October 30, 2009

Subject:  NWTF Operation Oak Private Landowner Program 2009-10

Dear Landowner and NWTF Member:

The National Wild Turkey Federation is very proud to announce the continued expansion of its Operation Oak Program.  A partnership between the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Southwest Illinois Rural Conservation and Development Office, and the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Illinois State Chapter has made select oak seedlings available FREE to private landowners in Illinois.  These native seedlings are grown locally at the state nurseries of the IL Department of Natural Resources, resulting in a more adaptive seedling with a higher survival rate along with higher growth potential.

Private landowners interested in participating in the FREE program must complete the attached application form with required fields:  County/Parish, Township, Range, Section (information can be obtained in a County Platt Book available at most Soil and Water Conservation District Offices), Landowner Name, Landowner Address, Phone, Number of Seedlings Requested.  This information is collected for the purpose of Illinois Habitat Fund grant reporting and is required for participation.  NWTF staff will review all applications and provide seedlings to as many interested landowners as possible on a first-come/first-serve basis.  Some species may be substituted if your requested species are no longer available.  These seedlings should NOT be used for tree plantings that are already receiving cost share through CRP or other programs.  However, they may be used to fill-in existing CRP tree plantings.

Seedlings are expected to be available in late March or early April.  Participants will be informed of specific pick-up locations and dates when all orders have been compiled.

We hope you will be able to participate in our tree-planting program this year and provide long-term habitat for wild turkeys and other wildlife.  If you are interested in receiving FREE seedlings, you must complete the attached application form and mail, e-mail, or fax it back to the attention of:

    Jean S. Plunkett
    Operation Oak
    PO Box 530
    Edgefield, SC 29824
   
    Fax:  (803) 637-9180

APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED IN EDGEFIELD ON, OR BEFORE, FEB. 1, 2010.

If you have any questions about the program, please call Jean Plunkett at 803-637-7528, or 800-637-3106 Ext. 7528. If you are not already a member of NWTF, please consider joining at NWTF.org, or by calling 1-800-THE-NWTF, and help support our habitat conservation efforts!
 
          Best regards,

          Kent Adams
          Regional Wildlife Biologist
          National Wild Turkey Federation

          14560 N. Amber Lane
          Effingham, IL 62401
          Office Phone: 217-690-4950
          Mobile Phone: 717-319-5575
         

          NWTF.org

They learned something of the history of the property, the many years of flood damaged crops, and reports of an Indian settlement located there. In 1904 they began restoring the hardwood forest that had originally been located on the flood plain by planting 5,000 seedlings along the river. Such a planting, a riparian buffer, would be effective at reducing non-point pollution of the river.  In addition to providing valuable wildlife habitat.

Rains and flooding came two weeks after the 5,000 tree seedlings were planted. The floodwaters stayed in the field of new trees for two weeks. The Jewells were certain they had lost all of the seedlings. After they had surveyed the apparent loss, they called Jim Ritterbusch, Stephenson County NRCS District Conservationist, who had helped them place these eighteen acres in the Riparian Buffer option of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

When he walked the area, he saw that all was not lost. Not only did most of the seedlings survive the flooding but he pointed out another 60,000 trees. The timing of the flood and seeds dropping from area trees produced seedlings naturally.  This is a process called natural regeneration. 

The Illinois Buffer Partnership cosponsored the riparian buffer planting initiated by the Jewells with coordination from Trees Forever. This non-profit organization that now has headquarters in Iowa was founded in 1989 by two volunteers. Trees Forever has planted 2.5 million trees in communities, on farms, along roads, streams, and rivers in Illinois and Iowa. Trees Forever is taking applications for conservation buffer sites. Find out more at http://www.treesforever.org.

The Jewells also planted some hardwoods with stock from Forrest Keeling Nursery in Elsberry, Missouri known as RPM trees. A patented natural process, Root Production Method, is used by the Nursery to grow trees to maturity faster creating a root biomass as much as 18 times greater than trees grown using traditional methods. http://www.fknursery.com

If the trees are to continue to be effective as buffers, they must be managed and maintained. A recent woodland tour of the newly forested acres shows that the Jewells are truly caring for their crop of trees. Management includes weed control, replanting and reseeding, pruning and thinning. And picking up the trash carried downstream by the river and left on their property – less this year, but still 8 large bags full, two tires, and one wheel.

Pheasants Forever partnered with the Jewells in restoring a natural area by helping them with establishment of native prairie grasses.

Adapted from an article by Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District

$320 Million Available for Conservation Projects in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new initiative to improve water quality and the overall health of the Mississippi River Basin in taped remarks to the Gulf Hypoxia Task Force Meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.  The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) will provide approximately $320 million over the next four years for voluntary projects in priority watersheds located in Illinois and 11 other key states. Participation in this initiative, which will be managed by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), will be made available through a competitive process for potential partners at the local, State and national levels. 

“The Obama Administration is committed to taking bold steps with our State and local partners to clean up the entire Mississippi River Basin, a critical natural resource that provides drinking water for tens of millions of Americans,” said Vilsack.  “Industrial, municipal, residential, and agricultural sources have all contributed pollutants to the waters of the Mississippi River Basin, and the MRBI will provide resources that will help us come together to address this issue.”

Secretary Vilsack’s announcement can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rwi5rJ3eNE

The natural capacity of the Mississippi River Basin to remove nutrients has been diminished by a range of human activities over the years, including modification of floodplains for agricultural and urban land.  MRBI will help agricultural producers implement conservation and management practices that avoid, control, and trap nutrient runoff.  The initiative is performance oriented, which means that measurable conservation results are required in order to participate. By focusing on priority watersheds in these 12 states in the basin, USDA, its partner organizations, State and local agencies, and agricultural producers will coordinate their resources in areas requiring the most immediate attention and offer the best return on the funds invested. 

“USDA is going to partner with farmers to implement a range of land stewardship practices, including conservation tillage, nutrient management, and other innovative practices,” said Dave White, Chief of NRCS.  “We all live downstream of other water users and this initiative will help make the Mississippi River Basin and the Mississippi River and its tributaries healthier for everyone.”

