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The "ABC's" of Conservation
The Beef Cattle Research Station in Butner, North Carolina, was the setting for an NRCS two-week Basics of Conservation Planning course that leads students through the nine steps of conservation planning.
 

CSP Takes Root on the Shortgrass Prairie
Working with NRCS, the West Greeley Conservation District, and the Pawnee Grassland Council -- a group of ranchers who participate in the National Grassland Grazing Allotment program -- Colby Van Cleave has set up a thriving cattle operation where once there was only drought-damaged, over-grazed, cactus-covered pastures in the wind-swept, drought-prone Pawnee Creek watershed just south of the Nebraska border.

Cooperative Conservation
Ranchers unite to save the land for cattle, wildlife, way of life.

Connect to NRCS' State News, Newsroom, and News Releases!

Ag Air Quality Task Force to Meet in Hawaii
The next meeting of the USDA-Agricultural Air Quality Task Force will be November 13-15, 2005, in Wailea-Maui, Hawaii. The meeting is open to the public beginning at 8 a.m. for a full day on Sunday, November  13, and on Tuesday, November  15. Public comments will be accepted each day. The task force meeting brings attention to the regional nature of ag air quality issues and Hawaii’s unique concerns of haze and diminished visibility of pristine areas. This meeting is being held in conjunction with USDA’s Farm Bill Listening Forum, November 12, in Kona, Hawaii.
 

Get the details...
 -- NRCS news release “Agricultural Air Quality Task Force to Meet in Hawaii; Open to the Public on November 13 and 15, 2005” (Nov. 1, 2005)

 -- USDA-Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Sustainable Ag NEtwork (SAN) Announces New Publication on Ecological Strategies to Manage Insect Pests
While every farming system is unique, the principles of ecological pest management apply universally. Manage Insects on Your Farm: A Guide to Ecological Strategies, the new title from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program’s outreach arm, the Sustainable Agriculture Network, provides in-depth look at ecological strategies that improve a farm's natural defenses and encourage beneficial insects to attack the worst pests.

Tidal Surge Survivors
When Gary Fine, manager of the NRCS Golden Meadow Plant Materials Center (PMC), was finally able to observe how the PMC’s beach planting sites on several barrier islands off the coast of Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico had fared against Hurricane Rita and Katrina, he was astounded. The plantings had survived the hurricanes’ tidal surges.

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.