a year-long celebration of the center's 20th anniversary.
Who was Aldo Leopold, anyway?
Aldo Leopold, who was born in Burlington, is best known for his work "A Sand County Almanac," in which he outlines his land ethic. Leopold argued that the definition of community should be enlarged behind a place's human inhabitants to include all the creatures that live on the land, and the land itself.
"In short," he writes, "a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such."
The modern conservation movement has a taproot into his ideas. His philosophy continues to provoke changes in land stewardship, including at the many centers around the world that bear his name.