In addition to other federal, State, and partner funding, NRCS is targeting $80 million annually over the next four years through Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative, Conservation Innovation Grants, and the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program.  This is in addition to other NRCS program funding and assistance such as Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, and the Conservation Stewardship Program.  These funds will be available for projects in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

“NRCS in Illinois is very excited about this new initiative,” said Illinois’ State Conservationist Bill Gradle. “MRBI will improve conservation of natural resources in Illinois and we believe it will also help us expand our conservation partnerships so together we can make even more progress on conservation issues moving forward.” 

MRBI will focus on 8-digit or smaller hydrologic units (watersheds) that contribute high loads of nutrients in the Mississippi River Basin. Priority watersheds for the initiative will be identified by NRCS in consultation with conservation partner organizations and State Technical Committees.  Watersheds will be selected using an evaluation process that will include information from the Conservation Effects Assessment Project, the USGS Spatially Referenced Regression on Watersheds Attributes, state-level nutrient reduction strategies and priorities, and available monitoring and modeling of nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the Basin.  Using this watershed evaluation process will ensure water quality and nutrient issues are improving as part of MRBI.

The Mississippi River Basin is a critical ecosystem to the United States.  Its entire land mass, totaling 41 percent of the contiguous United States and 15 percent of North America, drains into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mississippi River runs 2,350 miles from its headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico and carries an average of 436,000 tons of sediment each day.  It takes about 90 days for water to travel from the headwaters in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico where water is discharged at an average rate of 600,000 cubic feet per second. 

Assessment of the progress in implementing MRBI will be critical, as will evaluation of outcomes at the field scale/edge-of-field and on the watershed basis.  Successful measures of the initiative will include a reduced nutrient footprint and environmental impact through more efficient use of nutrients for crop production in the priority watersheds. 

For information about the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative, including eligibility requirements, please visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov or your USDA Service Center.

Natural Resources and Your Development Task Force invites you to attend a day long tour of different green technology applications for site management and
building design in the Chicago area. The tour should be of special interest to engineers, land use planners, public works professionals, architects, local government officials, landscape architects, conservationists and anyone interested in techniques that are economically feasible,  protect the environment and preserve natural resources. Each stop will have a personal guide familiar with the site to answer questions. The following stops are planned for the tour:

Green Roof at Aquascape

Headquarters in St. Charles - See the worlds largest sloping green roof at 240,000 square feet. The building is LEED silver certified. The roof has
been called “a virtual prairie meadow in the sky.”

Settler’s Ridge in Sugar Grove - The last stop of the day, as we head back towards Peoria, will be an award-winning, conservation development of a residential subdivision that incorporates smaller lots, clustered together with alley access. The cluster density is offset by large open spaces planted in native prairie.

Chicago Center for Green Technology - Visit a former brownfield site that has been renovated to LEED certified status with green technologies on display including a green roof, solar panels, daylight harvesting, smart lighting, safe reused and recycled building materials, water conservation and much more. The building grounds include rain cisterns, bioswales, pervious surfaces, a retention pond and native landscaping.

Morton Arboretum in Lisle - A sandwich and salad lunch buffet will be provided at the Arboretum. Lunch will be followed by a tour of the facility’s permeable paved parking lot with bioswales, porous concrete pavement and recycled glass pavement.

The cost of the trip will be $40.00 per person. This includes transportation (via fully equipped charter bus), snacks on board the bus while traveling, salad/sandwich lunch buffet at Morton Arboretum, an information packet on the sites toured and similar sites in the vicinity, and a certificate for 3 Professional Development Hours (PDH) for attendees who need them.

Attendees will check in at 6:45 am in the Wal-Mart Parking lot at 401 River Road, East Peoria, IL. The bus will leave promptly at 7:00 am. Anticipated return to East Peoria is 7:30 pm. Advanced Registration is required. To register, please complete the form below and send a check by September 23, 2009.
For more information, call Kim St. John at 309-364-3979, or Nick Hayward at 309-673-9796 x 227 Reservations must be made by Wednesday, September 23, 2009 (no refunds available after this date)

Please complete this form and return with payment enclosed to:
Prairie Rivers RC&D, 509 Front Street, Suite 5, Henry, IL 61537

Name:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Phone : Email:
Total # of Reservations:_______@ $40.00 each; Check enclosed for $______________________________________________

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a new voluntary conservation program that provides opportunities to both recognize excellent stewards and deliver valuable new conservation. The program provides equitable access to all producers, regardless of operation size, crops produced, or geographic location.  Eligible lands include cropland, pastureland, and nonindustrial private forestland. Applicants must be the operator of record in the USDA farm records management system for the eligible land they wish to enroll.  They must have control of the land for the length of the five year contract. 

CSP provides participants with two possible types of payments. An annual payment is available for installing new conservation activities and maintaining existing activities. A supplemental payment may be earned by participants already receiving an annual payment who also adopt a resource-conserving crop rotation.

This is the stewardship program that’s going to reward for existing conservation that’s on the ground and it’s going to encourage new conservation enhancements.  It is not a land retirement program.  It will be a continual sign up.  The first batching will be conducted based off of applications submitted by September 30, 2009.  To make an application one must provide an AD-1026a for their farming operation, and aerial maps of the farms that they are signing an application for along with estimated acres. 

This information and more about CSP can be found at ww.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp.  I challenge you to go to this site and go through the Self-Screening Checklist and see if you are eligible for the program.  If you are not let us know and we will see if there is another USDA conservation program that can help you get your farming operation ready for the next CSP batching period.  We are looking for those early innovators and early adopters to lead the way for this conservation program.  Estimated payments at this time for cropland ranges from $12-$22 per acre, submitting an application does not bind you to a contract.  It gets you into the room for consideration and if you find out that the payment is not what you want, you can walk out without signing a contract. 

  The field day will be held at Greene Tree Farm, located 6 miles north of Eldred, Illinois, or 5 miles south of Hillview, Illinois, and east ¼ mile on Township Road 1800 North. Watch for signs.

  This event is sponsored by the Illinois Walnut Council and the Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District. The public is invited and the event is free. Dan Schmoker and Terry Walters will serve as instructors. For more information and to pre-register, call the Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District at 217/942/5464 Ext.3 or Dan Schmoker at 217/416/1587.
 

  For more information:
  Terry Walters- 217/942/5464 Ext.3
  Dan Schmoker- 217/416/1587

The workshop will include a morning program at 9:00 am, followed by a field tour to observe wildlife habitat practices and concludes with a free lunch provided by Quail Unlimited.

