2/8/01

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, Communications Service, (515) 294-0705

DETAILS FINALIZED FOR PESEK COLLOQUIUM ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

AMES, Iowa -- Plans have been finalized for a new forum that will focus on sustainable agriculture. The John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture will feature Pesek, a retired Iowa State University agronomist, 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 in Ames.

The second day of the forum will be held March 2, 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah. 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.

Jerry DeWitt, interim director of agriculture and natural resources for ISU Extension, will serve as the panel facilitator. Panelists will be:

• Laura Jackson, University of Northern Iowa
• Robert Gronski, Catholic Rural Life Conference
• Tom Frantzen, Practical Farmers of Iowa
• Jed Becker, Northeast Iowa Community-based Dairy Foundation
• Adam Davis, ISU Agronomy Graduate Student Club

Both events are free and open to the public, and will be followed by receptions.

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 less 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, Practical Farmers of Iowa, the Agronomy Graduate Student Club, the ISU Student Farm and Vision 2020.

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