爱荷华州立大学利奥波德可持续农业中心成立于1987年，是爱荷华州地下水保护法的一部分。该中心的目标是确定和开发新的耕作方法，在保护自然资源的同时减少对环境和社会的负面影响。
该中心以奥尔多·利奥波德（1887-1948）的名字命名，他是爱荷华州伯灵顿人，在国际上以环保主义者、生态学家和教育家而闻名。他看到了发展土地伦理的必要性，这在他1949年的散文集《沙县年鉴》中有所概述。他认为需要明智地利用土地和水资源。这位国际知名的环保主义者、生态学家和教育家毕生致力于播下关于农业应该如何提高生产力但不干扰自然系统的思想种子。
该中心的使命包括一个教育部分，以告知农业社区和公众其30 +年的研究结果。利奥波德中心因其如何支持尖端研究而享誉全国，这为爱荷华州带来了重大红利，更清洁的水，更好的自然资源保护和更大的农业活力。
在1998年至2017年期间，利奥波德中心颁发了来自爱荷华州每个县的500多项竞争性赠款。这些奖项通常作为种子资金，为研究和示范项目、教育或规划和能力建设工作筹集其他资金，旨在为爱荷华州开发有利可图和可持续的农业系统。利奥波德中心的工作在爱荷华州及其他地区产生了影响。
Iowa State University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture was founded in 1987 as part of Iowa's groundwater protection law. The goal of the Centre is to identify and develop new farming methods that reduce negative environmental and social impacts while conserving natural resources.
The center is named after Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), a native of Burlington, Iowa, known internationally as an environmentalist, ecologist, and educator. He saw the need to develop a land ethic, which was outlined in his 1949 collection of essays, The Sand County Almanac. He believes that land and water resources need to be used wisely. The internationally renowned environmentalist, ecologist and educator has dedicated his life to planting the seeds of ideas about how agriculture should increase productivity without disturbing natural systems.
The center's mission includes an educational component to inform the farming community and the public about its 30+ years of research. The Leopold Center is nationally recognized for supporting cutting-edge research, which has brought significant dividends to Iowa, cleaner water, better natural resource conservation, and greater agricultural dynamism.
Between 1998 and 2017, the Leopold Center awarded more than 500 competitive grants from every county in Iowa. These awards often serve as seed funding to raise other funds for research and demonstration projects, education, or planning and capacity building efforts aimed at developing profitable and sustainable agricultural systems for Iowa. The work of the Leopold Center has had an impact in Iowa and beyond.