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Planning & Capacity (P&C) grant proposals for NACD's Climate-Smart Commodities program are due TOMORROW, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, by 11:59 p.m. ET!
Administrative capacity can be a major barrier for organizations with limited resources. Further, projects funded by the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program require strong outreach/education, technical assistance, measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV), and marketing plans. These are complex partnerships, strategies, and projects to develop and implement.
Planning & Capacity grants are intended to support early-stage development of a climate-smart commodities project. P&C grants may focus on community needs assessments, partnership development, and building preliminary capacity to begin programming in the following areas:
- Outreach and technical assistance with the goal of scaling the adoption of climate-smart practices;
- Developing the capabilities and partnerships necessary for developing MMRV plans;
- Assessing and understanding market dynamics (e.g., understanding local demand for climate-smart commodities, analyzing barriers to producers’ participation in such markets). Assessments may be conducted with the goals of:
- Developing plans to mitigate barriers to participation; and
- Developing partnerships to develop or expand local or regional climate-smart markets.
The application link is live! Please carefully review and follow the instructions for submissions. The Request for Proposals, budget template, and other key resources are available on our website.
| REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR NACD SUMMER MEETING | |
Registration is NOW OPEN for NACD's 2024 Summer Conservation Forum & Tours. Hosted this year in conjunction with the Northeast Region Meeting, the NACD Summer Meeting will be held in Boston, Massachusetts this August 9-14.
Early bird registration is only open for a limited time, so don't delay. Save $50 per person by registering now!
Hotel rooms in the NACD room block are also now available to reserve at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. Room rates start at $255/night. Rooms in NACD’s room block are first come, first served and there may be limited or no availability as the deadline for the room block nears. The last day to reserve available rooms in the room block is Friday, July 19.
Experience Boston with us by joining the tours! Included in the cost of registration are an Urban Agriculture and Conservation Tour on Monday that will explore urban ag in downtown Boston and an Agriculture Conservation Tour on Tuesday that will explore agricultural education, aquaculture, and more in Plymouth County.
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Looking to add more fun to your meeting experience? Join us at the Boston Red Sox game on Friday, August 9. Meet up with colleagues at historic Fenway Park and enjoy watching the Sox play ball with the Houston Astros. NACD has reserved 100 seats in the bleachers above the visitors bullpen for Summer Meeting attendees to enjoy the game while socializing with conservation colleagues from across the country. Tickets are available for purchase when registering.
Learn more about the Summer Meeting, see the agenda, and reserve your spot amongst the action now!
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WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE
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House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson is planning to introduce a farm bill in the coming days and hold a hearing to consider the legislation on May 23. The chairs of the House and Senate agriculture committees have recently released individual farm bill frameworks, both of which support several NACD priorities, including integrating all remaining Inflation Reduction Act conservation investments into the conservation title, improving and simplifying program administration, and increasing access to technical service providers. However, disagreements related to restricting future updates to USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, restricting spending by the Commodity Credit Corporation, and the climate-focus of conservation programs have the potential to slow the committees’ progress in passing a final bill.
NACD looks forward to reviewing farm bill text and supporting committee leaders to pass a bipartisan farm bill that supports locally led conservation.
| ENVIROTHON COMPETITION SEASON IN FULL SWING | |
The 2024 Envirothon competition season is in full swing, with Envirothon programs holding state- or provincial-wide competitions from March to mid-June. These qualifying competitions will determine the teams eligible to advance to the 2024 NCF-Envirothon annual competition. an event that is quickly approaching.
Hosted by the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) and New York State Envirothon, the 35th Annual NCF-Envirothon Competition will be held from July 28 – August 3, 2024, at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. Major sponsors for the annual competition include the USDA NRCS and Smithfield Foods, Inc.
During the weeklong competition, over 50 teams from across the globe are expected to attend the competition to test their knowledge of aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and this year’s current environmental issue, “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.” The teams will be competing for over $40,000 in awards and scholarship funds, as well as recognition for their achievements.
To prepare teams for the competition, key topics, learning objectives, and study resources in the five areas of study have been developed and are available online for the teams to study and prepare for the July competition. Not only will these study resources spotlight the ecology and natural resources of New York in the areas of aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, and wildlife, but Part B of the Current Issue special topic is also available that is specific to New York-related energy topics.
Registration to attend the 2024 NCF-Envirothon New York Competition is open until June 1. Qualifying teams and their advisors and chaperones, as well as interested guests, can find full details, including rules, registration fees, and links, in the 2024 Host Guide. The 6-day event will be a week of learning, activities, competition, and fun for all!
