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Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
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April 12, 2017 |
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Conservation Update
March 30, 2017 - April 12, 2017
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IASWCD News
LAST CALL . . . Interested in helping IASWCD plan
for the 2018 Annual SWCD Conference?
The time commitment includes this April meeting and then a few hours after the meeting helping us con
tact speakers and fine-tuning the topics. If you are interested,
please RSVP to: Amy Work at amy-work@iaswcd.org
Conference Planning Meeting:
Monday, April 24
9:30 am to 3:30 pm
Indiana Farm Bureau Building, downtown Indianapolis
River Friendly Farmer applications due June 16
Annually, each county Soil and Water Conservation District may nominate up to two farmers who do an outstanding job of protecting their rivers, lakes and streams through their every day
conservation management practices on the farm. Watershed orga
nizations also may nominate farmers for the award by submitting an application to a county SWCD. The winners of this award receive a metal sign to display on their properties letting others know about their efforts in keeping Indiana's waterways clean; as well as a ribbon and certificate. The River-Friendly Farmer Award Ceremony will take place at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on August 16, Farmer's Day. Farmers/Landowners and their families will be invited to attend as well as District staff and supervisors and ICP leaders. The RFF application and questions may be viewed on the
IASWCD website
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Shoutout
to
Elkhart County SWCD
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Presentation by SWCD staff |
In January,
Elkhart County SWCD held their
first ever rain barre
l construction party. Twenty-one county residents participated and took home rain barrels that day that were assembled with guidance from the SWCD staff. All parts for these working rain barrels were pr
ovided for under $10 each.
The "
Build-A-Barrel
Workshop," aptly named, was such a success that there was a waiting list and they hope to repeat this event again this year.
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| Assembly of rain barrels by Elkhart County residents |
Fun had by all!
CCSI
Working with Small Farms Workshop
Tuesday, April 25
10 am - 3 pm
Fulton County Public Library, Rochester, IN
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NACD News
Help Amplify the Voice of Conservation
istration's push to "encourage private sector conservation planning," it's more importa
nt than ever that conservation leaders contact their members of Congress.
emplates to help you contact Congress and advocate for issues important to conservation districts.
Right now, it is critical Congress hears directly from you why Conservation Technical Assist
ance (CTA) funding is crucial to this country's conservation delivery system. If CTA were to be eliminated or severely reduced, it would drastically hinder the ability of conservation districts and our partners to deliver conservation assistance in communities nationwide. Whether you serve on your local district board, are a landowner who has benefited from technical assistance, or are just someone who cares about conserving our natural resources, Congress needs to hear from you. For more talking points,
click here
.
Celebrating NACD's 62nd Stewardship Week:
April 30 - May 7
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ISDA News
Indiana Agriculture INSIDER
Check out ISDA's latest monthly newsletter, Indiana Agriculture INSIDER, featuring highlights from National Agriculture Day at the Indiana Statehouse and a great article regarding INField Advantage.
Indiana State Soil Conservation Board
N
ext Meeting: Monday, May 22
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USDA News
Library of Images & PowerPoint Presentations Available
USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program
has accumulated over
1,500 images of cover crops and soil health
. District's are free to download and disseminate these photos as part of their educational outreach efforts. In addition to SARE's
Cover Crop Image Library
, the program also offers educators and producers free, ready-made PowerPoint presentations on cover crop topics and soil health illustrations. F
or additional resources on cover crops from SARE,
click here
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USDA-NRCS News
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Indiana NRCS Accepting Second Round Applications to Improve Water Quality in Mississippi River Basin
Indianapolis, IN, March 29, 2017- Jane Hardisty, State Conservationist for Indiana's USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that NRCS is accepting applications until May 18 to be considered for second round funding to improve water quality in targeted high priority watersheds in the Mississippi River Basin.This program helps fund conservation practices that will reduce loss of nutrients and sediment to waters that eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico.
MRBI watersheds include:
USDA offers renewal options
for expiring Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts
NRCS is accepting applications for agricultural producers wanting to renew existing Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts. The renewal is for an additional five
years if they agree to adopt additional activities to achieve higher levels of conservation on their lands. Applications to renew expiring contracts are due by
May 5.
NRCS made several updates to the popular program last fall to help producers improve the health and productivity of working lands.
Through CSP, agricultural producers and forest landowners earn payments for actively managing, maintaining, and expanding conservation activities like cover crops, buffer strips, pollinator and beneficial insect habitat, and soil health building activities - all while maintaining active agricultural production on their land. Read more...
2017 NCSS National Conference, Boise, Idaho (June 25-29)
Call for Oral and Poster Presentations
The Science Committee for this year's biennial NCSS Conference invites abstracts for oral and poster presentations. Presenters have the option to submit abstracts for oral presentations or poster presentations only, or both. General and specific topics should relate to Soil Survey and/or Ecological Sites.
- Oral presentations will consist of 5 to 15 minute lightning round talks, 5 to 15 minutes in length, depending on the number of presentations
- Poster presentations will be held on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Poster size should be 4x4 feet or smaller.
- NOTE: All accepted oral and poster presenters are required to register and pay registration fees.
- Please send abstracts to jenny.sutherland@lin.usda.gov.
- Deadline for submitting abstracts is Friday, May 5, 2017. Clearly describe the work in 150 to 250 words. Include a descriptive title and list all authors and their affiliations (along with any other required information). During the first week of June, each primary presenter will be notified of the scheduled time for their presentation.
For more information about the conference,
click here.
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IDEA News
Save the Date! IDEA Fall Conference
October 11-13, 2017 in West Lafayette
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Purdue Extension
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR),
Purdue University
Training: Native Warm Season Grass Establishment and Management
May 16 - West Lafayette, IN
May 18 - Farmland, IN
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Resources
Funding Opportunity with EPRI
The Ohio River Basin Water Quality Trade Initiative project seeks forestry (i.e. tree planting) as a best management practices to reduce nutrient runoff and enhance ecosystem function on farmland in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. The project will also consider funding non-forestry practices that complement the forestry practice to further reduce nutrient runoff.
Read more...
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Other News
Grazing for the Future Conference featuring Dr. Pol
August 17-18
Clifty Inn, Madison, IN
Ripley & Jefferson County SWCD's along with Historic Hoosier Hills are excited to announce the Grazing for the Future Conference agenda is complete and registration is open! Our featured speakers include reality TV Veterinarian, Dr. Pol from the National Geographic channel, Blaine Hitzfield, with Seven Sons Farms and Ben Bartlett, Holistic Management International.
For the month of April we are opening the Grazing for the Future conference
 registration for our partnership. Starting May 1st we will begin publicizing this to the general public. Our hope is that this will allow time for you to obtain supervisor/board approval. After all, our partnership is the key to our success here in Indiana, so why not allow you to register first. The registration link is active on this
Eventbrite link. It is also active for the public (just not advertised yet) so if you have a guest wanting to attend with you they can register at the same time. You can also register by filling out the
registration on the brochure and mailing a check to Historic Hoosier Hills at PO Box 407, Versailles, IN 47042. Full conference registration is $65 and includes dinner and breakfast. For the meal/evening only with Dr. Pol it is $40 and includes only the dinner. There are limited number of rooms available at Clifty Inn so book early!
See details...
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