The event, the sixteenth annual, is jointly sponsored by Illinois Quail Unlimited, the West Central Chapter of Quail Unlimited, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency, Southern Illinois University (SIU), Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The workshop will focus on improving quail habitat and accessing state, federal, and private programs to implement various wildlife management practices.  Resource agency speakers will discuss various Farm Bill conservation programs, including CP-33(Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds) and CRP’s newest practice-SAFE.  CRP management practices (strip disking, legume inter-seeding and strip spraying) that improve bobwhite food and cover conditions will also be covered.  A special tree saw demonstration will take place, showing a skid steer mounted tree saw doing woodland edge-feathering and fencerow/hedgerow thinning to create brush piles and improve low-growing brushy habitat.  Weather permitting; a prescribed burn will also occur.

    Please register in advance for this free workshop by calling the Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District at (217-942-5464 Ex.3) with your name and number attending.  All are welcome, but only those who pre-register and attend the workshop will have their names entered in a drawing for a shotgun donated by Quail Unlimited.

For more information:          David Howell—812/536-2272  

“The floodplain easements made possible through the Recovery Act generated tremendous interest and response from across Illinois, which underscores the need to restore flood-prone areas to their natural state,” said Bill Gradle, State Conservationist, NRCS. “We are working to ensure the most effective use of the funds by enrolling land with the greatest benefit to protect against future floods, improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitat and reduce the need for future disaster assistance.”

The Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program’s floodplain easement component allows NRCS to acquire permanent easements on private land, or certain land owned by units of state and local governments, that have been damaged by flooding at least once in the last 12 months or twice in the past 10 years. Once easements are established, NRCS will fund conservation work necessary to restore the land to its natural state.

Restoring floodplains to a natural state ensures they function properly – conserving and improving fish and wildlife habitat, water quality, flood water retention, ground water recharge, and open space; reducing long-term federal disaster assistance; and safeguarding lives and property from floods, drought, and erosion. Landowners retain several rights to the property, including quiet enjoyment, control of public access, and undeveloped recreational use such as hunting and fishing.

“With so many similar restoration projects planned and set into motion right now, the benefits and positive impacts to our natural resource base—here in Illinois and across our nation—will be tremendous,” adds Gradle.

Easement applications funded in Illinois include the following (Lawrence and Pope County funds for easements only, landowners will perform restoration work):

County   Acres     Easement and Restoration Funding

Adams     175     $616,101

Clark     268     $951.974

Kendall     27     $86,455

Lawrence     336     $940,000 (easement only)

Pope     58     $212,552 (easement only)

Total     864     $2,716,883

Funding provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is part of the Obama Administration’s plans to modernize the nation’s infrastructure, jumpstart the economy, and create jobs. To learn more about your eligibility for USDA-NRCS projects underway through the Recovery Act, visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.

To learn more about the land and damages sustained in Illinois and in other locations across the country, visit the ARRA website at http://www.Recovery.gov. Learn what different conservation solutions private landowners use to effectively protect their land and create healthy, sustainable environments. To learn more about conservation accomplishments in Illinois, visit http://www.il.nrcs.usda.gov

Please distribute the following News Release describing the program and this public meeting in Decatur, so that farmers can take advantage of these federal funds.

DRAFT Agenda

10:00-10:15   Introduction by Devin Brown, Conservation Policy Advocate for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance

                -Presentation on CSP, discussing background and history

10:15-10:30 NRCS Presentation of CSP (Troy Daniell/Ivan Dozier/Paula Hingson)

                -Overview of the program, discussion of continuous enrollment, eligibility issues, the Conservation Measurement Tool, and ranking criteria

10:30-10:45 Conservation Farmers Presentation/Discussion (various farmers/Dave Bishop in Decatur/various farmers)

                -Exemplify some conservation activities rewarded under CSP and their applications and benefits

10:45-11:00 Presentation by Area/state Agronomist or DCs discussing how conservation practices enhance the long-term productivity of farming systems

11:00-11:15 FSA Presentation-farm operator registration process (local FSA reps)

                Break for Lunch until 12:00

12:00-1:00 CSP Q & A

                -With FSA, NRCS, and other represented groups

1:00 - ??      CSP Wrap-up with Devin Brown, Conservation Policy Advocate for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance

Devin Brown
Conservation Policy Advocate
Illinois Stewardship Alliance
618.771.0237
http://www.ilstewards.org

Radio PSA #1

Programs and details of the new Farm Bill are out and on the books.  All programs with the Natural Resources Conservation Service are back, along with a few new ones. Like the new Conservation Stewardship Program, or “CSP.”  The new CSP is a nationwide program. It rewards you for all the good conservation you’ve put on your land and helps you do even MORE. And it PAYS.

Visit nrcs.usda.gov.  See if it fits your operation.

NRCS: Helping People Help The Land.

Attend Informational Meetings in Southern, Central, and Northern IL to learn more.

The Illinois Stewardship Alliance (ISA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will hold three public meetings to inform producers about the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The public informational meetings will be held in:

Marion - Tuesday, Sept. 8, 10 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Williamson Co. Pavilion, w/ lunch provided

Decatur - Thursday, Sept. 10, 10 a.m .- 1:00 p.m., Richland Community College- Schilling Education Center w/ lunch provided

Sycamore – Friday, Sept. 11, 10 a.m. – 12:00 noon, DeKalb Co Farm Bureau Auditorium, w/ coffee & muffins

The 2008 Farm Bill authorized the Conservation Stewardship Program for and agricultural and forestry producers.  The Conservation Stewardship Program is now available statewide through continuous enrollment with announced cut-off application dates for ranking periods.  This program was announced August 10 by USDA officials. This is the first nationwide sign-up for this program. Farm and ranch operators will have until September 30 to apply for this first program enrollment at local NRCS offices.

According to Devin Brown, Conservation Policy Advocate for ISA, “Applying for CSP takes some prep work. These public meetings will help educate private landowners about what CSP requires, helping to streamline the application process.”  According to NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Programs, Ivan Dozier, these public meetings will inform producers about the program and help them determine if CSP suits their operation.

