"I like to think of landscape not as a fixed place but as a path that is unwinding before my eyes, under my feet".

–- - from Legacy of Light by Gretel Ehrlich, American author.

Accolades
Coffee County Wakes Up No-Till Conference

Focus on the Field
Alabama: NRCS Rescues Coast Guard
California: Modesto Hosts Japanese Students
New Jersey: New Jersey Promotes Soil Survey
Oklahoma: High Plains RC&D Gives Local Economy a "Lift"

Word From Washington

NACD Annual Meeting Just Around the Corner

Tech Tip
Lime Application Demonstration Study Initiated

Sites to See

The Wildlife Society

American Customer Satisfaction Index

NRCS Legislative Summaries
AGRICOLA: USDA's AGRICultural Online Access
National Association of Conservation Districts e-Note

Web-agri, the Smart Farming Search Engine

ACCOLADE

Coffee County Wakes Up No-Till Conference - Georgia’s Coffee County Conservation Tillage Alliance (CCCTA) was recently recognized as one of the top No-Till Innovators at the National No-Tillage Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri. The 2001 No-till Innovators were selected based on their dedication to the advancement of no-till farming. Two members of the CCCTA, Orson Adams and Rick Reed, who serve as Council members on the Seven Rivers Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) District board, accepted the award. Council member Adams serves as Secretary for the Alliance that has partnered with Seven Rivers and NRCS to rent conservation tillage equipment to farmers to test before buying. The Alliance also collaborated with Seven Rivers last year to host a three-day conservation tillage training seminar. Another seminar is scheduled for February 2002. Council members Adams and Reed both serve on the Seven Rivers Ag/Forestry Committee as well.
Your contact is contact Luther Jones NRCS RC&D coordinator, at 912-367-7679.

FOCUS ON THE FIELD

NRCS Rescues Coast Guard - When the U.S. Coast Guard developed its Alabama marine waterways oil spill GIS modeling software, they discovered that there weren't sufficient funds to buy ortho-imagry data they needed for the project. The Coast Guard sent out 150 requesting GIS data from other Federal, State, and private organizations and NRCS in Alabama came to the rescue. With more than 100 ortho-imagry images of Alabama's marine waterways, NRCS had what Coast Guard needed. Additionally, NRCS provided office space for Will Page, an employee of the Coast guard contractor, Southeast Digital Mapping, to set up his equipment and began copying the NRCS digital aerial ortho-imagry needed to customize the USCG software. The NRCS orthoimagry will save the Coast Guard tens of thousands of dollars and subsequent GIS data sharing among agencies should amount to millions saved.
Your contact is Richard Zellmer, NRCS GIS specialist at 334-887-4576.

Modesto Hosts Japanese Students - Earlier this month, 25 students from Japan visited the Stanislaus, California, County Agricultural Center in Modesto. The students are in a three-year education/work program designed to provide them incentives to become active in Japanese agriculture. The visit highlighted the various Federal, State, and local government agricultural assistance and support systems in place in the United States. Michael McElhiney, NRCS district conservationist gave an overview of USDA's role within the Federal government, an explanation of NRCS's mission, and the principles of "locally led conservation" as they apply to the agency's partnership with conservation districts. The students especially enjoyed Mike's interesting demonstration of an irrigation erosion reduction practice used on farms in western Stanislaus County where an additive to the irrigation water causes soil particles to precipitate out, reducing erosion and improving water infiltration.
Your contact is Mary Jane Nelson, NRCS soil conservationist, at 209-491-9320 ext. 112.

New Jersey Promotes Soil Survey - In New Jersey, NRCS and Sussex County Soil Conservation District held their Soil Survey Last Acre Ceremony celebrating the completion of mapping the Sussex County Soil Survey update. New Jersey State Senator Robert Littell, who helped secure State funding for the survey, participated in the ceremonial last acre of mapping, despite a layer of snow. Other participants included the county's freeholder director, planners and other survey users, and news media. A major difference between this update legend and the legends of the previous soil surveys is that "urban land" is named as a map unit as if it were a soil series. These map units were interpreted directly from aerial photography. The update will be available within the next few months in digital format.
Your contact is Irene Lieberman, NRCS public affairs specialist, on 732-246-1171 ext.124.

High Plains RC&D Gives Local Economy a "Lift" - The High Plains Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) area encompasses eight counties in northwestern Oklahoma, declared by former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman as under "general and economic distress due to outmigration or loss of population." In efforts provide more jobs, the High Plains RC&D Council has worked with a local company, Weatherford Artificial Lift Systems to develop "remote site manufacturing" where the company provides equipment and training and in return communities provide a suitable building and assist in the recruitment of employees. So far, five communities (Arnett, Buffalo, Seiling, Shattuck, and Taloga, Oklahoma) have participated in the project. The High Plains Institute of Technology has helped by providing training to prospective employees. The company has reduced its production costs by nearly 50 percent by operating with a highly-motivated workforce in a low-cost environment and in return each of the participating communities has added $275,000 to their payrolls annually. With a solid record of success on which to build, the High Plains RC&D Council is working to interest other companies in participating in the program.
Your contact is Joan Comanor, Director, NRCS Resource Conservation and Community Development Division, at 202-720-2847.

NACD Annual Meeting Just Around the Corner - This year’s 56th NACD Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada, will be feature resource and other valuable information for all conservation district officials across the country. Two major general sessions are scheduled that will feature keynotes by USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Mark Rey and professional agricultural speaker, Jolene Brown. Based on the number of advance registrations received so far, this year's attendance will top last year's meeting in Fort Worth.
Your contact is Laura McNichol, NACD at 202-547-6223.

Lime Application Demonstration Study Initiated - The NRCS Watershed Science Institute and National Water Management Center have joined forces with the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, in a five-year demonstration study on the benefits of lime application to acidic soils. The study, conducted at the University Research and Demonstration Farm at Lonoke, Arkansas, will demonstrate the effect of different liming rates on soybean and sorghum production. The study's objective is to determine the impact of raising the soil pH on crop yield and net income of limited resource farmers in the area. The cost of adding lime to an acid field will be weighed against the expected increase in yield and subsequent gross income. As the net income will depend on the price of the crop, a "break even" price will also be determined. The anticipated benefits of applying lime to acidic soils where soybeans are grown include increased growth and yield, decreased weed and, possibly, pest pressures, decreased erosion, and improved nutrient uptake efficiency. When combined with other conservation practices, such as nutrient management, pest management, and conservation tillage, the addition of lime can eventually lead to improved soil quality and increased income for Arkansas limited resource farmers. The study will help Arkansas farmers visualize the benefits of lime and determine whether applying lime to their acid soils will be economically beneficial.
Your contact is Stefanie Aschmann, NRCS agroecologist, at 402-437-5178 x 43.

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