INHF Board Spotlight: Neil Hamilton
Posted on September 29, 2026 at 2:33 PM by Sydney Hunter
This blog series highlights and acknowledges our dedicated board members. Lending their time and talents on a volunteer basis for the protection of Iowa’s land, water and wildlife, INHF’s board members show an incredible amount of dedication and expertise. Our board members come from every region of the state, connecting our work with communities, landowners and organizations that help to make more conservation happen. See a full list of board members here and learn more about Neil Hamilton below!
Meet Board Member Neil Hamilton
Neil Hamilton is a leading authority on law’s role in shaping agriculture and food systems.
Hamilton joined the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation board in 1991 and currently serves on the Public Policy and Governance and Nominations committees.
Hamilton is an emeritus professor of law and the former director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University in Des Moines. He retired from full-time teaching in 2019 after 38 years focusing on agriculture and food law. Raised on his family farm in Adams County, he attended Iowa State University for Forestry and the University of Iowa for Law.
A sought-after advisor, Hamilton formerly served as the co-chair of the USDA Small Farms Advisory Committee and for 21 years on the advisory board for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. Hamilton was the chair of the Iowa Food Policy Council from 2000 to 2007 and also served on the boards of the Farmer’s Legal Action Group (FLAG) and the National Gardening Association. He is a former president of the American Agricultural Law Association and has served as a consultant for many international organizations such as the United Nations Development Program in China, the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew, the World Bank, and the International Potato Research Center in Lima, Peru. He currently chairs the board of Seed Savers Exchange.
Hamilton has authored numerous articles and books, including "The Land Remains,” (2022), "The River Knows” (2023), and "Through Nature's Lens” (2025). He and his wife Khanh own Sunstead Farm near Waukee, Iowa, and raise produce and flowers for local restaurants.
