News

February 28, 2003

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

Bill Cosby, African-American author and comedian

In This Issue

Focus on the Field; Kansas: Agriculture Today Radio Program
Louisiana: First-of-Its-Kind Prairie Restoration in Louisiana
Pacific Basin: Tropical Natural Resources Technology Consortium Created
: Word from Washington
Deadline Near For Second Annual Excellence in Conservation Award
NRCS - Trout Unlimited, Inc., Sign Memorandum of Understanding
Soil and Water Conservation Society Report Released
National Peace Corps Volunteer Day
Celebrate National Black History Month; Tech Tip; Can Crop Residue be Used for Biofuel Production?

Focus on the Field

Agriculture Today Radio Program
It is a first for Kansas NRCS – an opportunity to regularly send NRCS program, event, and other information to more than 80 percent of the Kansas ag community and others interested in conservation. Monday through Friday the Agriculture Today syndicated radio program, produced by Extension Radio, Kansas State University, will air programs at least twice a month. The first few programs dealt with the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) proposed rule, Wetlands Reserve Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, and general information about the EQIP program in Kansas. Future programs will include Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) areas, rangeland health, Kansas No-Till Alliances, Earth Team volunteers, Farm Bill informational meetings, and technical service providers.
Your contact is Mary Shaffer, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 785-823-4571, or mary.shaffer@ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

First-of-Its-Kind Prairie Restoration in Louisiana
With help from the Wetlands Reserve Program, more than 250 Earth Team volunteers recently took the first steps to restore a native tall grass prairie in southern Louisiana. While loss of native prairies is a problem nationwide, the loss of coastal prairie in the southern U.S. is particularly severe. In Louisiana, where more than 2.5 million acres of tall grass prairie once covered the coastal region, today, less than 200 acres exist in small scattered remnants.

NRCS and Earth Team volunteers, along with a number of partners, are working on a first-of-its-kind prairie restoration called the Gueydan Prairie project located on a farm in the Vermilion Parish (county) Soil and Water Conservation District. Volunteers – many wearing "I Dig Prairie" shirts – dug up tall grass prairie sod to transplant a 110-acre plot of a 240-acre wetland in the process of being restored. While it is generally agreed that transplanting is a good way to restore a prairie and volunteers and partners enjoy their transplanting work, the lack of enough tall grass prairie sod and the labor required for its transplanting will require the restoration to be completed by seeding. The re-seeding will be the subject of an NRCS 5-year study to develop coastal prairie restoration and management techniques.
Your contact is Scott Edwards, NRCS conservation agronomist, at 318-473-7761, or scott.edwards@la.usda.gov.

Tropical Natural Resources Technology Consortium Created
NRCS and its partners have created a consortium to meet increasing demand for NRCS conservation planning technology in the American tropics of Hawaii, Florida, the Caribbean Area, and the Pacific Basin Area. The newly established Tropical Natural Resources Technology Consortium (TTC) will adapt, develop, and disseminate tools and technologies to better serve farmers and ranchers in tropical areas of the U.S. At a recent meeting in Nevada, a plan of work focusing on water quality, soil quality, and human dimensions of land use management was developed. Members of the TTC include NRCS, University of Hawaii, the University of Puerto Rico, the University of Guam, and the University of Florida – institutions that have a vested interest in tropical natural resource conservation. Your contacts are Michael Robotham, Tropical Technology Specialist, at 808-956-8149 or michael.robotham@hi.usda.gov , Edwin Mas, Tropical Technology Specialist, at 787-899-1420 or edwin.mas@pr.usda.gov, and John "Bart" Lawrence, Soil Conservationist, at 671-822-1210, or john.lawrence@pb.usda.gov.

Word from Washington

Deadline Near For Second Annual Excellence in Conservation Award
NRCS employees have less than two weeks left to complete nominations for the Second Annual Excellence in Conservation Award that recognize the valuable contributions that those outside of government have made to natural resource conservation on private land. Nominations must be received by the NRCS Human Resources Management Division by March 11, 2003. Any non-federal individual, group, tribe or organization is eligible for nomination by an NRCS employee. Nominations are limited to one double-spaced 8 ½ " X 11" page per State, region, and headquarters deputy area. Please submit an original and six copies of the nomination (including the coversheet with appropriate concurring signatures) to: USDA, NRCS, Human Resources Management Division
ATTN: Brian Wedding
14th and Independence Avenue, SW
Room 6218-S
Washington, D.C. 20250
Please see the NRCS website at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/partners/excellence2003.html for nominating criteria and guidelines for submitting nominations.
Your contacts are Brian Wedding, NRCS, Human Resources Management Division, 202-720-2900 or brian.wedding@usda.gov and Tori Kace, Human Resources Management Division, at 202-720-6413, or tori.kace@usda.gov.

NRCS - Trout Unlimited, Inc., Sign Memorandum of Understanding
NRCS Chief Bruce Knight announced a new cooperative partnership with Trout Unlimited, Inc., to help improve the nation's trout and salmon aquatic habitat. USDA entered into a memorandum of understanding with Trout Unlimited during a recent signing ceremony in Arlington, Virginia. "The Department of Agriculture and NRCS are committed to conserving natural resources and fish and wildlife habitat," Knight said. "Partnerships such as this help promote common sense environmental stewardship practices that benefit aquatic habitats, trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds."

