9/27/01

Contacts:
Fred Kirschenmann, Leopold Center, (515) 294-3711
Mike Duffy, Leopold Center, (515) 294-3711
Laura Miller, Leopold Center Communications, (515) 294-5272

LEOPOLD CENTER SEEKS PROJECTS, PARTNERS FOR NEW INITIATIVES

AMES, Iowa - After more than a year of contemplation and conversations with hundreds of farmers, educators, researchers, business people and national leaders in sustainable agriculture, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is issuing a call for projects and partners to support three new initiatives.

The Leopold Center's new initiatives focus on ecology, marketing and policy. Ideas for concepts, projects, partnerships or innovative research in these areas must be submitted by Oct. 31.

"These initiatives represent a new direction for the Leopold Center that will attempt to use what we have learned about sustainable agriculture during the past 12 years to bring about meaningful change in Iowa," said Fred Kirschenmann, center director.

Kirschenmann said it is critical that discussions about projects and partnerships begin soon. In a series of community conversations with more than 200 Iowans last spring, there was a sense of urgency to help midsize farmers and processors who are struggling to survive under difficult economic conditions.

The call for projects, partners and research replaces the Leopold Center's call for competitive grant projects, formerly issued in July. New competitive grant projects were put on hold this year in response to a 15 percent cut in the center's annual operating budget that occurred during the 2001 state legislative session. Grants that fund 42 research projects already underway will be honored through June 30, 2002.

The Leopold Center encourages proposals that involve farmers and producers.

"We really want to bring farmers' interests and ideas to bear in these new programs," Kirschenmann said. "We want our programs and projects to have on-the-ground applications, so farmer involvement is important."

Although there are no restrictions on partners or collaborators, the primary contact person for proposals must be associated with an Iowa nonprofit organization or educational institutions, such as soil and water conservation districts, schools and regional development groups.

For more information, contact the Leopold Center, Iowa State University, 209 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1050, phone (515) 294-3711, or on the web at http://www.leopold.iastate.edu. A special E-mail address has been set up to handle questions and process requests, leopold-rfp@iastate.edu.

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