Ice Sage

In this book of poetry, Levi embraces those questions witha whirlwind of visions. He takes us from the ice age to thefuture, to cultures around the world and back in time; fromstunning beauty to moments of horror; from purple coneflowersto stop signs; from the eternal change of seasons to thework of wasps and bees. He recognizes the challenges, but hiswords bend towards hope. There is peace, for him, in the roadto 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: Wheredid we come from? Where are we going? Where do we wantto go?As Levi wonders, 'Where will we set off walkin’ / beyonddreams by dawn / with our daughters on our backs?'                       ~Nick Ohde, Practical Farmers of IowaLevi Lyle grew up on a farm near Keota, Iowa, and graduatedfrom the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in ScienceEducation with an Environmental emphasis and a MAEin Post-Secondary Education. After ten years of teaching,counseling, and working as an academic advisor, Levi andhis wife Jill returned to the farm where they raise their fourchildren. Along with his interest in growing a variety of nativefruits, Levi and his family grow and distribute fresh Aroniaberries seasonally to local markets. Processing and marketingwild fruits is a passion that Levi feels brings balance to hisother agricultural endeavors. Levi has worked as an organicinspector and now consults on the topic of organic transition.He has been a local leader in conservation no-till farming usingroller crimping, a practice applied to cover crops that boostssequestration on the prairie ecosystem - a role once filled bythe buffalo in stampede. He passionately speaks about solvingthe global greenhouse gas dilemma by innovating Midwestfarm policy to allow farmers to lead.