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Don't miss your chance to join the National Conservation Foundation's (NCF) 2026 Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) Cohort! Applications close this Friday, October 31, 2025.
NGLI is a year-long training program that equips cohort members with the skills needed to build a better tomorrow. Ideal candidates are elected or appointed district officials currently serving a conservation district who have exhibited strong leadership and would like to carry that leadership further into service of conservation districts.
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The program includes a gathering at the NACD Annual Meeting, a six-day, mid-year session, and virtual learning sessions throughout the year. If you have identified a candidate, or think you may be one yourself, check out the NCF website to see if NGLI might be the next step in your leadership journey!
Contact Keith Owen, NACD Director of Education, at keith-owen@nacdnet.org with any questions.
| CELEBRATE 80 YEARS OF NACD AT ANNUAL MEETING | |
NACD invites you to join us in San Antonio, Texas, for the 2026 Annual Meeting! Hosted in partnership with the Association of Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts, our 80th meeting will take place on February 15-19, 2026. Join us to celebrate this milestone anniversary and explore the meeting's theme, "Deep Roots, Bold Horizons."
Registration is now open! Don't let the opportunity pass by. Act now to get an early bird discounted rate.
Reminder, this year’s meeting will start one day later than past meetings. Please keep this schedule in mind as you are making travel arrangements. This means the first general session for all attendees will be held on Tuesday morning, February 17, not Monday.
All the details on registration and exclusive hotel discounts can be found on NACD's Annual Meeting webpage.
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For attendees traveling to San Antonio by plane, Delta Air Lines is pleased to offer special discounts! Click here to explore itineraries and book flights. You may also call Delta’s Conferences and Events® line at 1-800-328-1111 Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. ET and refer to Meeting Event Code NY3YA. There is no service fee for reservations booked and ticketed through this number.
If you have any questions or if you would like to explore sponsorship or exhibitor opportunities at the event, contact events@nacdnet.org.
| SUBMIT NOMINATIONS FOR NACD'S HALL OF DISTINCTION | |
NACD is proud to celebrate our members and their contributions to conservation, and one of the ways we do that is through our Hall of Distinction. Through NACD’s Hall of Distinction, state and territory associations can recognize current and past conservation leaders for their extraordinary work to advance conservation at the national level. States and territories may induct one person to the Hall of Distinction every year. Inductees are reviewed by NACD’s District & Partner Relations Committee and will be announced at the 2026 NACD Annual Meeting in San Antonio.
To make an induction, state and territory associations are asked to send NACD information via this online form by December 19, 2025. Learn more about the Hall of Distinction, including eligibility criteria, here.
| BOOST YOUR DISTRICT'S PROJECT WITH A FRIENDS OF NACD DISTRICT GRANT | |
Have you put in your application for a Friends of NACD District Grant yet? Applications are still being accepted through November 30!
We’re offering grants of up to $2,500 for districts or state associations with innovative approaches to locally led conservation. In the past, we have funded workshops, education programs, resource assessments, development of training materials, native plant installations, tree sales, and so much more. This could be exactly what you’ve been looking for to kickstart a new program or expand your operations into a new area.
To be eligible for a grant, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- District must have paid NACD membership dues at any level in the previous fiscal year;
- Projects must contribute to the mission of NACD;
- District must be able to complete proposed activities within 13 months of notification of award and commit to providing quarterly updates to NACD;
- District must not have been a previous recipient of a Friends of NACD grant.
Read the full request for proposals and eligibility criteria on NACD's website.
If you have any questions, please reach out to NACD Membership and Development Coordinator, Jackson Moody, at jackson-moody@nacdnet.org.
| WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON? GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE | |
The government shutdown has entered its fourth week as Senate legislators continue to be at an impasse and the House remains out of session. USDA has announced that November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments will be on hold due to the shutdown, adding additional pressure on lawmakers as roughly 42 million Americans on the program will be without benefits.
On October 21, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the Trump administration is planning to reopen around 2,100 Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices and resume core agency operations. USDA will also be distributing commodity program payments due to farmers this month, including payments under the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for those who signed up in 2024. Around $1.9 billion in ARC and $589 million in PLC payments were expected this year, according to the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.
On October 22, NACD sent a letter to Undersecretary of Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce applauding the reopening of FSA offices, while urging USDA to also resume NRCS operations and allow conservation districts access to shared office space.
Conservation districts are urged to document and communicate local impacts from the shutdown through NACD’s Impact Survey and to share stories directly with their Members of Congress. NACD emphasizes staying nonpartisan and focusing on how the shutdown affects conservation delivery, local communities, and producers. Full details, FAQs, and a sample outreach letter are available on NACD’s Members Only page.
This week, several Senate committees will be meeting to consider personnel nominations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USDA, and more. Learn more and watch the livestreams:
| NORTHEAST REGION BREAKOUT SESSION COVERS RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS FOR MANURE MANAGEMENT | |
The NACD Northeast Region Meeting was hosted by the New York Association of Conservation Districts on September 21-24, 2025. Attendees from all 12 Northeast states came to Syracuse, NY, to share and learn with fellow district supervisors, employees, and partners.
At the meeting, attendees gained a better understanding of New York State’s dairy industry and subsequent manure management through a breakout session focused on research partnerships in Delaware County, NY. New York State has prominent milk and grain production industries, meaning that efficient and effective manure management is important for the agricultural industry and the prominent water resources in the state.
