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USDA Radio Talks to Nebraska Landowners
NRCS public affairs specialist Pat McGrane, wetlands assistance team leader Don Doty, and USDA senior radio reporter Brenda Curtis toured eastern Nebraska gathering news for USDA radio news line wetland stories. Curtis interviewed several landowners including Tom Tobin, a Burt County landowner, who’s enrolling 301 acres into the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program.

Harnessing Cow Power
Thanks to the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), some local Illinois dairy farms are producing a whole lot more than milk these days. That’s why Doug and Patricia Scheider along with Doug and Tom Block of Pearl City, recently hosted open houses to show off their methane digester operations that were partially funded by EQIP. Hundreds of people - farmers, natural resource promoters, Federal officials, and interested citizens - toured the farms to see first-hand how the two dairy farmers are turning cow manure into electricity. 

Outreach a Success on Blackfeet Reservation
Recent outreach efforts by NRCS to increase American Indian conservation program participation have paid off on the Blackfeet Reservation. “We have seen a significant increase in participants in our cost-share programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)” said Dave White, NRCS state conservationist for Montana.

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Backyard Conservation: Habitat Hunt Featured on PBS Kids Web System
The PBS-sponsored Backyard Jungle website, part of the PBS Kids web system, highlights a different activity each month to get kids and their families interested in exploring the outdoors and the natural environment around them.

USDA Awards $12.6 Million for Biomass Research and Development
Eleven projects have been selected to receive $12.6 million through the joint USDA-Department of Energy Biomass Research and Development Initiative. The total value of the projects is nearly $19 million, including cost sharing of the private-sector partners. More than 670 applications, divided into four unique technical topic areas, were submitted for the 2005 joint solicitation. Winning projects are listed in the news release below.

Get the details...
-- news release “USDA Awards $12.6 Million for Biomass Research and Development” (Oct. 6, 2005)

-- Biomass Research and Development Initiative
-- Energy and Agriculture

Updated Soil Quality Assessment and Applications for Field Staff Training Course
The NRCS Soil Quality National Technology Development Team is offering an updated version of its training course, Soil Quality Assessment and Applications for Field Staff.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (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 USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.