Complete competition details, study resources, Host Guide, and registration links can be found at envirothon.org/2024-ny/.
|  | STUDENTS COMPETE IN NATIONAL LAND & RANGE JUDGING CONTEST IN OK | |
The 73rd Annual National Land & Range Judging Contest was held in El Reno, Oklahoma from April 30 through May 2, 2024. This national event drew over 1,000 student contestants, comprising 194 teams from 34 states across the nation, including Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, and Hawaii.
Beyond the competitive aspects, the National Land & Range Judging Contest serves as a valuable opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to explore continuing education and career pathways in the crucial fields of conservation and soil science. As Ag and 4-H teachers registered their teams for competition, representatives from the USDA-NRCS, Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD), Oklahoma Conservation Commission, NACD, and many other partners and sponsors were there to provide information to teams about career opportunities. The event underscored the students' potential as future leaders in conservation.
|  | The contest culminated in a celebratory awards banquet, where participants had the privilege of hearing from distinguished speakers. These included Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur; Jeanne Hamilton, NRCS State Conservationist; and Terry Cosby, NRCS Chief, who addressed the gathering via video before receiving their awards. The top individuals for land judging in the 4-H and FFA competitions were Max Klein from Wessington Springs FFA in South Dakota and Griffin Hart from Barbour County 4-H in West Virginia. The top individuals for range judging were Cooper Davis from Glenn Rose FFA in Texas and Emily Zickrick from Haakon/Bennett 4-H in South Dakota. | |
“We are deeply honored to host this special event and extend our sincere gratitude to our partners from the NRCS and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. We also appreciate the support of the 30 sponsors whose contributions were instrumental in making the contest a success,” said Sarah Blaney, OACD Executive Director.
Read this full story on our blog. To see more scores from this year’s competition or to learn more about the National Land and Range Judging Competition, please visit here.
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Watch Informational Webinar on F2F Outreach Grant | |
NACD is now soliciting proposals for the next round of funding for the Historically Underserved Farmer to Farmer (F2F) Outreach Grant Program in the Gulf of Mexico watershed. To foster new collaborations and innovations, NACD seeks initiatives that address the pressing environmental challenges faced by historically underserved farming communities. Organizations with innovative proposals focused on reaching these communities within the Non-Mississippi River Drainage Region are strongly encouraged to apply and contribute to this transformative initiative.
Learn more about the program by watching the recorded informational webinar here.
| USDA Seeks Members for Urban Ag Advisory Committee | |
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations for four positions on the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
USDA will accept nominations from May 7, 2024, to July 7, 2024. The 12-member Committee is part of USDA’s efforts to increase support for urban agriculture and innovative production. Members of the Committee provide input on policy development and help identify barriers to urban agriculture as USDA works to promote urban farming and the economic opportunities it provides in cities across the country.
See application requirements and learn more here.
| REPI Challenge FY25 RFP Released | |
The DOD's REPI Program has released the REPI Challenge FY2025 Request for Proposals (RFP). The REPI Program designed the REPI Challenge to help meet its ambitious conservation goals while aiming to cultivate new projects, harness creativity, and protect critical testing and training capabilities.
For the FY 2025 REPI Challenge, the REPI Program will distribute up to $30 million in funding to advance efforts that preserve key mission capabilities of strategic importance to DOD and enhance installation and range resilience to climate change and severe weather events (e.g., drought, increased wildfires, thawing permafrost).
To learn more, join the Help Session Webinar tomorrow, May 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET here.
| Learn the Basics of CWSRF in Upcoming Webinar by EPA | |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites you to participate in a webinar to introduce the basics of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program on Wednesday, May 15 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Register here for the Introduction to the CWSRF Webinar!
| MACD Names New Executive Director | |
The Michigan Association of Conservation Districts (MACD) unanimously named Rivka Hodgkinson its next executive director, a position she’s held in the interim since January. She replaces Dan Moilanen, who will continue with MACD in a part-time capacity.
“During the four months serving as the interim MACD executive director, she quickly established communications with Michigan’s 74 active Conservation Districts and visited many of their board or annual meetings," said Jerry Miller, MACD President.
Congratulations Rivka!
| Join Source Water Collaborative Webinar | |
Participate in this Source Water Collaborative webinar that will focus on the 2024 opportunity to update the USDA NRCS high priority source water protection areas and agricultural and forestry practices, in particular climate-smart practices that can be added this year. Landowners can receive up to 90% incentive payments for implementing these practices to protect drinking water sources. The webinar will also address the selection/update of watersheds under the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) and Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI).
For more information and to register, see here.
| Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day, or other events on NACD's Calendar of Events! | |
