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Nebraska
Women's
Wilderness Weekend
The NRCS Trailblazer Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council in Red
Cloud, Nebraska, will again be sponsoring the
Women’s Wilderness Weekend Program that recently received national
recognition from the National Wild Turkey Federation. The event was
selected from 300 other events as the outstanding outdoor event for women in the
United States and Canada.
Illinois
Retiring
Soil Scientist Ends Rich Career
When Mack Hodges started working for NRCS, the agency had an enormous job to do
– and a powerful incentive to get it done. "The emphasis was getting
soils classified and mapped," said Hodges, who was first hired by NRCS to
work in Edwardsville as a summer intern when he was a freshman at Southern
University in Louisiana. "The government was using soils information as a tax
base for farmers."
Alabama
Gathering
Data
NRCS Water and Climate Center Director Jon Werner along with instructors and
students from Alabama A&M University recently set up a weather observation
station at the North Alabama Horticulture Research Center. Within a week,
area residents were be able to log on to the Alabama Mesonet Network and see
data collected each hour.
Missouri
The
Wetlands Reserve Program Working in Missouri
One of the greatest examples of how partnerships benefit Missouri's natural
resources and landowners is the cooperative effort in delivering the NRCS
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). The Missouri Conservation Department has five
wetland biologists who provide biological expertise to NRCS wetland teams
comprised of soil scientists, engineers, and technicians. The synergy of these
teams has helped Missouri become one of only five states to enroll more than
100,000 acres into WRP.
Connect to
NRCS' State
News,
Newsroom, and
News Releases!
USDA
Releases Web-Based Irrigation Calculator Tool As Part of Overall Energy Strategy
USDA has announced the release of the “Energy Estimator for Irrigation," a
Web-based awareness tool designed to help producers manage their irrigation
water resources more efficiently. This tool evaluates opportunities to save on
energy costs and improve efficiency of irrigation management. It allows
producers to estimate the energy cost of pumping water for irrigation on their
farm. USDA has already released two energy estimators that have proven to be
very successful. From December 7, 2005 to the present, the “Energy Estimator for
Tillage” and the “Energy Estimator for Nitrogen Fertilizer” have drawn more than
160,000 page views by 38,000 U.S. and international visitors.
Links…
USDA news
release:
“USDA Releases Web-Based Irrigation Calculator Tool As Part of Overall Energy
Strategy" (June 12, 2006)
USDA Energy Estimators
USDA’s Energy Page
NRCS Energy Page
NRCS
Seeks Independent Analysis of Internal Funding Formulas Used in Conservation
Programs
NRCS is seeking independent analysis of internal funding formulas used for
funding its conservation programs. This objective evaluation is being sought to
continue improving agency business processes for more effective and efficient
implementation of conservation programs. This analysis will provide a
comprehensive evaluation of each program allocation formula and will assess how
allocation formulas relate to programmatic efficiency and annual/long-term
performance measures.
Link...
More information including the statement of work, contacts and application
timelines for this comprehensive evaluation of program funding allocation
formulas, please visit:
R -- Comprehensive Evaluation of Program Funding Allocation Formula
USDA Announces FY 2006 Conservation Security Program Contracts
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced that USDA will fund 4,404
Conservation Security Program (CSP) contracts across the 50 States, Caribbean
and Pacific Basin Areas. The FY 2006 CSP contracts offered cover more than 3.7
million acres of private land in 60 watersheds nationwide, which translates to
nearly a $440 million long-term investment in conservation over the next 10
years. USDA expects to fully invest the $259 million provided by Congress for FY
2006. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will begin notifying
producers of the contracts today.
Links...
"USDA Announces FY 2006 Conservation Security Program Contracts" (June 7,
2006)
Conservation Security Program
West
Virginia NRCS Soil Technician Honored
NRCS Beckley, West Virginia, Service Center Soil Conservation Technician Laura
Davis was recently awarded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Commander’s
Award for Civilian Service for her work during the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
recovery efforts in Louisiana, October 31, through December 29, 2005.
PRISM:
The New Climate Mapping Paradigm
The impacts of climate on agriculture have been documented for many years, but
only recently has there been an opportunity to view climate impacts on
agriculture from a entirely new high resolution spatial perspective. Dr. Chris
Daly, developer of the Parameter-elevation Regression on Independent Slopes
Model (PRISM) and PRISM Group Director, has successfully described how the
climate changes with elevation, topographic irregularities, coastal proximity,
along with many other physical properties that effect temperature and
precipitation.
General Manual
June 12, 2006
Title 120, Part 406, Acquisition, Subpart G, Special Purchase Guide, was
revised to update the policy regarding the purchase of day planners from the
mandatory source, DayMax.
Title 360, Part 408, Merit Promotion Plan, Subpart J is Reserved.
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.
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