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IA ag budget would close ISU’s Leopold Center

April 18, 2017, Ames, IA – Iowa State University‘s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture would be closed under a House-Senate agriculture bill unveiled April 12. The bill would cut the state’s general fund budget for state agriculture and natural resources programs by 5.6 percent compared to the current fiscal year.

The Majority of Republicans said the $38.8 million general fund budget for the 2018 state fiscal year would place a priority on water quality, producing food and keeping state parks open. But the legislation specifically proposes the elimination of the Leopold Center and it calls upon ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to oversee the process of winding up the center’s affairs. About $1.5 million in money previously directed to the Leopold Center would be shifted to ISU’s Nutrient Research Center. READ MORE