The agreement, the first between the two organizations, establishes a framework of cooperation that encourages conservation projects to maintain and enhance wetland, riparian, and aquatic habitats; provides technical assistance and public information programs for landowners to inform them about aquatic and riparian habitat conservation practices; and fosters enhanced collaboration on aquatic and riparian habitat enhancement projects and conservation techniques.
Your contact is Howard Hankin, NRCS aquatic ecologist, at 202-690-0082, or howard.hankin@usda.gov.

Soil and Water Conservation Society Report Released
The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) recently released its Conservation Implications of Climate Change: Soil Erosion and Runoff from Cropland report at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Denver, Colorado. The new report identifies three approaches for adapting conservation policy and programs to protect water quality and soil resources in the face of changing climate and precipitation patterns. The report explains that policy and practice will continuously need to correct climate projections, measure damage due to climate change, determine why climate change caused the damage, and transform the approach to conservation planning from an average climate occurrence to a risk-based management. A pdf file of the report and news release can be downloaded from the SWCS website at http://www.swcs.org/t_advocacy_action.htm. Paper copies of the report can be requested by calling 515-289-2331, or pubs@swcs.org.
Your contact is Deb Happe, Soil and Water Conservation Society, at 515-289-2331, or deb@swcs.org.

National Peace Corps Volunteer Day
National Peace Corps Volunteer Day was celebrated on February 28. As many NRCS employees are former Peace Corps Volunteers, Joyce Scheyer, NRCS soil scientist and Jerry LeMunyon, acting NRCS national agronomist are compiling a list of all current and former employees who served in the Peace Corps as volunteers or staff members. If you would like to be included in this unique cadre, please send Joyce or Jerry your name, current or former position in NRCS, country of Peace Corps service, dates of service, and program area. They would like this information as soon as possible.
Your contacts are Joyce Scheyer, at 402-437-5698, or joyce.scheyer@usda.gov or Jerry LeMunyon, at 817-509-3216, or jerry.lemunyon@usda.gov.

Celebrate National Black History Month!
National Black History Month is celebrated during February to salute and honor the contributions African-Americans have made to this Nation. This year's theme is "The Souls of Black Folk: Centennial Reflections." In 1926, Harvard-educated Dr. Carter G. Woodson began the observance to instill a sense of pride, heritage, and honor in African-Americans and to encourage other racial groups to learn more about the African-American culture. In 1976, the weeklong event was expanded to the entire month of February to allow more time for observances. Dr. Woodson's choice of February honors two well-known civil rights leaders born during the month: Frederick Douglas (February 14) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12).
Your contact is Thaddeus Hamilton, Acting NRCS National Black Emphasis Program Manager, at 954-792-1984, or thaddeus.hamilton@fl.usda.gov.

Tech Tip

Can Crop Residue be Used for Biofuel Production?
The more than 400 million tons of crop residue generated annually in the U.S. leads many to ask whether that residue can be used to produce biofuel to meet some of our energy needs. As conservationists, NRCS researchers must take a careful look at the tradeoffs between using residue for energy production and leaving it on the land where it contributes to soil quality, water quality, and productivity.

Crop residues perform many positive functions including preventing soil erosion, contributing to soil organic matter and nutrients, supporting important soil organisms including fungi and earthworms, improving infiltration, reducing evaporation, and moderating soil temperatures. These functions help keep nutrients and water in fields and contribute to a better rooting environment for crops. Negative effects of residue can include promotion of some disease causing organisms and poor germination in colder climates due to cooler soil temperatures.

Based on a recent review of the literature, the Soil Quality Institute suggests the following considerations to protect soil function.

* In some situations, it may be acceptable to remove some crop residue for biofuel production if other resource concerns and conservation practice standard criteria are met. For example, up to 30% of surface residue may be removed from some no-till systems without increased erosion or runoff. (Note that removal rates are not the same as percent soil cover.) The Soil Conditioning Index can be a useful tool for beginning to estimate appropriate removal rates.

* Apply additional conservation practices. When residue is removed, contour cropping, conservation tillage, cover cropping or other conservation practices must be used to compensate for the loss of soil organic matter and loss of erosion protection.

* Consider growing crops dedicated to biofuel production. Compared to harvesting crop residue, it may be economically, energetically, and environmentally more viable to grow dedicated biofuel feedstocks such as switchgrass or hybrid poplar.

* Monitor and assess soil quality. Regardless of the residue removal practice chosen, monitor fields for visual signs of erosion or crusting and periodically test soil carbon levels. Adjust removal rates in response to any adverse changes in soil quality.
For more information, see the literature review: “Crop Residue Removal for Biofuel Production” on the Soil Quality Institute Web site at http://soils.usda.gov/sqi.
Your contact is Susan Andrews, Soil Quality Institute, at 515-294-9762, or andrews@nstl.gov.

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