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Arbuckle receives multiple accolades from the Soil and Water Conservation Society

The Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny, Iowa, recently announced that J. Gordon Arbuckle, professor of sociology, is the recipient of two individual conservation awards and a third group award for 2020. The society presents awards annually to individuals and organizations who have made outstanding contributions in advocating and advancing the conservation of soil, water and related natural resources.

Arbuckle, along with Gabrielle Roesch-McNally, an Iowa State alumna and Women for the Land Director at American Farmland Trust, received the Best Research Paper for Impact and Quality Award for “Cover crop adoption in Iowa: The role of perceived practice characteristics.” The paper was published in the November 2015 Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

Arbuckle also received the Conservation Research Award for his research efforts, which have led to exceptional improvements in soil and water conservation, and related natural resources research.

A team of interdisciplinary Iowa State researchers, with Arbuckle as team member, also earned the Conservation Innovation Award. This award recognizes an outstanding activity, product or service by a group, business, firm, corporation or organization that promotes natural resource conservation. Iowa State, along with partners such as the Tallgrass Prairie Center and the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, was recognized for the research and extension project, “Science-based Trials and Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips,” also known as the STRIPS project. Other Iowa State researchers involved with the project include Lisa Schulte Moore, professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management; Matt Helmers, director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and Dean’s Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Matt Liebman, professor of agronomy.

Arbuckle is honored to be recognized for his ongoing research in numerous conservation efforts.

“As an extension sociologist, I try to conduct research that has practical implications and helps stakeholders to improve their programs and policies,” Arbuckle said. “These awards are evidence that my research is having an impact.”