Success Stories in Sustainable Agriculture: Helping Iowa Producers

Leopold Center support over three years has helped Ajay Nair, assistant professor in Horticulture, set up the ISU Sustainable Vegetable Production Lab, a research and education program to help small producers in Iowa

The Economic Impact of Iowa\u27s 2014 Local Food Champions

These are stories of nine local food champions who support development of local food systems in Iowa. These profiles were produced for an evaluation of the Regional Food Systems Working Group (RFSWG)

Increasing Chinese chestnut primary nut weight and bur production by hand removal of secondary burs

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on November 11, 2008)Includes bibliographical references.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Horticulture.Treatments were imposed on shoots of 'Orrin' and 'Willamette' Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) trees to characterize vegetative characteristics of bearing branches and to determine the effect of secondary (2o) bur removal on primary (1o) nut weight and 1o bur production in the subsequent year. Treatments imposed in 2006 included hand removal of 2o burs on shoots bearing 1o and 2o burs (R), 2o burs not removed on shoots bearing 1o and 2o burs (N), and labeling of shoots bearing 1o burs only (PO). Treatments were imposed on shoots with equal numbers of 1o burs to ensure a similar crop load of 1o nuts. In 2006, R and N treatments had greater shoot diameters, lengths, and numbers of leaves than those of PO treatments. R treatments on 'Orrin' trees had greater 1o nut weight per shoot than the other two treatments. Results for 'Willamette' trees were generally similar to those of 'Orrin' trees. In 2007, R treatments on 'Orrin' produced a greater number of bearing shoots, which generally had more 1o burs per shoot than the other treatments. Following an April 2007 freeze, 'Willamette' trees produced few 1o burs but produced a saleable crop of 2o nuts, whereas 2o nuts produced in 2006 were unmarketable due to low nut weights

Impact Snapshot: Local Food & Farm Initiative Program Outcomes and Impacts, 2011–2014

In July, 2011, the legislature passed Senate File 509, creating the Iowa Local Food & Farm Initiative (LFFI). The LFFI was created to strengthen local food economies that promote self-sufficiency and job growth in the agricultural and allied sectors. The legislature allocated $150,000 to LFFI in 2012 and 2013 ($75,000 each year), of which 30 to 35 percent was applied to a competitive grants program in 2012 and 2013. The LFFI has funded seven local foods projects focused on the areas of business development; beginning, minority, and transitioning farmers; and development of farm to institution sales. This impact brief shows how modest investments can leverage additional funds, create economic opportunity, benefit youth, increase awareness of local foods, and prompt new partnerships and projects

Food Hub Development in Iowa

This 25-page report is from the first coordinated study of food hub development in Iowa. Two surveys of food hub managers and local food coordinators identified 31 food hubs or centers of food hub-related activity that serve Iowa markets. Work was funded by a grant from Ag Ventures Alliance and the USDA\u27s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program with support from the Leopold Center

Impact Brief: 2013 Economic Impacts of Iowa\u27s Regional Food Systems Working Group

This is a summary of an 18-page report: 2013 Economic Impacts of Iowa\u27s Regional Food Systems Working Group. The report looks at the statewide impact of the local foods sector on Iowa\u27s economy, based on data collected in 2012 and 2013 by local food coordinators who are part of RFSWG

On the meridional heat transport and its partition between the atmosphere and oceans

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-196).In this thesis I study the meridional heat transport of the climate system and its partition between the atmosphere and oceans using models and data. I focus on three primary questions: (1) What is the total heat transport and its partition between the two fluids? (2) What sets the magnitude of the total heat transport and to what extent is it sensitive to the details of atmospheric and oceanic circulation? (3) How robust is the partition of heat transport between the two fluids and how sensitive is it to bathymetric constraints on ocean circulation? For these studies I employ a series of aqua-planet calculations using a coupled atmosphere-ocean-ice model in which idealized ocean basins impose various geometrical constraints on ocean circulation. A wide range of ocean heat transports and heat transport partitions are found, but with more modest variations in the total heat transport. Differences in the total heat transport are associated with the presence or absence of polar ice which is found to be sensitive to the ability of the ocean to carry heat to high latitudes. These model results, as well as data, are analyzed in the context of earlier work suggesting that the total meridional heat transport should be insensitive to the details of the atmospheric and oceanic circulation. The heat transport partitions in these aqua-planet calculations are also analyzed. The calculations all feature the same gross partition as the present climate with the ocean dominating near the equator and the atmosphere dominating at middle and high latitudes. While this suggests that this overall partition may be a robust feature of the climate system, there are important differences associated with the presence or absence of a meridional barrier to zonal flow in the ocean.(cont.) These results are diagnosed in the context of simple models and scalings which compare the strength of the atmospheric and oceanic circulations and the energy contrasts across the flows. Parallels are drawn with present and paleo climate. Finally, I produce a new estimate of the total meridional heat transport employing the method of minimum variance estimation, data from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System instruments, and a prior estimate. This new estimate yields a peak poleward heat transport of 5.6 ± 0.8 PW at 35°N and 35°S with a northward transport of 0.1 ± 0.9 PW at the equator. This represents a 27% reduction in the standard error relative to the prior estimate. An estimate of the partition is made using direct ocean heat transport estimates with the atmospheric component computed as a residual.by Daniel Enderton.Ph.D