SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 7 P.M.

ISU LECTURE TO FOCUS ON CLIMATE, AGRICULTURE  AND SUSTAINABILITY

AMES, Iowa- No matter how you describe it, Iowa's climate is changing and 
the impact on Iowa agriculture will be very significant. Iowa State 
University professor Gene Takle will address this controversial issue, and 
how shifting weather patterns also are changing how Iowa farmers do 
business, at the annual Shivvers Memorial Lecture on Sunday, February 6.

Takle's lecture title poses the larger question: "Will Climate Change Impact 
the Sustainability of Iowa Farms?" The speech will begin at 7 p.m.in the Sun 
Room of ISU's Memorial Union.

Designing sustainable practices for managing today's landscapes under 
pressure for producing food, feed, fuel and fiber presents major challenges. 
However, designing sustainable practices that also are resilient under 
future climates adds a new dimension to these challenges. Takle, who has a 
dual appointment in ISU Agronomy and ISU Geological and Atmospheric 
Sciences, will outline some current and future threats to sustainability of 
resilient landscapes.

"Gene is internationally recognized as one of our leading climate scientists 
and he has given considerable attention to the impacts of climate change on 
agriculture, so his lecture should be of special interest to Iowa farmers," 
said Fred Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow for the Leopold Center of 
Sustainable Agriculture, which is co-sponsor of the event with the ISU 
Committee on Lectures.

Takle is the director of Iowa State's Climate Science Program and a member 
of the Iowa Climate Change Impacts Committee that recently submitted its 
report to the Iowa Legislature. The report details the impact of climate 
change in Iowa(details at www.energy.iowa.gov <http://www.energy.iowa.gov>).

The Shivvers lecture has been presented at ISU since 1969 in memory of John 
and Vera Shivvers, who farmed near Knoxville. The lectures focus on ways 
that agriculture can sustain rather than destroy natural resources, 
agriculture as part of the interdependent web. This year's lecture is part 
of ISU's Live Green! Sustainability Series.

###

This news release is on the Leopold Center website at:
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2011/011911_climate.html
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Iowa State University/209 Curtiss Hall
Ames, IA50011-1050
(515) 294-3711; FAX: (515) 294-9696
All news releases also are posted on the web site:
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu <http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/>
Or get the Leopold Center newsfeed: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/rss.xml

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