266.39 - LEOPOLD CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE.
266.39 LEOPOLD CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE.
1. For the purposes of this section, "sustainable
agriculture" means the appropriate use of crop and livestock
systems and agricultural inputs supporting those activities which
maintain economic and social viability while preserving the high
productivity and quality of Iowa's land.
2. The Leopold center for sustainable agriculture is established
in the Iowa agricultural and home economics experiment station at
Iowa state university of science and technology. The center shall
conduct and sponsor research to identify and reduce negative
environmental and socio-economic impacts of agricultural practices.
The center also shall research and assist in developing emerging
alternative practices that are consistent with a sustainable
agriculture. The center shall develop in association with the Iowa
cooperative extension service in agriculture and home economics an
educational framework to inform the agricultural community and the
general public of its findings.
3. An advisory board is established consisting of the following
members:
a. Three persons from Iowa state university of science and
technology, appointed by its president.
b. Two persons from the state university of Iowa, appointed
by its president.
c. Two persons from the university of northern Iowa,
appointed by its president.
d. Two representatives of private colleges and universities
within the state, to be nominated by the Iowa association of
independent colleges and universities, and appointed by the Iowa
coordinating council for post-high school education.
e. One representative of the department of agriculture and
land stewardship, appointed by the secretary of agriculture.
f. One representative of the department of natural resources,
appointed by the director.
g. One man and one woman, actively engaged in agricultural
production, appointed by the state soil conservation committee.
h. Four persons actively engaged in agriculture who are
appointed by the titular head of each of the following agricultural
organizations:
(1) The Iowa farm bureau federation.
(2) The Iowa farmers union.
(3) The practical farmers of Iowa.
(4) The agribusiness association of Iowa.
The terms of the members shall begin and end as provided in
section 69.19 and any vacancy shall be filled by the original
appointing authority. The terms shall be for four years and shall be
staggered as determined by the president of Iowa state university of
science and technology. The members appointed by the titular heads
of agricultural organizations shall be reimbursed for actual and
necessary expenses incurred while engaged in their official duties,
but shall not be entitled to per diem compensation as authorized
under section 7E.6.
4. The Iowa agricultural and home economics experiment station
shall employ a director for the center, who shall be appointed by the
president of Iowa state university of science and technology. The
director of the center shall employ the necessary research and
support staff. The director and staff shall be employees of Iowa
state university of science and technology. No more than five
hundred thousand dollars of the funds received from the agriculture
management account annually shall be expended by the center for the
salaries and benefits of the employees of the center, including the
salary and benefits of the director. The remainder of the funds
received from the agriculture management account shall be used to
sponsor research grants and projects on a competitive basis from Iowa
colleges and universities and private nonprofit agencies and
foundations. The center may also solicit additional grants and
funding from public and private nonprofit agencies and foundations.
The director shall prepare an annual report.
5. The board shall provide the president of Iowa state university
of science and technology with a list of three candidates from which
the director shall be selected. The board shall provide an
additional list of three candidates if requested by the president.
The board shall advise the director in the development of a budget,
on the policies and procedures of the center, in the funding of
research grant proposals, and regarding program planning and review.
Section History: Recent Form
87 Acts, ch 225, §230; 99 Acts, ch 91, §1, 2