Early bird registration for NACD's 2023 Summer Meeting closes in one month! Sign up to attend before June 23, 2023 to save up to $100 on registration costs.

Hosted in partnership with the North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts, the 2023 Summer Meeting will take place in Bismarck, North Dakota from July 15-19, 2023. This is the second largest gathering of conservation district professionals, soil health champions, partners, and NACD leadership. You don't want to miss these networking opportunities, workshops, or tours!

Early bird registration for the discounted price of $375 is only open until June 23, 2023!

In addition to a full NACD board meeting and numerous opportunities for attendees to network and hear from a variety of conservation speakers, this event will feature two exceptional conservation tours. The tours will explore the Black Leg Ranch and Brewery, the Area 4 Soil Conservation Districts Research Farm, and Burleigh County Soil Conservation District's Menoken Farm. Join us for a chance to learn about local conservation projects and explore the beautiful and unique ecosystems of North Dakota.

Learn more about upcoming meeting, agenda, tours, speakers, and how to register and reserve your hotel room on NACD's website.

WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON: GOVERMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE

On May 18, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture passed a spending proposal to fund USDA in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). The bill would cut approximately $9 billion from USDA’s budget, in part by reducing funding recently provided to assist distressed farm loan borrowers and help rural electric cooperatives and producers transition to cleaner sources of energy. The bill would also reduce spending by expanding work requirements for some nutrition assistance programs. Concerningly, the legislation would reduce funding for Conservation Technical Assistance and important NRCS watershed programs. The bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, which would be necessary for it to become law. NACD will continue working to secure strong funding for our FY24 appropriations priorities.

Last Week, USDA announced the availability of $500 million for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). After working with many partners, including NACD, NRCS implemented improvements to help streamline and simplify administration of the program. NRCS will be accepting RCPP applications through August 18, 2023, via the RCPP portal. NRCS will host two webinars to provide additional information about the RCPP funding announcement on May 24 and June 7, from 2:00-3:30PM ET. You can join via this link.

On Tuesday, May 23, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation held a hearing with NRCS Chief Cosby and FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux to discuss USDA conservation programs. Among many priorities, Committee members highlighted the need to streamline and simplify working lands conservation programs, support NRCS watershed programs, and incentivize the enrollment of marginal lands in CRP. Administrative witnesses emphasized their focus on efficiently administering IRA conservation investments, hiring the next generation of conservation workers, and recent actions to simplify programs, including RCPP. You can watch the recording of the hearing here.

HILSBOROUGH CONSERVATION DISTRICT ADVOCATES FOR FARM BILL IN FLORIDA

By: Betty Jo Tompkins, HSWCD Executive Director

Members of the Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District (HSWCD) returned from the recent NACD Fly-in with one mission in mind: to ensure every district in their state contacted members of their Congressional delegation to encourage full support for agriculture and conservation funding in the 2023 Farm Bill. According to Chairman and participant Mark Proctor, “When we visited Washington D.C., it was clear that since the Farm Bill is up for a vote only once every five years, support now is imperative.” With that in mind, Executive Director Betty Jo Tompkins, also a trip participant and former lobbyist, wrote a position statement adopted by their full Board that was then sent to every District and individual supervisor in Florida.

“It’s not enough for Congressional Representatives and Senators to just hear from those who make the trip to D.C., but they need to hear from everyone in the ag and conservation community”, noted Tompkins, who with her husband and son all served in the past as HSWCD Chair and worked in DC. “This is a fight we can’t afford to lose.”

Rounding out the trio was Robert “Myke” Morris, HSWCD Treasurer, also with a long family history serving conservation districts. “My father instilled in me a respect for the land and its importance to the overall wellbeing of our nation. Today, more than ever, we all need to stand up and be counted in this critical effort. Our trip to D.C. was only step one in the process,” Morris said.

During their trip, the group met with several Members of Congress and their staff. Since returning, they’ve assisted in preparing position papers for other districts, using NACD’s comprehensive position papers on appropriations, budget, forestry and wildfires, wildlife management and climate change. HSWCD has also published articles promoting support for ag and conservation appropriations within the Farm Bill.

The district also actively engages with local and state political officials,  making presentations before committees and meetings to sell the conservation message. In fact, HSWCD recently kicked off its annual Hillsborough 100 Conservation Challenge, held each year in April and May in conjunction with Earth Day, Arbor Day and Soil Stewardship week, with almost 200 agricultural, business, community, educational and governmental leaders in attendance.

The purpose of the challenge is to engage all communities to work together on conservation projects that include road and river clean-ups; recycling of paper, plastic and electronics; community, pollinator and school gardens; wildlife restoration and a myriad of other activities.

Awards and scholarships were presented in recognition of outstanding previous projects. Also recognized were sixteen youth groups, each awarded a mini-grant of $250 through a new HSWCD program to encourage youth conservation projects within the community. Grants were funded from proceeds of the District’s annual “Great Plant Auction” held annually at the Hillsborough County Fair. Recipients included Boy, Cub, Eagle and Girl Scout troops, 4-H Clubs, FFA chapters, Scubanauts, church youth groups and others. All attendees received gift bags with over twenty items from various commodity groups.

Read the full story on NACD's blog.

FORESTRY COALITION RELEASES FARM BILL RECOMMENDATIONS

Forests in the Farm Bill (FIFB), a coalition of more than 70 forestry and conservation organizations, including NACD, recently released a set of recommendations focused on improving the forest-related sections of the upcoming Farm Bill. The coalition urges legislators to strengthen the Farm Bill’s ability to protect the health and wellbeing of U.S. forests while supporting rural American communities.  

Farm Bill programs provide resources and information to support federal, state, local, Tribal, and private forest owners. Improving these programs will better enable critical forest management practices that reduce risk and increase resilience to wildfire, protect water supplies, improve wildlife habitat, and support forest products and environmental markets to bolster rural economies. 

The coalition’s recommendations emphasize the need for policymakers to address barriers that many underserved forest owners face when accessing Farm Bill programs. They also call on Congress to increase research and innovative funding, technical assistance, and support for active land stewardship through reauthorizing key conservation programs, along with increasing efforts that support meeting climate mitigation goals and combat the wildfire crisis.

Find the full announcement here.