NRCS administers CSP, a voluntary conservation program designed to encourage agricultural and forestry producers to adopt additional conservation practices and improve, maintain and manage existing ones.  Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland - a new land use for the program - and agricultural land. Producers interested in applying for CSP may learn more about the program by viewing online information at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp or by visiting their local NRCS county office staff.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance is a statewide membership that promotes ecologically sustainable, economically viable, socially just local food systems through policy development, advocacy and education

http://www.ilstewards.org                http://www.il.nrcs.usda.gov

USDA NRCS is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

USDA ensures activity in the new program will reap beneficial improvements both on and off the farm.  Sustainable natural resource conditions, long-term land productivity, reduced non-point source pollution, improved air quality, and enhanced wildlife habitat will be the result. CSP applicants who achieve those results—and are willing to do even more—will be financially rewarded. CSP rewards conservationists for putting quality conservation on their land.

CSP has restrictive acreage levels for involvement. Beginning now through 2012, CSP will impact 51,076,000 acres nationwide—that’s just 12,769,000 acres per year for four years. The number of eligible acres Illinois operators can reward has not been announced.

New regulations for eligibility are highly specific. Listed here are important details Illinois producers should know:

• CSP targets farm operators; participants must be legal operator of land in question for the life of the contract.

• All Operators must be documented in Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) farm records management system. Those WITHOUT this status—or those with outdated or inaccurate records—must be enrolled in the system or update their data or they will be ineligible.

• Obtain the “Self-Screening Checklist” online or at local NRCS office; answer all questions and fill it out completely, to help you decide if CSP fits your goals and your operation.

• Other information about your operation—documentation, maps, etc.—will be required later. Be ready!

Applicants who do NOT have these particular documents in order could seriously impact their 2009 eligibility—or delay it.

Information must be documented in Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm records management system.  This ensures applicant eligibility information for Adjusted Gross Income verification and it confirms compliance with highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions. In order to be eligible, all paperwork and conservation status must be in order.  If you’re not ready right now, don’t worry. There’s plenty of time to update your information and check out the program—remember, this is a continuous and ongoing enrollment.

In preparation for the new program, NRCS is developing a new electronic conservation measurement tool. They will enter data and information into the computerized tool which measures, calculates, and ultimately rates the performance and effect of conservation practices installed on the land.  This new tool will systematically and scientifically evaluate and rank CSP applications nationwide.  The tool will be available for use at the local level in mid-September.

As for what the new CSP pays out, no definitive information has been released. However, CSP will offer two possible payment scenarios: One involves an annual payment for installing and adopting additional activities, and improving, maintaining, and managing existing activities. Compensation for on-farm research and demonstration activities or pilot tests will be made through this annual payment. The other payment scenario includes a supplemental payment for folks receiving annual payments who also agree to adopt a new resource-conserving crop rotation.

Nationwide, NRCS established a target to set aside five percent of CSP acres for socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers and an additional five percent for beginning farmers or ranchers. This ensures CSP will be available to operations of all shapes and sizes.

Participants will create a ‘‘conservation stewardship plan,’’ using NRCS’ conservation planning process. This plan will document how producers address resource concerns in a comprehensive manner. The conservation stewardship plan contains a record of participant decisions on the schedule of conservation activities to be implemented, managed, and improved under CSP.  To learn more, visit your local NRCS office or visit the website at http://www.nrcs.usda.new_csp.

Champaign, IL—Join other small farmers and ranchers in Springfield, IL, and get registered for the 5th National Small Farm Conference. Hosted by the University of Illinois Extension, the conference includes five short courses, more than 100 different oral and poster presentations, seven tours and more than 50 exhibits. The conference, which is held every three to four years, brings together land grant universities, community-based organizations and stakeholders who work closely with small farmers and ranchers. The conference aims to strengthen collaboration and partnership among groups and provide the chance to share new ideas in research, production and outreach. Registration deadline ends soon so make plans to attend today.

The 5th National Small Farm Conference—“Roadmap to Success for Small Farmers and Ranchers”—will be held September 15-17, 2009, at the Hilton Springfield and the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois. The conference is supported and made possible by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Illinois Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) supports the event and offers press and outreach support.

A conference registration fee ($250) covers costs for a registration packet, two breakfasts, two lunches, one reception, one dinner, conference tour, and refreshments at breaks. The Tuesday evening reception features an entire menu of local foods, while the other meals and breaks will include some local food items. After August 25, the registration fee will be $300.

Register online at http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/smallfarm or pay by check, money order, or purchase order. Fax registration to University of Illinois Conferences and Institutes at 217-333-9561 or mail to Small Farm Conference, Cashiering Office, University of Illinois, 162 Henry Administration Building, 506 S. Wright Street. Urbana, IL 61801.

“The Conference offers a venue for small farm program leaders from federal, state, and local organizations to learn about successful programs,” says Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, University of Illinois Extension Specialist for Small Farm and Sustainable Agriculture and 5th National Conference Co-Chair. The conference includes preconference short courses, concurrent sessions on a variety of current and relevant topics, thought-provoking posters and educational exhibits, plenary sessions, and seven unique educational tours. Tour topics for Thursday, September 17th include:

1. Beginning Farmer Tour - Farm Beginnings© and Beyond
2. Bio-energy Tour – Small Farm Energy
3. Building Community Support Tour
4. Developing Sustainable Farming Systems
5. Exploring Alternative Enterprises and Marketing Opportunities
6. Managing Business: Keeping the Farm and Ranch
7. Walking Tour: Tour of Lincoln Sites & 100th Commemoration of 1908 Springfield Race Riot

The conference will be held at the Hilton Springfield and the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, Illinois. Special hotel group rate registration is $83.00 for a single and $98.00 for a double (plus 12% taxes). Additional guests (over 2) will be $15.00 each. Make reservations directly with the hotel (217-789-1530 or 800-445-8667) before August 25 to guarantee the group rate. If making reservations by phone, ask for the “Small Farm” room block.  For more information, contact Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, conference chair, cvnghgrn@illinois.edu, or call 217-968-5512.  Register online at http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/smallfarm

USDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider.

“This program will help the Nation’s agricultural and forestry producers reach greater levels of conservation performance, which will help protect our land and water,” Merrigan said. “The conservation benefits derived from maintaining and enhancing natural resources will improve the quality of soil and water, assist in addressing global climate change, and encourage environmentally responsible energy production.”

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) authorizes CSP. Congress renamed and revamped the former Conservation Security Program completely to improve its availability and appeal to agricultural and forestry producers. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers CSP. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland—a new land use for the program—and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe.

