When officials from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture first called Fred Kirschenmann in 2000, the idea of leaving his North Dakota farm hadn’t crossed his mind.

Or so he thought.

For the most part, opportunities seem to fall out of the sky for Kirschenmann, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

He didn’t seek out Iowa State. They did the courting.

“My whole life has been that way. I’ve never planned for a career,” Kirschenmann said. “It’s been in my face, and then I had to make a decision about it.”

The Leopold Center teaches farmers to be environmentally sound while making a profit at the same time. Kirschenmann said caring for the land is equally important to caring for neighbors and one’s relationship with God.

“We are losing three pounds of soil for every one pound of corn produced,” he said. “We have a responsibility to include care for the land with our relationship to God and people.”

When Kirschenmann got a call from the center in 2000, he and his wife, Carolyn Raffensperger, had roots in North Dakota, and leaving wasn’t an option.

His mind changed about taking the position after meeting with various groups on campus.

“The group that most impressed me was the sustainable agriculture one,” Kirschenmann said. “I left that meeting with the idea that I didn’t want to miss an opportunity like this.”

He said he was especially impressed with the graduate students in sustainable agriculture.

“They are passionate and want to make a difference,” he said.

Kirschenmann and Raffensperger have overcome obstacles to get where they are. At the same Kirschenmann was being interviewed by Iowa State, Kirschenmann learned he had prostate cancer. Out of 30 applicants, Iowa State offered Kirschenmann the job despite his diagnosis. Raffensperger stayed on their North Dakota farm one more winter before joining Kirschenmann in Ames.

Michael Duffy, assistant director of the center since 1991, said it’s been very enjoyable working with Kirschenmann. His hands-on knowledge of farming has been instrumental to the center, Duffy said.

Kirschenmann credits others, including David Vetter, whom he met while directing a consortium for graduate students in Dayton, Ohio.

He said Vetter wanted to have a “ministry to the soil” and use his own farm in Nebraska to help other farmers practice a more environmentally responsible type of farming. Kirschenmann said Vetter taught him organically managed soil was much better, denser and richer when farmed without pesticides.

“This was the late ’60s, and a lot of college students wanted to make a contribution to society, but they were suspicious of organized establishments,” he said.

Kirschenmann said Vetter wanted to make his contribution through organic farming.

“I asked my father about this,” he said.

Kirschenmann’s father was farming at the family farm in North Dakota. At the time he was an industrial farmer, using pesticides to control weeds and soil quality. He had an opportunity to farm the land next door when a neighbor fell ill.

“The neighbor didn’t use fertilizers,” he said. “Father kept production separate and began to recognize the quality of his neighbor’s crops was better than his.”

In 1976, his father had a mild heart attack and stopped farming. Kirschenmann said he told his dad if he could farm it organically, he would come home to farm it.

Kirschenmann incorporates the sustainable agriculture philosophy into his day-to-day life, as well as his farming practices.

“We decided a few years ago after we were married to internalize on the farm what we do,” he said.

They use few outside sources on their farm and even try and buy locally used farm equipment. There are no pesticides sprayed on their crops.

“We sell all our grain for human consumption, not animals,” he said. “We use broken kernels not suitable for food quality as part of the feed for our livestock, and then the waste by-products become fertilizer.”

Another aspect of sustainable agriculture is the diversity in planting crops.

“We plant both warm-season crops, like buckwheat, and cool-season crops, like wheat,” Kirschenmann said. “If we were specialized and only grew wheat, last year’s drought would’ve had a far worse impact on us.”

While in Ames, Kirschenmann and Raffensperger have had to be more creative in order to live out their beliefs. Their wooded lot prevents them from having the large garden they enjoyed in North Dakota.

“We buy shares in two CSAs [community-supported agriculture],” he said. “You accept whatever the farm produces, and in that way you share the risks with the farmer.”

Duffy said sustainable agriculture is an approach to agriculture that looks at farm profitability, environmental impacts and the impact of agriculture on the community. Those involved with the Leopold Center all try to live out what they teach in a variety of ways.

“There are some things that I do that others don’t,” Duffy said. “I won’t eat veal, and there are certain places I won’t shop.”

Kirschenmann can wax eloquent on the value of the land beneath him as well as the various projects the Leopold Center is tackling. The center took a huge budget cut last year. The Iowa Legislature cut one million dollars from a $1.25 million budget.

“The cuts did two things,” Kirschenmann said. “First, it prevented funding for new research and second, it discouraged researchers in their efforts to put together plans if money wouldn’t be there in the future.”

The Leopold Center is changing its focus to take what they know and apply it in the community. Lorna Butler, professor of anthropology and sociology, said the center has been instrumental in trying to shape new alternatives for farmers instead of them just working with large corporations. One way it is doing this is through the Kellogg project.

“The Kellogg project is about building alliances with the processor, retailer, distributor and consumer, so the farmer can retain more of the profit,” she said.

Duffy said farmers get about 19 cents on the dollar for the food they produce.

“People are buying convenience, processing and advertising,” he said.

Butler said the budget cuts affected the Kellogg project because cuts have made the Kellogg Foundation officials hesitate in their funding initiative.

“When you lose legislative funds it affects other things,” she said. Initially, Kellogg was going to give $700,000 and instead only gave $100,000 to the project.

“We started on the project right away so a month ago Kellogg gave the remaining $600,000,” she said. “They saw the Leopold Center was serious.”

Mark Hanna, extension agricultural engineer with Iowa State, helps design more efficient manure spreaders and other earth friendly equipment.

He has collaborated with the Leopold Center on a number of projects. He is a commuter and chooses to drive a fuel efficient car in order to be more environmentally sound.

“I have driven a 4-cylinder subcompact vehicle for 25 years,” Hanna said. “I’m also pretty aware when buying things like paint or oil. I only buy what I need to minimize waste.”

He said most farmers view themselves as stewards of the land and are interested in being environmentally friendly.

“I think Fred’s been the one who has tried to lead with a vision and paint a picture of different avenues this state could go,” he said.

“He’s traveled in and out of state to get the message of sustainable agriculture out.”