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To address a lack of manure management resources in Delaware County, the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) partnered with multiple programs at Cornell University—the land-grant university in New York—including Cornell Pro Dairy and Nutrient Management Spear Program. Guided by preliminary listening sessions with local producers and the research and extension projects at Cornell, Delaware County SWCD applied for and received a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from NRCS to provide science-guided manure management prescriptions and precision manure application services. Producers applied to receive these benefits through the district’s CIG funded program.
At Cornell, researchers have developed guidance and tools for manure management that account for manure management practices, vegetation levels, and the time of planting to increase yields and decrease pollution. Using these tools and recommendations, Delaware County SWCD was able to make tailored manure management prescriptions for producers in the program based on a number of farm-specific factors.
The district contracted with Albanos Precision Application (APA), a company who could provide GPS-based manure application and shallow disk coulter manure injection in Delaware County. Farms participating in the district’s manure management program could then contract with this company to implement district-provided manure management prescriptions. The district worked with APA to use a cloud-based data platform to program manure application rate and mapping for the manure injectors or spreaders being used on participating farms. This allowed for manure application precision that was not available before in Delaware County. The producers were paid incentives for their participation to help cover the cost of the precision manure application.
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Finally, data—including nutrient loss modeling, historical manure spreading records analysis, and field and whole farm nutrient mass balance assessments—was collected from all the participating farms. This data will be used by Cornell’s on-farm manure research program, called the New York Value of Manure Project, to better understand the benefits of manure over fertilizer and how different application methods affect the results of manure spreading.
The goal of the district and their work through CIG is to prove to producers the value of precision manure application and encourage similar incentive programs moving forward. The funding from CIG also allowed Albanos Precision Application to establish services in Delaware County that were not available before this grant. The company intends to continue providing their services now that there is interest and preliminary funds available. The program created by the Delaware County SWCD is a fantastic example of innovative, sustainable, and accessible implementation of precision agriculture on small farms. This project is one of many exciting and innovative projects discussed at the Northeast Region Meeting and a shining example of conservation in the Northeast Region.
| | Join Special Conservation Coffee | |
During this special, one-hour Conservation Coffee, join NACD and the Placer County Resource Conservation District of California, as we learn from Kaila Anderson about the LandLogic Model℠, a culturally-tailored mental health model incorporating a producer's land, and how conservationists fit into the continuum of care for farmer's mental health.
Anderson, herself the product of a 5th generation farming family in Kansas, created the LandLogic Model℠ as a tool incorporating how a producer relates to their land with mental health interventions. Specifically, the LandLogic Model℠ has adapted many standard therapeutic practices into a tangible and relatable language for people who live and work off the land.
Join us on October 29, from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET. Registration is free online, and participants will be sent a zoom link once registered.
| Learn How GNA Helps Districts with Disaster Recovery | |
Discover how Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) is helping SWCDs team up with state and federal partners to tackle hurricane recovery in North Carolina on Thursday, October 30 from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar here.
GNA gives conservation districts a practical way to bring resources to their communities, expand implementation capacity, and shape forest and watershed restoration on federal lands. Hear the journey of this large-scale collaborative effort, including how partners are navigating opportunities and hurdles, bridging gaps between responders and communities, and removing substantial debris from national forests.
| Share Feedback on TA Grant Reporting Requirements | |
In coordination with NRCS, NACD is introducing a new reporting requirement to help capture the environmental outcomes achieved through conservation district technical assistance and tell the story about our impact.
Beginning with this funding round, grantees will be asked to include estimated environmental outcomes in their semi-annual reports, including anticipated:
- Tons of soil loss prevented annually
- Pounds of phosphorus loss prevented annually
- Pounds of total nitrogen loss prevented annually
Because this is a new reporting requirement, NACD is seeking your feedback to help guide the implementation of this pilot. Please complete our brief survey to share your input and help us understand the time, cost, and feasibility implications for your district. This will help inform more specific reporting and implementation requirements.
NACD anticipates hosting a webinar on this topic after the federal government reopens to review expectations and answer questions.
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NACD Sponsors
U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree
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NACD, in partnership with the Society of American Foresters, is one of this year's U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree sponsors!
An annual tradition, each year a tree is harvested from a national forest and transported to the U.S. Capitol for display on the West Lawn during the holiday season. The tree makes festive Whistlestops along the way in local communities.
This year's tree—Nevada's first—was harvested from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and is named Silver Belle.
Follow Silver Belle's journey to the Capitol on their website and join Whistlestop festivities in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kentucky!
| Apply for FTM's Resilient Futures Leadership Program | |
The Resilient Futures Leadership Program: Financing Sustainable Agriculture is a six-month experience that equips up to 30 professionals from financial and agricultural organizations with the knowledge and tools to drive sustainable agriculture. Through intensive training, field visits, and networking, participants will gain practical skills in regenerative practices, the agricultural value chain, sustainability metrics, policy considerations, and innovative finance.
The program, developed and run by Field to Market (FTM) and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, fosters cross-sector collaboration and builds a strong alumni network committed to advancing FTM's mission: mobilizing the agriculture value chain to support resilient ecosystems and enhance farmer livelihoods.
Learn more and apply on FTM's website.
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Join us on November 13, at 3:00 p.m. ET for a Conservation Coffee session that will teach you how to take advantage of your NACD Membership!
In this webinar, we’ll walk you through all the benefits of NACD membership, including accessing the members only page and using our new constituent portal to update your information. This will also be a great time for you to ask questions about NACD or learn how to get more involved in your national community!
As always, our Conservation Coffees are free to join and open to all. We hope to see you there! In the meantime, take a look at our archive of sessions on YouTube.
| Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day, or other events on NACD's Calendar of Events! | |
