WEST BRANCH, Iowa – The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust has recognized Denise O’Brien of Atlantic with its 2018 Leadership Appreciation Award.  “As a SILT co-founder, Denise has been committed to our organization’s values and goals even before its very start,” said executive director Suzan Erem. “We appreciate her leadership, guidance, tremendous knowledge and commitment to sustainable agriculture more than words can say. Hers is a commitment that extends far beyond her involvement with SILT to a life’s work in support of sustainability and women in agriculture.”

O’Brien, who has served as SILT’s vice president since January, was honored at SILT’s annual Foodie Fest in Windsor Heights. The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust currently protects five farms across the state, providing land for farmers who produce healthy, locally grown food and offering solutions to families who want to protect their land from development. O’Brien and her husband, Larry Harris, operate Rolling Acres, a community supported agriculture farm that includes three acres of fruits and vegetables and six acres of apples. They also raise organic chickens and turkeys.

O’Brien, who was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000, grew up in Atlantic before attending the University of Iowa and Creighton University. She has lobbied with the Iowa Farm Unity Coalition, directed the Rural Women’s Leadership Development Project of PrairieFire Rural Action, Inc. and was president of the National Family Farm Coalition. She co-founded the Women Food and Agriculture Network in 1997, is a former W.F. Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellow and a former U.S. Department of Agriculture advisor in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. “A guiding principle in my career has been the unwavering belief that we must all do the right thing by protecting our land and water. A key part of that commitment is to help young people who want to practice sustainable and regenerative agriculture can afford to get started,” O’Brien said. “That’s why I’ve been devoted my energy to SILT and I encourage others to take up this important cause.”

Through SILT, property owners can protect their land by donating some or all of an acreage or farm, or placing a land protection agreement on their deed. Depending on location, SILT will protect parcels as few as five acres or as many as 500 or more acres. On donated farms, SILT offers long-term leases that farmers can pass on to their children and grandchildren, so long as they want to farm the land sustainably. The farmers earn equity in the house, barns and business they can cash out when selling to the next farmer for that land. On farms protected by land protection agreements, families retain ownership of their land. Future farmers have the opportunity to purchase the land at an estimated half of its value on the market, because it comes with sustainable food production requirements that SILT monitors and enforces for generations to come.

Additional information is available here: silt.org