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| Friday, March 3, 2000 Washington, DC. |
"Whatever is affixed to the soil belongs to the soil." Ancient Anglo-Saxon Law
Sites for Farm Policy Field Hearings Announced - The House Agriculture Committee announced the schedule for 10 farm policy hearings at which producers will be encouraged to submit detailed proposals for agriculture policy.
Each hearing may last for up to four hours, but full discussion of producers' plans and Committee Members' questions will limit the number of witnesses who can testify. Producers may be invited to offer testimony as a witness, or if not selected, producers may either submit specific views for the record, or e-mail informal comments to the Committee. To be considered a potential witness at the hearing, producers should include information about their agricultural experience and their farming operations. The Committee will select witnesses who are qualified to provide specific testimony about Federal farm policy and answer questions posed by Committee Members about policy alternatives.
The schedule is as follows: March 6, Lubbock, Texas. March 17, Memphis, Tennessee. March 18, Auburn, Alabama. March 27, Raleigh, North Carolina. April 1, West Chester, Ohio. April 3, Kutztown, Pennsylvania. May 1, Sacramento, California. May 2, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. May 12, Boise, Idaho. May 13, Peoria, Illinois. Your contact is Tia Young, Director, NRCS Legislative Affairs Staff, on (202) 720-2771.
RI Governor Wants $50 Million to Protect Land from Development - Flanked by environmental and business leaders, including State Conservationist Joe DelVecchio, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln C. Almond showed wide support for a new $50 million bond measure to protect land from development. Funding would be spent over 10 years starting in July 2001. About $25 million would finance purchases of open land, while the rest would be awarded to cities and towns for similar purchases and local parks. Almond's goal is to protect 35,000 acres of land, an addition to 87,000 acres already protected through ownership, government easements, and land trusts. This bond measure would help curb urban sprawl, spur tourism, and maintain environmental quality.
The campaign appears likely to succeed, with leaders of the legislature pledging their support. Rhode Island voters have never voted down statewide an open-space bond. If passed, the measure would complement Vice President Gore's conservation initiative for increase funding for NRCS' Farmland Protection Program. Your contact is Jeanne Comerford, Program Support Specialist, on (401) 822-8814 and at jeanne.comerford@ri.usda.gov
College Gets Grant for Studies in Ojibwe Food Gathering, Preservation - Minnesota's Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College received a $15,000 Resource Conservation and Development grant to study and share information about traditional food gathering and preservation techniques of the Ojibwe culture. State Conservationist William Hunt, college president Jack Briggs, and other dignitaries signed the "Circle of Subsistence" project agreement at a recent ceremony. Program components emulate traditional Ojibwe yearly cyclical patterns and will provide an American Indian approach to natural food subsistence. The project will cover topics such as gathering and processing of maple sap, collecting birch bark for basket-making, gathering wild berries, and identifying medicinal plants. Seven counties will benefit from this project. Your contact Sylvia Rainford, State Public Affairs Specialist, on (651) 602-7859.
PARTNERSHIP POWER
NRCS, International Erosion Control Association Ink MOU - NRCS and the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will reaffirm the partnership that existed informally in the past. IECA is a professional organization for the erosion control industry. It provides its members with education to improve skills and provides the public with information through various forums; provides technical expertise for people, organizations, and governments seeking to address erosion and soil conservation; and promotes professional expertise through certification.
In his remarks at IECA's recent Annual Conference and Expo, Lawrence Clark, NRCS' Deputy Chief for Science and Technology, stated the importance of the MOU, and outlined prospects for increasing training opportunities for NRCS employees, sharing in piloting new technologies, and working together on research and technology development.
Through this important MOU, NRCS will:
One step into this relationship has already been made by IECA. Copies of its Erosion Control magazine will be sent to each NRCS Field Office. This magazine is an excellent source of erosion and sediment control information and products. (See VegSpec article in "WebWorld" section of this issue of "NRCS This Week.")