Eligible applicants may include individual landowners, legal entities, and Indian tribes. The program will be offered to producers in all 50 states, District of Columbia and the Pacific and Caribbean areas through continuous sign-ups. Agricultural and forestry producers must submit applications by Sept. 30 to be considered for funding in the first ranking period. Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment at 12,769,000 acres for each fiscal year nationwide.

To apply for the newly revamped CSP, potential participants will be encouraged to use a self-screening checklist first to determine whether the new program is suitable for them or their operation. It will be available on NRCS Web sites and at NRCS field offices. After self-screening, the producer’s current and proposed conservation practices are entered in the conservation measurement tool (CMT). This tool estimates the level of environmental performance to be achieved by a producer implementing and maintaining conservation activity. The conservation performance estimated by the CMT will be used to rank applications. States will determine their own priority resource concerns, one of the criteria that will be used to rank applications. States will establish ranking pools to rank applications with similar resource concerns.

NRCS field staff also will conduct on-site field verifications of applicants’ information obtained from the CMT. Once the potential participant has been field verified and approved for funding, he or she must develop a conservation stewardship plan.

For information about CSP, including eligibility requirements, producers can visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp or visit their local NRCS field office.

USDA is finalizing the program’s policies and procedures. The CSP interim final rule, published in the Federal Register, is open for public comment through Sept. 28.

Using two popular NRCS Farm Bill programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP), along with technical assistance and planning expertise from both NRCS and the Clifftop organization, the team will identify and address critical resource issues and problems found onsite. At present, 5,000 acres of the area are already involved in active conservation and stewardship activities. This new CCPI project provides financial and technical assistance to plan and install restoration practices and protection measures on an additional 2,500 acres.

NRCS will assist “CLIFFTOP,” (Conserving Lands In Farm, Forest, Talus Or Prairie), formed in 2006 by a group of local landholders in Monroe and Randolph counties. Conservation practices and techniques CLIFFTOP and NRCS will install include invasive species control, forest stand improvements, reforestation, prescribed burning, and the careful development of customized forest/wildlife conservation management activity plans.

“When complete, this project will benefit rare and declining ecosystems and improve wildlife habitat, particularly species we know are in great need of our help,” Gradle explains. In addition, forested areas will gain improvements in local air quality.

For 2009, the first year of the project, NRCS funds and matching contributions from partners totals nearly $200,000. If funds are available, over four years, NRCS plans to provide $750,000 in technical and financial assistance. CLIFFTOP will offer matching funds and in-kind services worth more than $700,000.

“The best part about this is that the partners go further than making quality conservation plans and putting practices on the land,” explains NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Programs Ivan Dozier. “All partners and players here are dedicated—they’ll develop a long-term strategic plan and carry out yearly plans as well. They’ll hold regular meetings and submit progress reports to keep landowners and everyone updated and informed. They also hold a number of workshops where local landowners learn how and why to do things a different way and why it’s so important,” Dozier adds.

As Illinois NRCS’ first Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative project, this effort in southwest Illinois will no doubt be an excellent example of how partners make local priorities into a true success story.  To learn more about CCPI or to track progress and accomplishments of this effort, visit http://www.il.nrcs.usda.gov.

County contacts include:

Monroe County Contact: NRCS District Conservationist Wayne Johanning (618) 939-6181;

Randolph County Contact: NRCS District Conservationist Andy Schlichting (618) 443-4382;

St. Clair County Contact: NRCS District Conservationist John Harryman (618) 235-2500.

Contacts: Paige Buck- NRCS (217) 353-6606;      Clifftop Alliance http://www.clifftopalliance.org

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the Natural Resources Conservation Service is seeking public comment on the new Conservation Stewardship Program, which is designed to encourage agricultural and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation practices and adopt additional ones in their operations. The public can submit comments for 60 days and must be submitted on or before Sept. 28, 2009. For full details about the new Conservation Stewardship Program, please visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp/  or visit your local NRCS field office.

“It is important for Americans to provide feedback about the programs that their government provides on their behalf and they now have this opportunity to comment on the Conservation Stewardship Program,” Vilsack said. “We developed the interim final rule for this program in order to appeal to our diverse customers and offer them an equal chance to participate.”

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) authorized the Conservation Stewardship Program. Congress renamed and revamped the former Conservation Security Program to improve its availability and appeal to agricultural and forestry producers. The Conservation Stewardship Program will be offered in all 50 states, District of Columbia, and the Pacific and Caribbean areas through continuous sign-ups with announced cut-off application dates for ranking periods. Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment at 12,769,000 acres nationwide.

Comments on the Conservation Stewardship Program interim final rule can be submitted online, or through regular mail, e-mail, fax or in person. Information on how to submit comments is available at the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Web site at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2008/index.html and at the Federal Register at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/.

Type in Conservation Security Program in the Quick Search box and submit your search request.

USDA is particularly interested in the public’s comments on several aspects of the rule, including the best procedures for establishing annual payment rates; weighting ranking factors to maximize environmental benefits; and determining contract renewal criteria, state allocations and priority resource concerns. The Conservation Stewardship Program final rule is expected to be completed in fiscal year 2010.

USDA administers the Conservation Stewardship Program, a voluntary conservation program designed to encourage agricultural and forestry producers to adopt additional conservation activities and improve, maintain and manage existing ones. Individual landowners, legal entities, and Indian tribes may be eligible to apply for Conservation Stewardship Program assistance. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland-a new land use for the program-and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe.

Under the Conservation Stewardship Program, potential applicants are encouraged to use a self-screening checklist first to determine whether the new program is suitable for them or their operation. The checklist highlights basic information about Conservation Stewardship Program eligibility requirements, contract obligations and potential payments. It is available on NRCS Web sites and at NRCS field offices.

The agency developed a new conservation measurement tool (CMT) to estimate the level of environmental performance to be achieved by agricultural and forestry producers implementing conservation activities. Field staff will conduct on-site field verifications of pre-approved applicant’s resource inventory information prior to contract approval. The conservation performance estimated by the CMT will be used for applicant ranking.

The Conservation Stewardship Program has an annual payment limitation of $40,000, and contracts must cover the eligible land in the entire operation. A person or legal entity cannot exceed $200,000 for all contracts entered into during any five-year period. Contracts can be renewed for an additional five years under specific criteria.

