Vendu Ice Sage: Living and Loving the Land by Lyle, Levi NEUF

In this book of poetry, Levi embraces those questions with

a whirlwind of visions. He takes us from the ice age to the

future, to cultures around the world and back in time; from

stunning beauty to moments of horror; from purple coneflowers

to stop signs; from the eternal change of seasons to the

work of wasps and bees. He recognizes the challenges, but his

words bend towards hope. There is peace, for him, in the road

to resilience - the clover, the earthworms, the dirt staying put,

the rye pollen in the spring.

But more than anything, his visions force us to ask: Where

did we come from? Where are we going? Where do we want

to go?

As Levi wonders, "Where will we set off walkin / beyond

dreams by dawn / with our daughters on our backs?"

Nick Ohde, Practical Farmers of Iowa

Levi Lyle grew up on a farm near Keota, Iowa, and graduated

from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Science

Education with an Environmental emphasis and a MAE

in Post-Secondary Education. After ten years of teaching,

counseling, and working as an academic advisor, Levi and

his wife Jill returned to the farm where they raise their four

children. Along with his interest in growing a variety of native

fruits, Levi and his family grow and distribute fresh Aronia

berries seasonally to local markets. Processing and marketing

wild fruits is a passion that Levi feels brings balance to his

other agricultural endeavors. Levi has worked as an organic

inspector and now consults on the topic of organic transition.

He has been a local leader in conservation no-till farming using

roller crimping, a practice applied to cover crops that boosts

sequestration on the prairie ecosystem - a role once filled by

the buffalo in stampede. He passionately speaks about solving

the global greenhouse gas dilemma by innovating Midwest

farm policy to allow farmers to lead.