Contacts:
Lorna Michael Butler, Wallace Chair for Sustainable Agriculture, (515) 294-6066
Frederick Kirschenmann, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, (515) 294-3711
John Pesek, Agronomy, (515) 294-2150
Susan Thompson, Agriculture Communications, (515) 294-0705

PESEK LECTURE FORUM TO FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

AMES, Iowa -- Sustainable agriculture is the focus of a new forum named for John Pesek, a retired Iowa State University agronomist who helped bring worldwide attention to the issue.

The John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture will feature Pesek, a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture, as its first lecturer. The two-day forum will be held March 1-2. Pesek's lecture, "From a Trail to a Path to Sustainable Agriculture," will be held March 1, 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Scheman Building of the Iowa State Center. A reception will follow.

The second day of the forum will be held at Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah beginning at 1:30 p.m. In the two-hour session, Pesek will outline the main points from his lecture, then open the floor for discussion. He will be joined by a panel of persons with diverse views on sustainability.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Lorna Michael Butler, the Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair for Sustainable Agriculture at ISU, said, "Sustainable agriculture is an issue that concerns all of us regardless of whether we farm, live in a city, operate a business, work in a restaurant or attend secondary school. I believe after you have heard John Pesek discuss this topic, you will have a better understanding of how we arrived at the type of agriculture we now have, and that you will want to think about the future."

Frederick Kirschenmann, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at ISU, said, "We are honored to have John Pesek lend his name to this effort. We will aspire to mirror his life-long commitment to excellence, his courage to explore new ideas and his untiring effort to serve the public good."

Pesek was head of Iowa State's agronomy department from 1964 to 1990. He served terms as president of both the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. His research led to a better understanding of the effects of farming practices on the environment.

In the late 1980s, Pesek chaired a National Research Council committee that produced "Alternative Agriculture," a groundbreaking report that documented how farming systems that used fewer pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics and fuel could be productive and profitable.

The Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair for Sustainable Agriculture and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture are the main sponsors of the Pesek colloquium, along with several other ISU programs, including the North Central Regional Rural Development Center, ISU Extension, International Agriculture Programs and the Agronomy Graduate Student Club.

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