The new program will offer two types of payments-annual and supplemental. A Conservation Stewardship Program participant’s annual payment will be determined by estimating conservation performance improvements using the CMT and computing it by land use type for enrolled eligible land. An additional supplemental payment is also available to approved program participants who agree to adopt a resource-conserving crop rotation, such as the addition of alfalfa to a small grain, row crop rotation.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272(voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

Dairy farmer says he saves money by converting cow manure to electricity
Remaining waste from 600 cows is used as fertilizer and mulch
Anaerobic digestion became popular in United States in 1970s
He says process also helps cut dairy farm’s odor

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/31/cow.power/index.html

ROCKWOOD, Pennsylvania (CNN)—Four generations of Saylors have worked the family’s dairy farm for nearly a century, but for the past three years, the cows have been doing something besides providing milk: They’ve been helping power the place.
“The farm used to get a lot of complaints,” says farmer Shawn Saylor. “It used to stink a lot.”  1 of 2 Growing up on the sprawling spread 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, 36-year-old farmer Shawn Saylor developed into a self-described science buff.

So it was no surprise that, when faced with rising energy costs, Saylor turned to technology. He tapped into an abundant and easily accessible energy source: manure from about 600 cows. 

“It’s a pretty simple process. There’s not really a lot to it,” Saylor said. “Manure comes from the cows, and there’s energy left in the manure.”

The process is known as anaerobic digestion, and here’s how it works:

With the help of a mechanical scraper in the barn, manure drops into a 19,000-gallon tank. The slurry then moves into the digestor, which is 16 feet deep and 70 feet in diameter. It’s heated there for about 16 days while the bacteria break down the organic matter in order to produce methane gas. That gas is burned in two engine generators to make electricity.  See an interactive explaining the process »

Heat created by the generators keeps the digestor hot, heats the buildings around the farm and helps provide hot water.

The electricity is used to power this farm and a dozen neighboring homes, Saylor said. And there’s still some left over, which he sells back to the grid.

Overall, the manure power helps Saylor’s bottom line.

“In savings, there’s $200,000 a year, in either extra income from sale of electricity or cost offsets,” he said.

“So you’re talking about system project costs of over a million dollars to build the system but a payback of five years or less.”

Before he installed the system, the pungent smell from the cows could linger for three to four days, Saylor said. “The farm used to get a lot of complaints from motorists, which is understandable. It used to stink a lot.”

Now, the digestors reduce 98 percent of all odor, although he admits that if the wind blows, you still “get a whiff.”  The farm’s leftover solid waste is sold to the community.

“We use it for bedding for the animals,” according to Saylor. “A lot of people like to get it for their gardens ... because it doesn’t smell much.”

Farm-based digestors became popular in the United States during the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s. But the technology didn’t catch on, possibly because of the high operational costs and declining energy prices, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Although Saylor had been interested in digestors for years, his dream didn’t become reality until 2006. That’s when he received a $600,000 grant from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection.

But Saylor’s work isn’t done. He intends to make his farm entirely self-sufficient by using waste vegetable oil to make biodiesel fuel.

He said his goal is to waste nothing.

“In a biodiesel system, all the waste products can either be used or fed back into the digestor to make more gas,” he said. “I’ve always looked at new technologies and believed you kind of have to work with that stuff to stay with the future.”

USDA’s NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides cost share assistance on Anaerobic Digesters.  Not to Exceed $300,000 for each site as long as they are used for energy poduction.  Ie electric power or heat for buildings, etc.  Those used for reasons other than energy production will be considered for EQIP dollars on a case by case basis.

Contact your local USDA NRCS District Conservationist for more information. 

Agricultural statistics say Ben Johnson is very unusual.  He is a 25-year-old full-time farmer who doesn’t need off-farm income to survive. Johnson says he’s living his dream and he credits good stewardship and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for making his full-time farming dream possible.  “Ben Johnson’s EQIP contract requires him to follow a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) to properly store, transport, and apply the hog manure on his ground,” said Plymouth County NRCS district conservationist Jim Lahn.  “NRCS helped pay a Sioux County agronomist to develop his CNMP.  By following this plan, Ben protects the environment and gets the best possible fertilizer value out of his manure. This helps Ben save money on input costs.”

“NRCS and EQIP made it affordable for me to put up the hog buildings,” said Johnson.  “Income from the hog buildings and the input savings from manure helped me become a full-time farmer soon after college and is keeping me employed on the farm.”

Johnson, who has been farming three years, is a fourth-generation Plymouth County farmer.  He lives in his childhood home, built by his great-grandfather. He and his wife, Janelle, grow corn, soybeans, and bromegrass hay on 390 acres of gently rolling land near Craig.  They custom feed 4,800 head of wean-to-finish hogs and farm another 170 acres in Cherokee County.

Johnson says his grandfather, Norm Barker, 88, was a county conservation leader. Barker, also a farmer, served as a Plymouth County Soil and Water Conservation District commissioner, and still promotes conservation practices in retirement as a volunteer.

His grandfather wrote a college term paper on soil conservation practices and then built terraces and practiced contour farming on his own land, said Johnson.

“My father, Carl Johnson, learned conservation from my grandfather,” said Johnson.  “I learned from the two of them and also from my uncle, Jim Barker, a 100-percent no-till farmer who lives down the road.”

Johnson says he is pleased to be part of a farming operation steeped in a conservation tradition.  “We no-till our soybeans into standing corn.  Right now we can’t no-till corn into beans because we surface apply manure using disks to move soil over the surface applied manure.  The disk closers leave quite a bit of black dirt on the surface of the field.  We are changing that.  We plan on upgrading our manure handling equipment next year to allow for more no-till.”

Hog manure is a very valuable resource to Johnson.  He said at current prices he figures using manure instead of commercial fertilizer saves his operation between $40,000 and $60,000 per year.  “We knew there was value in the manure when we looked at constructing the hog buildings, but we didn’t think it would be that much,” Johnson said.  “Manure is a better fertilizer than straight phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen fertilizer because of the organic matter.”

It’s a resource Johnson applies in the fall.  The rest of the year he collects and stores it in manure holding facilities built by an NRCS technical service provider with financial assistance from EQIP.

Greg Jahn, an NRCS soil conservation technician in Plymouth County, worked on the Johnson project.  “A private engineering firm designed Johnson’s under-the-building manure storage facilities to NRCS and Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) standards and requirements,” said Jahn.  “Safety features were built into the structure to reduce the environmental risk to very near zero.  The concrete structure was stress tested for leaks.  Subsurface drain tile was put around the base of the pits to prevent underground water pressure from floating the buildings or cracking the concrete.”