For more information concerning this relationship and the opportunity to participate on the development committee, please contact: William Hughey, National Agricultural Engineer, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC. 202-720-5023 or e-mail at william.hughey@usda.gov
TECH TIP
Ten Useful ToolsCourtesy of Your NRCS Economists
NRCS Economists at State Offices, Institutes, and NHQ have created "Ten Useful Tools, Courtesy of Your NRCS Economists," a special Web site for field offices at http://waterhome.brc.tamus.edu/NRCSdata/tentools.htm
On the site, you'll find: Spreadsheets for Seeding Mixture and Costs for Rangeland and Pastureland (http://waterhome.brc.tamus.edu/NRCSdata/models/rangecal/) where calculation worksheets for seed mixtures and costs are available for evaluating and planning range and pasture plantings. The worksheet is to be used with NRCS State Standard and Specifications, Field Office Technical Guide, Section IV. These tools were developed by State economists Ted Kuntz of Oklahoma and David Faulkner of Virginia. Included are current seed prices available for those States. If those seed varieties and prices are not useful in your area, please substitute your own. Some State or area grazing land specialists are already distributing locally modified versions to their field offices.
Be sure to check for the other nine useful tools, too. This collection of conservation planning and analysis tools is maintained by the Natural Resources Inventory and Analysis Institute and your NRCS economists. Your contact is David Buland at buland@brc.tamus.edu
TURNING GRASS INTO CASH
Written by Timothy B. Gogolski, District Conservationist, NRCS, Lyndon (Kansas) Field Office. Submitted by Mary Shaffer, Public Affairs Specialist, NRCS, Salina, Kansas
You've probably heard of the money tree, that mythical tree that produces money as its fruit. But have you heard about grass that turns into cash? Well, it's no myth. Now you can turn new grass into money while protecting streams and supporting wildlife. That's exactly what the Marais des Cygnes Valley FFA chapter is doing in Osage County, Kansas, through Operation Green Stripe.
Operation Green Stripe is a program sponsored by Monsanto Company that promotes strips of grass along streams. The program pays local FFA chapters up to $3,700 for helping protect rural stream water quality and improving wildlife habitat. The chapter receives $100 for each strip they enroll, up to five strips. Monsanto will also pay $200 for the best program in the State and $3,000 for the best program in the nation.
Operation Green Stripe requires chapter members to work with producers to enroll the land and establish grass buffer strips. The student meets with the prospective participant and completes an onsite assessment. If the area is eligible, strips are planted along streams or other bodies of water. To be eligible, the producer must also agree to leave the land in grass for at least 3 years. In Osage County, there is generally little or no expense to the landowner as the local Quail Unlimited Chapter donates seed.
Operation Green Stripe continues to take root in Osage County. In 1997, the first year that the Marais des Cygnes Valley FFA participated in the program, seven strips were planted. The FFA chapter has helped with the installation of 21 buffers protecting over 6 miles of streams in Osage County. There are already 12 people interested in planting a strip in the spring of 2000.
In most cases, there is cash for the FFA chapter and the participants. Participants who are eligible to enroll the strips in the Conservation Reserve Program receive an annual rental payment for 10 to 15 years depending on the participant's desires. In Osage County, the payments range from $60 to $92 an acre depending on the soil.
If you don't have a mythical tree that produces money, you should consider turning some grass into cash.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Nichols Wins NACD Award for National Conservation Efforts - Recognized for producing a host of national conservation communications campaigns and projects, Ron Nichols, NRCS' State Communications Director for Utah, recently received the National Communications Award from the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). "Ron has championed numerous national communications projects that have received national acclaim and benefit conservation districts and natural resources throughout the Nation," said NACD Public Affairs Director Ron Francis.
During the past 5 years, Ron has won more than 20 Golden Spike Awards from local chapters of the Public Relations Society of America and the International Association of Business Communicators, as well as several national and international public relations awards. In 1999, Ron and KUTV's John Greene received a Gold Award from the Utah Broadcasters Association, as well as an International Teddy Award for excellence in film and video production. Your contact is Ron on (801) 524-4556.
Volunteer Efforts at National Plant Materials Center Awarded - Jennifer Kujawski, a resource conservationist at the agency's National Plant Materials Center (NPMC) received the NRCS's East Region's Earth Team-NRCS Employee Award for her outstanding leadership and the endless time and energy she enthusiastically provides to the Center. Thirty-eight percent of the NPMC's staff is Earth Team volunteers. The Center is located in Beltsville, Maryland. Your contact is Carol Hollingsworth, Maryland State Public Affairs Specialist, on (410) 757-0861, ext. 313.
