A new podcast series out of Iowa features conversations with farmers, artists, researchers, and activists who are using arts and storytelling to talk about climate and agriculture in Iowa. 

“The Art of Climate Dialogue” podcast series is hosted by community-engaged artist Vivian M. Cook. 

Congratulations to Lisa Schulte-Moore, SUSAG affiliated faculty member, for being the first ISU faculty member to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. 

The Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture would like to congratulate our 2021 graduates who are going on to do great things in their next steps:

Congratulations to J. Arbuckle, SUSAG affiliated faculty member from Sociology, who has received the Early Achievement in Extension or Professional Practice award. This award recognizes a faculty or staff member who has demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in extension or professional practice usually early in his or her career.

Join GPSA members for a celebration of Aldo Leopold's work at Ada Hayden Heritage Park this Sunday, March 21 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. Readers will stop at memorial stones around the park to feature selected works from the conservation icon. More details from the organizers:

For the past 12 years Ames has celebrated Aldo Leopold’s contributions to American conservation through reading his essays in a community event, “Ames Reads Leopold.” Aldo Leopold is widely acknowledged as the father of wildlife conservation in America. Although Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac was first published in 1949, his words continue to be as poignant today as then. In 2021 with the coronavirus pandemic still impacting our country and local community, Ames Reads Leopold is going on a walk to lessen Covid-19 potential. 

Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture alum Dr. Gabrielle Roesch-McNally was recently quoted in an article in the online publication Civil Eats regarding the relationship between farmers and land-owners. Dr. Roesch-McNally now heads the Women of the Land Program at American Farmland Trust in Washington, DC. In the article she helps give more context on the subject through results of some research that American Farmland Trust has done to better understand the dynamic between land ownership and agriculture.

As communities continue to struggle with the ongoing global pandemic, food security continues to be an issue. At times, grocery stores have been overwhelmed and many are still looking for where their next meal might come from. Food at First is a perishable food pantry operating out of First Christian Church in downtown Ames. In addition to distributing food, the non-profit also provides free, "no questions asked" meals to anyone who might be hungry. Distributing over 25,000 meals per year, the program is a solid pillar contributing to food security in Ames and Central Iowa. Members of the Sustainable Agriculture Students Association (SASA) have assisted with this program for years and have adapted to assist throughout the pandemic.

Faculty within the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture have recently been awarded $1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to investigate the relationship between manure management and antibiotic resistance. Dr. Michelle Soupir and Dr. Daniel Andersen from the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems engineering will address the linkages between the emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria and the application of fertilizer on Iowa farms. To do this, the team will take manure samples from pig farms across Iowa, those that have been exposed to antibiotics, and those that have not. The team hopes to "connect the dots" to see if those antibiotics used translate to those that are present in soil samples from crop fields.

Research conducted by a team of faculty and students within the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture was recently featured in the Ames Tribune. The team is comprised of GPSA faculty including Dr. Christina Gish Hill, Dr. Marshall McDaniel, Dr. Ajay Nair, Dr. Donna Winham and graduate students Derrick Kapayou, and Emma Herrighty. The team has partnered with the Jante, Omaha, Dakota, Ojibew, Oneida, and Menominee nations to investigate and quantify the benefits of the Native American intercropping practice of planting corn, beans, and squash (or "Three Sisters") together. The project has indicated positive impacts on soil quality during trials at Iowa State's Horticultural Research Station.

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin – Seven students in the graduate program for Sustainable Agriculture traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin to attend the 2020 MOSES Conference. Presented by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, the conference is one of the largest annual sustainable agriculture events in the Midwest and brings together farmers, academics, and anyone interested in making food systems more sustainable. Throughout the event, students were able to learn more about advancements in the field, as well as share their expertise to other attendees.