Compared to open feedlots, Jahn says Johnson’s system is a big step in environmental stewardship because the manure is contained from the time it leaves the animal to the time it is properly applied to the land.  He says manure storage structures like Johnson’s will add immeasurably to water quality for everyone.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is seeking comments from the public on an interim rule that identifies certain beneficial conservation activities that would be categorically excluded from the detailed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. This effort emerged from a group of conservation professionals brought together by NRCS who have identified actions that have shown to have no significant impact on the environment over 30 years.

“By seeking public comment on how we can streamline implementation of certain conservation practices, the agency and our partners can accelerate the benefits in order to help more people and more communities benefit from common-sense conservation practices,” said NRCS Chief Dave White.

Categorical exclusions will help NRCS, farmers, ranchers, and state and local governments make conservation planning easier and support implementation of Recovery Act projects. An action can be considered for a categorical exclusion if a federal agency determines that the proposed action does not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the environment.

The public is invited to submit comments on the interim final rule until close of business Sept. 11, 2009. Comments can be submitted online, by mail, via e-mail, in person or by fax.

To view the full text in the Federal Register Notice online, visit http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-07-13-E9-16400.

For further information on the National Environmental Policy Act, visit http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/resources/nepa.html.

For more information about NRCS and conservation programs that may be available to you and your community visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov or your nearest USDA Service Center.

The Xerces Society, based in Portland, announced this week it has received $458,000 from the Natural Resources Conservation Service to do some of the work.

Part of the money will go toward tracking how pollination improves on farmland around Davis, California, where farmers have established mile-long (1.6-kilometer-long) hedgerows to provide food and shelter for pollinators like bumblebees and insects such as ladybugs, which prey on pests. The rest will be spent on working with universities and agricultural organizations to develop local combinations of trees, shrubs and plants that can be used nationwide to make life better for beneficial insects.

“If you provide the habitat, what we see is these animals will come and will help farmers,” said Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society.
Farmers have been relying increasingly on native pollinators such as bumblebees since honeybees — a European transplant — began dying from a mysterious combination of ailments known as colony collapse disorder. But many of the 4,000 species of bumblebees in North America also are threatened, primarily by disease and habitat loss.

Modern industrial farming has been terrible for native pollinators, said Claire Kremen, associate professor of zoology at the University of California at Berkeley. Crops are planted so they cover every inch of ground, and they only bloom once a year, so there is little food for bumblebees to eat the rest of the time. Bumblebees also need undisturbed ground or trees for nests, and there is little of that.

“It’s kind of ironic that the place where we need them most to pollinate fruits and vegetables, that’s where we don’t have them any longer,” Kremen said.
The habitat project created six hedgerows as much as a mile (1.6 kilometers) long and 80 feet (24 meters) wide planted with trees, shrubs and herbs that flower from January — when the first bumblebees emerge from hibernation — through fall, when the bees die off or go back into hibernation. Farmers planted the hedgerows in 2007, and about 60 bumblebee species use them.

The nectar and pollen also will help honeybees by providing a more nourishing source of food than the sugar water they usually get from beekeepers, Kremen said.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/national/US_grant_to_help_restore_bumblebee_habitat.html

In the last week I have returned to my desk to find dead bugs left on it with notes attached to it asking if the buggers were emerald ash borers with a phone number and name to call of who left it for me.  So I am posting this article from Minnesota for more information on this topic.

http://www.agweek.com/articles/?id=5174&article_id=3949&property_id=50

This image, provided through the University of Minnesota Extension Service, show the life stages of the emerald ash borer – from larvae to adult and to the D-shaped exit hole it leaves in ash trees once it reaches the adult stage.

Emerald ash borer remains a source of buzz around the state this summer and concerned homeowners want to know what they can do to protect their ash trees from this new invasive pest.

To make it easier for residents to determine the best course of action, scientists from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and University of Minnesota Extension offer the following tips:

1. Timing is everything. In Minnesota, experts advise that treatments be conducted in mid-autumn or late spring. The treatments target adult emerald ash borers, which are active in the summer. To ensure that the product is in the leaves by the time the adults emerge to feed in early to mid June, product is most effective when applied several weeks in advance.

2. Consider whether the tree is worth protecting. Trees enhance property value and aesthetic value, but in some cases it may be more cost-effective to replace a small or struggling ash tree than it is to pay the recurring cost of protective treatments (typically between $50 and $200 for each treatment).

3. Don’t start treatments until the pest is near. If you have a high-value ash tree you want to protect, the rule of thumb is to start treatments only after an emerald ash borer infestation is confirmed within 15 miles of your property.

4. Select the treatment option that fits your circumstances. There are several products available to protect your trees, and it is important to select the right one. While some products can be applied by homeowners, others can only be applied by licensed commercial pesticide applicators. Ash trees greater than four feet in circumference should be treated by a professional tree care company. Also, if you live in an area of sandy soils, have a shallow water table, or your tree is close to a street gutter, it may be best to go with a commercial applicator to avoid unintended environmental impacts.

5. If you do it yourself, read and follow the product label. Minnesota law requires anyone using a pesticide, whether the applicator is a homeowner or a commercial applicator, to read and carefully follow the label instructions and advisories. This rule protects you, your family and Minnesota’s natural resources.

6. If you hire it out, pick a reputable company. In some states, the arrival of emerald ash borer was followed quickly by another kind of pest – one that tried to scam homeowners into paying for unnecessary tree treatment or removal. While MDA has not heard any reports of out-of-town scam artists taking advantage of Twin Cities homeowners, it is always a good idea to check the qualifications of any company you hire to do tree work. For emerald ash borer work, make sure that the company and the workers doing the treatment are Minnesota-licensed commercial pesticide applicators. Ask the workers to show you a valid license, which should include a special certification for ornamental and turf applications. As an added safeguard, consider hiring a locally based firm with a certified arborist on staff.

7. Don’t dump the ash before its time. Generally it is not necessary to remove a healthy ash tree.

8. Careful with those trimmings. Homeowners who trim their ash trees this summer should give careful thought to what they will do with the branches and limbs. After all, emerald ash borer larvae can hide inside branches no thicker than your thumb. If your ash tree is infested and you move the infested branches to a different location, you may be helping the ash borer find new victims.

