Iowa State occupies an enviable position as the state’s land-grant institution, charged with the unique mission to educate the people of the state in practical subjects and to dispense its knowledge and research throughout Iowa.

That status should render all centers of agricultural science as sacred cows on campus, because diminishing the ability of the state’s land-grant institution to generate and disseminate original agricultural knowledge undermines the school’s mission.

It seems the Iowa Legislature thinks differently. By cutting $1 million from the budget of the Leopold Center, Iowa State’s home for sustainable agriculture, state legislators are eviscerating the body for research and discussion for more environmentally sound agricultural practices in the state.

Never mind that one study showed that every dollar the Leopold Center invested in a community produced eight.

Iowa Senate Majority Leader Iverson thinks the Leopold Center should throw itself at the mercy of the corporate world to get the funding it requires. It’s entirely implausible to suggest a center dedicated to environmentally friendly small-scale agriculture can secure grants from large corporations which would stand to benefit little from the center’s research.

Do legislators value the small, family farm so little that they will not continue to fund the premier sustainable agriculture center in the nation? Are the nitrate and phosphate levels in our streams so low that we can afford to disembowel an institution dedicated to clean water? Are the interests of the citizens of Iowa so aligned with corporations that the only way agricultural research can be done in this state is if it supported by companies that like to fund research that fits nicely with their needs?

Unlike colleagues in other departments, those affiliated with the Leopold Center could count on public money to pursue research that might directly oppose the interests of large chemical companies or corporate farms.

What of the graduate students in the newly-formed master’s and Ph.D. programs in sustainable agriculture? Will the students stay or the program survive without the Leopold Center to provide the hands-on learning and research opportunities?

Iowa is a state with mounting environmental problems. It nearly ranks dead last in venture capital. Slashing a program that has a proven track record for enhancing Iowa’s economy and protecting its resources is a poor way to sustain a balanced budget.

Editorial Board: Dave Roepke, Erin Randolph, Charlie Weaver, Megan Hinds, Rachel Faber Machacha