EMPOWERMENT ON THE JOB
USDA All in a Day's Work for this German Shepherd - If your 4-H club trains guide dogs for visually disabled people, you're used to heart-warming stories about how these dogs empower lives. That's certainly true for NRCS management analyst Dr. Denise Decker. Her 7-year-old German Shepherd, Quadrant, is at her side every day. He is one of at least four guide dogs at work in USDA headquarters in Washington.
Like many guide dogs, Quadrant was raised by a 4Her as part of its guide dog project. Seeing Eye, Inc., of Marrstown, New Jersey, the organization that provided Quadrant to Denise, is among those that work with 4-H clubs to provide the first year of training for their puppies. Seeing Eye alone has raised some 500 puppies through 4-H. There's something about 4-Her's and their families that provides the young dogs with just the right mix of a loving human bond and disciplined dedication.
Quadrant, and the three previous dogs Denise has had through the Seeing Eye program, were all raised in the 4-H program. Quadrant accompanies Denise everywhere she goes, including on travel assignments in the U.S. and abroad. When she is not involved with NRCS work, she volunteers in programs that help make the workplace more accessible to the disabled.
Seeing Eye, Inc. does not divulge the identity of the 4-Hers that work with their dogs. Denise knows only that Quadrant was reared on a farm somewhere in Pennsylvania. His baby pictures show him with a 4-Her named Peter.
Peter sent the Seeing Eye program Quadrant's scrapbook, and it's one of Denise's greatest treasures. She says, "I just want Peter to know how much Quadrant is loved and appreciated, and how much his work is respected here." Please refer calls to Seeing Eye, Inc.'s puppy-raising hotline at (800) 539-4425, ext. 769 and to Sally Schuff at (202) 484-0744.
CALL FOR PAPERS
Tech Conference Seeks Abstracts on AFO Innovations - The High Plains Pilot Project reminds you that April 1 is your deadline for submitting abstracts for presentations for its "Innovative Technologies for Planning Animal Feeding Operations" conference scheduled for December 4-6 in Denver. Abstracts are not limited to specific types of operations and should provide information that addresses new and emerging technologies, especially those adaptable for use on the Great Plains. Please forward abstracts and submit questions to Ron Schierer, High Plains Pilot Project, 210 West 10th Street, Goodland, Kansas 67735. Phone (785) 899-3070. Notifications of abstract acceptance will be made May 15. Abstracts should be 250 words in length and can be for oral, poster, and display presentations. For details, see http://www.highplainspilot.com/ or contact Ron at ron.schierer@ks.usda.gov
WEB WORLD
New Version of VegSpec Now Online, Praised by "Erosion Control" - Look for the latest version of VegSpec, the agency's Internet-based tool for finding and selecting plants for conservation uses. VegSpec was released in early February and features changes in the expert rules used to select plants, new functionality in planting design screens, and changes to the user interface. You can see the updated VegSpec site at http://ironwood.itc.nrcs.usda.gov/Netdynamics/Vegspec/pages/HomeVegspec.htm
VegSpec was developed in cooperation with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USGS Biological Research Division and NRCS.
The March 2000 issue of "Erosion Control" magazine gives VegSpec excellent press. It came in response to a letter to the editor from retired NRCS National Forester Keith Ticknor who thanked the magazine for mentioning NRCS in an article printed in its June 1999 edition. Says "Erosion Control" of VegSpec, "It's almost as good as talking with a knowledgeable expert." Your contact is Doug Williams, NRCS National Forester, on (202) 720-1858 and at doug.williams@usda.gov
Internet Service Links Organizations, Volunteers - Need volunteers? Try VolunteerMatch, a nonprofit Internet service that helps people nationwide find volunteer opportunities posted by local nonprofit and public sector organizations. It benefits from strong local support in San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, New York, and Los Angeles. To pick up the particulars, click http://www.volunteermatch.org
Latest APDA Newsletter Now on Web - The latest edition of the "APDA Informer," the newsletter of the Association for Persons with Disabilities in Agriculture is ready for you on the association's Web site. Among its offerings is an item on USDA's Pilot Mentor Program for Employees with Disabilities. Want to know more? The "Informer" is waiting to inform you at http://www.apda.usda.gov/
CONFERENCE & TRAINING CONNECTION
March 3, 2000
As a service to NRCS personnel and the agency's partners, "NRCS This Week" offers the following clickable, by-subject list of conferences and training sessions. To add an event, please send an e-mail message to brad.fisher@usda.gov