For the latest information about the fight against emerald ash borer, homeowners may visit MDA’s website at http://www.mda.state.mn.us or call the MDA’s Arrest the Pest Hotline, at (651) 201-6684 (toll free 1-888-545-6684).

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is seeking public comment on its conservation practice standards to help improve the Nation’s delivery of conservation programs. The public comment period is open until Aug. 11.

“A public review of conservation standards, which is written into the 2008 Farm Bill, is critical to ensuring that conservation programs are available, adequate, and working for the Nation’s producers and landowners,” said Dave White, NRCS Chief.

The 2008 Farm Bill maintains a strong commitment to locally led, voluntary conservation programs and the successful delivery and participation in these programs hinges on robust local input and involvement in the rule making process. Through the public comment process, stakeholders, including agricultural producers and private landowners and the general public, are able to include their input and priorities in the delivery of conservation programs.

NRCS conservation practices are diverse and very flexible and as such can be applied on many land uses. The public review of conservation delivery standards will ensure that conservation programs of the 2008 Farm Bill are relevant to local agricultural, forestry and natural resource needs including specialty crops like organics, native and managed pollinators, bioenergy crop production and forestry.

This broad public review will also help ensure conservation programs are less bureaucratic and more easily understandable by producers and potential applicants, delivered with sufficient technical assistance to complete conservation plans and implemented in an efficient, timely, and effective manner

All comments will be reviewed and considered for incorporation into final rules directing delivery of conservation programs. Public comments can be submitted online, by mail, via e-mail, in person, or by fax through Aug. 11. Contact information is listed in the notice. The notice can be found at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-13870.pdf.

For more information about NRCS and conservation programs that may be available, go to: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov or visit the nearest USDA Service Center.

USDA - NRCS is an equal opportunity employer and provider.

NRCS ~ Helping People Help the Land

JULIE was called and marked the site as no gas on site.  The site had OK painted on it.  Tiling machine hit a main 4” Ameren gas line with 350 psi going through it.  The tile machine cut a 3/4” x 2” hole in the gas line. In talking to the gas people the only reason it didn’t explode was because the pressure was so high that it blew away any oxygen in the hole at time of rupture.  The gas ran for over 14 hours before it was shut off at 2:30 Friday morning.

http://jg-tc.com/articles/2009/07/16/news/doc4a5f69241d9dd075479119.txt

In fact, many fields throughout Illinois are now showing significant damage from ephemeral erosion caused by concentrated water flow. Illinois Department of Agriculture statistics from the most recent T-Transect Survey show 25 percent of Illinois cropland acreage is now incurring major damage from concentrated water flow and ephemeral erosion.

What are ephemeral gullies? Ephemeral gullies are formed when small rills of water flowing on the soil surface converge to create a more concentrated flow. Ephemeral means temporary.  Ephemeral gullies are viewed as temporary because they can be crossed by farm equipment, and because they can also be filled with normal tillage operations.

Unlike rills, ephemeral gullies will often reappear in the same places of the field year after year. Typically, these ephemeral gullies will cut only as deep as the depth of tillage, but they may be broad, ranging from one foot to several feet wide. However just because these ephemeral gullies can be made to disappear with the use of a field cultivator, does not mean that major long-term damage is not occurring to your fields.

If after checking your fields this spring, you notice that a watercourse is causing severe erosion it may be time to convert it into a grassed waterway. In addition to controlling erosion, grassed waterways drain storm water safely off the land into designated outlets. They can also be used as outlets for the concentrated water coming from terraces, diversions, or adjacent properties.

If you decide that a grassed waterway is needed, you have four main tasks ahead: designing and constructing the waterway, establishing vegetation, and maintaining the waterway. During the design stage, work closely with your Conservation Professionals at the Natural Resources Conservation Service to calculate the grade of the watercourse, measure the drainage area, select and size the waterway, and calculate the number of acres in the grassed waterway. To ensure quality construction work, obtain several cost estimates for the job and make sure your contractor is a member of the Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association. Also, check with your neighbors to find out whom they have used and how satisfied they have been with the contractor’s work and rates.

Plan the construction to coincide with a period of time when the land will not be involved with crop production. The waterway should be seeded immediately after earth moving is complete as long as it is during the recommended seeding period. In addition to after it has been certified as meeting NRCS Standards and Specifications. To maintain the design and operation of the grassed waterway for the long-term, it is important to avoid damaging the waterway with tillage equipment, herbicides, burning, grazing, or using the waterway as a roadway. 

Cost sharing for Grassed waterways is available through the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program.  Contact your local NRCS District Conservationist for more information on EQIP or view previous posts on Conservation Corner.

Many years ago, 1984 to be exact, I came home from a long day of playing (Oh, I mean working) in the dirt and opened the day’s paper.

On about page 4 or 5 was an article that really caught my eye.

One titled, “Custom of eating dirt is declining.” Now being the young inquisitive soil scientist that I was, my interest was piqued.

This was my introduction to “geophagy”, the practice of eating soil. I had never heard of such a thing.

You mean that these people actually go out of their way to chow down on their favorite seasoned, raw clay?

Now I have been known to now and again taste the soil I am sampling or describing, but not necessarily for the purpose of enjoying the taste of a good old Typic Argiustoll.

Just a little pinch between your cheek and gum will help you to determine if there is any sand or grit in it, but that is as far as my desire goes. I often mention this to the school groups I talk to, and receive some pretty astonished looks from students as well as their teachers.

Now the practice of eating soil does have some claimed benefits, aside from just liking the taste and texture of it.

Is it that aboriginal innate tendency to feed a special nutritional need in us, or is it something else?

For centuries the consumption of soil has been a common practice with pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is presumed that the practice of geophagy in the southern United States is a tradition left over from the days of slavery.

One of the advantages of eating clay during pregnancy may be the calming effect that it has on the gastrointestinal system during bouts of nausea and morning sickness. White clays are generally composed of kaolin.

Many of today’s stomach medications such as Rolaids, Maalox, and the like contain the same compounds as found in white kaolin clays. Why do you think the name of the stuff is Kaopectate?

Now do I propose the consumption of soil as a substitute for the better foods of the world?

No.

Do I suggest giving a pound or two of spiced clay as a gift to any pregnant woman?

Absolutely not.

I would rather eat it myself than face that wrath.

Also, more information about soils is available at http://www.soils.usda.gov