Last week, NACD held its 74th Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev. Joined by over 1,000 conservation district representatives, partners and conservation leaders, this year's meeting was an incredible success, and we are excited by everything we accomplished and look forward to all the work we have ahead of us.

Worried that you missed a moment from this year's annual meeting? Have no fear — we've got you covered! Check out our 2020 Annual Meeting Hub for press releases, photos, daily digests and much more!

Thank you to all who made this year's meeting a success, including our speakers, sponsors, meeting attendees and exhibitors. On behalf of NACD's officer team: we couldn't have done it without you, and we look forward to seeing you all very soon in North Dakota!

NACD OFFICERS COMPLETE SYNGENTA'S LAIB PROGRAM

NACD President-elect Michael Crowder and NACD Second Vice President Kim LaFleur joined over 50 farm leaders from 11 national commodity and other farm associations at Leadership At Its Best (LAIB), a Syngenta-sponsored professional development program helping current and future U.S. agriculture leaders improve their skills to more effectively advocate for American agriculture. The industry-recognized program was held Jan. 27-31, 2020, at the Syngenta Innovation Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C. and in Washington, D.C.

 

“Through LAIB, Syngenta has been training future leaders in agriculture for more than 30 years—with over 4,600 people trained so far, and counting,” said Mary Kay Thatcher , Senior Lead for Federal Government Relations at Syngenta. “Agriculture faces complex challenges and our program helps farmers learn skills to answer the call and stand up for our industry.”

 

Each year, a diverse class, which includes dozens of farmers, processors and agriculture retailers, attends LAIB to develop skill sets needed to be confident ambassadors of agriculture. Many LAIB alumni have gone on to become leaders in their organizations, spokespersons for American agriculture and government officials.

 

This annual training program promotes cross-organizational exchange with various commodity and trade associations. The Syngenta curriculum model enables participants to begin their learning experience prior to arrival and continue after they depart, with online engagement following the formal program.

To learn more and view the full release, click here .

CLARK CD, WASH.

In 2016, NACD, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), awarded funding to the Clark Conservation District (CD) in Washington State to help establish the Clark Food and Farm Network (CFFN) project. The goal of CFFN is to provide technical assistance and support for urban agriculture by creating multiple avenues for community engagement with farmers, organizations and residents interested in conservation, agriculture and access to local food.

Urban agriculture can have significant cumulative natural resource impacts. Small acreage farmers, community gardeners and backyard gardeners may be more familiar with growing produce than practices such as cover crops or rotation. CFFN offers additional benefits through technical assistance for agroecological issues such as soil and water conservation practices, biodiversity and crop health.

CFFN also provides the underserved community improved access to food through information and assistance, as well as the knowledge and local contacts for community members to successfully grow their own food.

This project included input from multiple agricultural and food industry representatives, natural resource and community partners, farmers and other individuals to gather their needs and ideas, and for information-sharing across organizations. Open houses and community meetings were held to encourage public involvement. Outreach was conducted through electronic and printed flyers sent to partners' mailing lists, as well as at community events with unique stand-up displays and table-top displays at partner offices.

Used primarily as a resource website, users can easily navigate local contacts, recipes using locally grown foods, an interactive map, farm discussion and sales, and information about agriculture and local food. They can also use the contacts to request more site-specific technical assistance and guidance.

Visit their website at www.clarkfoodandfarm.org. Learn more about  the project  on NACD's website.

Have You Taken NACD's Annual Meeting Survey?

If you haven't already, please don't forget to take our 2020 Annual Meeting survey!

We love your feedback, and it helps us gain insight on what you liked about this year's meeting and how we can make improvements in the future. To take the survey, click here or on the button below.

Field to Market Announces New Officers

On Feb. 6, Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture announced the election of new officers for the organization's Board of Directors, including NACD CEO Jeremy Peters as vice chair.

Additionally, the board selected Brandon Hunnicutt of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) as chair, Diane Herndon of Nestlé Purina as secretary and Michelle French of Archer Daniels Midland Company

(ADM) as treasurer.

Field to Market's Board of Directors is composed of balanced representation of three representatives from each of the Alliance's five membership sectors: Growers, Brands and Retail, Agribusiness, Civil Society and Affiliate. The new officers are elected to a two-year term, steering the organization through the ongoing implementation of its 2019-2021 Strategic Plan.

To learn more about Field to Market and read the rest of the press release, visit Field to Market's Newsroom .

NACD Welcomes

Jeff Rice as a

Friend of NACD

NACD would like to thank Jeff Rice for becoming a new Friend of NACD.

Rice is chairman of the Daviess County Conservation District in Utica, Ky., and serves as an NACD board member for Kentucky. Rice is also an NACD Soil Health Champion , where he and his wife Tammy farm over 450 acres of row crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat and canola. From the beginning, they have been using no-till and implementing cover crops and filter strips on their family farm.

Interested in becoming a Friend of NACD? Visit NACD's website to learn more.

Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day or more on NACD's Calendar of Events !