Opening Plenary

Fred Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Ames IA, 515-294-5588, leopold1@iastate.edu

Topic Area 1. Status and trends in types of agricultural systems, inputs, productivity, profitability, environmental indicators, and rural demographics and economics.

Lead – John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri, Columbia MO, 573-874-0408, jeikerd@centurytel.net

Oral 1 – Jon Hanson, USDA – Agricultural Research Service, Mandan ND, 701-667-3010, jon.hanson@ars.usda.gov

Hanson JD, Hendrickson JR. Toward a sustainable agriculture

Oral 2 – William Phillips, USDA – Agricultural Research Service, El Reno OK, 405-262-5291, bill.phillips@ars.usda.gov

Phillips WA, Horn GW, Northup BK, Damron WS. Challenges and opportunities for forage based beef cattle production systems

Topic Area 2. Environmental, social, and economic benefits of mixed grassland landscapes to include farm level, rural community, and broad social perspectives.

Lead – Deborah E. Popper, Associate Professor of Geography, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, Staten Island NY, 718-982-2664, popper@mail.csi.cuny.edu

Frank J. Popper, Professor, Planning and Public Policy Program, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University

Oral 1 – Laura Paine, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Madison WI, 608-224-5120, laura.paine@wi.gov

Paine LK. Case histories of grassfed market development in the Upper Midwest

Oral 2 – Matt Sanderson, USDA – Agricultural Research Service, University Park PA, 814-865-1067, matt.sanderson@ars.usda.gov

Sanderson MA, Adler PR, Goslee SC, Soder KJ, Skinner RH. Managing forage and grazing lands for multiple ecosystem services

Topic Area 3. Factors driving change in grassland environments (e.g., resource availability, demographics, social dynamics, economics, climate change, farm, environmental and energy policy, and local zoning/farmland preservation)

Lead – Vivien Gore Allen, Thornton Distinguished Chair, Department of Plant & Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX, 806-742-1625, vivien.allen@ttu.edu

Oral 1 – J. Gordon Arbuckle Jr., Iowa State University, Ames IA, 515-294-1497, Arbuckle@iastate.edu

Arbuckle JG. Cattle and trees don’t mix!: Agri-environmental paradigms and silvopasture agroforestry

Oral 2 – Ted Huffman, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa ON, 613-759-1846, huffmant@agr.gc.ca

Huffman T, Saha B. Farming system changes in the prairie grassland ecoregions of Canada, 1991-2006

Topic Area 4. Assessment tools for monitoring and predicting changes and to support scenario analyses of alternatives and tradeoffs.

Lead – Dennis Ojima, Senior Scholar, The H John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment, Washington DC, 202-552-4705, ojima@heinzctr.org

Oral 1 – Fred Iutzi, Western Illinois University, Macomb IL, 309-298-1522, f-iutzi@wiu.edu

Iutzi F, Brown R. Planning tools for multifunctional food, feed, and fuel cropping systems

Oral 2 – John Quinn, University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE, 402-480-2077, jquinn2@unl.edu

Quinn J, Brandle J, Johnson RJ. Development of a healthy farm index to measure and restore ecological, economic, and social function to organic and sustainable farms in Nebraska’s four agroecoregions

Topic Area 5. Science and policy needed to sustain agriculture in mixed grassland environments, including role of marketbased tools, state and local water laws and policies, and environmental trades (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, water allocation, effluent releases).

Lead – George Boody, Executive Director, Land Stewardship Project, White Bear Lake MN, 651-653-0618, gboody@landstewardshipproject.org

Oral 1 – Andrew Sharpley, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR, 479-575-5721, sharpley@uark.edu

Herron S, Sharpley A. Outcomes of phosphorus-based nutrient management in the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed

Oral 2 – Carole Jett, Blackwood’s Group, Washington DC, 202-409-7911, jettwoman@gmail.com

Jett C, Lawrence P, Lawrence D. The 2008 farm bill: Grasslands policy opportunities

Closing plenary

Jean Steiner, Laboratory Director, USDA – Agricultural Research Service, El Reno OK, 405-262-5291, jean.steiner@ars.usda.gov

Craig Cox, Executive Director, Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny IA, 515-289-2331, craig.cox@swcs.org