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From roadside this field of corn shows sound conservation practices with the grassed waterways (USDA photo by Tim McCabe)NRCS This Week mast head

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Nebraska

particpant in the Nebraska NRCS Trailblazer RC&D's Women's Wilderness WeekendWomen's Wilderness Weekend
The NRCS Trailblazer Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council in Red Cloud, Nebraska, will again be sponsoring the Women’s Wilderness Weekend Program that recently received national recognition from the National Wild Turkey Federation. The event was selected from 300 other events as the outstanding outdoor event for women in the United States and Canada.

 

 

Illinois

Mack HodgesRetiring Soil Scientist Ends Rich Career
When Mack Hodges started working for NRCS, the agency had an enormous job to do – and a powerful incentive to get it done.   "The emphasis was getting soils classified and mapped," said Hodges, who was first hired by NRCS to work in Edwardsville as a summer intern when he was a freshman at Southern University in Louisiana. "The government was using soils information as a tax base for farmers."
 

Alabama

Jon Werner, right, director of the Water and Climate Center in Portland, Ore., right, and Stan Fox assemble the Soil Climate Analysis Network weather monitoring system Tuesday afternoon at the North Alabama Horticulture Research Center (photo by Amanda Shavers courtesy of The Cullman Times)Gathering Data
NRCS Water and Climate Center Director Jon Werner along with instructors and students from Alabama A&M University recently set up a weather observation station at the North Alabama Horticulture Research Center.  Within a week, area residents were be able to log on to the Alabama Mesonet Network and see data collected each hour. 

Missouri

Missouri NRCS State Conservtionist Roger Hansen (left) and director Missouri Department of Conservation John HoskinsThe Wetlands Reserve Program Working in Missouri
One of the greatest examples of how partnerships benefit Missouri's natural resources and landowners is the cooperative effort in delivering the NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). The Missouri Conservation Department has five wetland biologists who provide biological expertise to NRCS wetland teams comprised of soil scientists, engineers, and technicians. The synergy of these teams has helped Missouri become one of only five states to enroll more than 100,000 acres into WRP.
 

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

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USDA Energy Estimator theme artUSDA Releases Web-Based Irrigation Calculator Tool As Part of Overall Energy Strategy
USDA has announced the release of the “Energy Estimator for Irrigation," a Web-based awareness tool designed to help producers manage their irrigation water resources more efficiently. This tool evaluates opportunities to save on energy costs and improve efficiency of irrigation management. It allows producers to estimate the energy cost of pumping water for irrigation on their farm. USDA has already released two energy estimators that have proven to be very successful. From December 7, 2005 to the present, the “Energy Estimator for Tillage” and the “Energy Estimator for Nitrogen Fertilizer” have drawn more than 160,000 page views by 38,000 U.S. and international visitors.

Links…
usda logo USDA news release: “USDA Releases Web-Based Irrigation Calculator Tool As Part of Overall Energy Strategy" (June 12, 2006)

USDA Energy Estimators

USDA’s Energy Page

NRCS Energy Page

corn in IllinoisNRCS Seeks Independent Analysis of Internal Funding Formulas Used in Conservation Programs
NRCS is seeking independent analysis of internal funding formulas used for funding its conservation programs. This objective evaluation is being sought to continue improving agency business processes for more effective and efficient implementation of conservation programs. This analysis will provide a comprehensive evaluation of each program allocation formula and will assess how allocation formulas relate to programmatic efficiency and annual/long-term performance measures.

Link...
More information including the statement of work, contacts and application timelines for this comprehensive evaluation of program funding allocation formulas, please visit:
R -- Comprehensive Evaluation of Program Funding Allocation Formula

aerial view of contour plowingUSDA Announces FY 2006 Conservation Security Program Contracts
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced that USDA will fund 4,404 Conservation Security Program (CSP) contracts across the 50 States, Caribbean and Pacific Basin Areas. The FY 2006 CSP contracts offered cover more than 3.7 million acres of private land in 60 watersheds nationwide, which translates to nearly a $440 million long-term investment in conservation over the next 10 years. USDA expects to fully invest the $259 million provided by Congress for FY 2006. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will begin notifying producers of the contracts today.

Links...
usda logo "USDA Announces FY 2006 Conservation Security Program Contracts" (June 7, 2006)

Conservation Security Program
 

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Laura Davis holds the Commander's Award for Civilian Service certificate, medals, ribbon and lapel pinWest Virginia NRCS Soil Technician Honored
NRCS Beckley, West Virginia, Service Center Soil Conservation Technician Laura Davis was recently awarded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Commander’s Award for Civilian Service for her work during the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita recovery efforts in Louisiana, October 31, through December 29, 2005.

 

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PRISM map of U.S. mean rainfallPRISM: The New Climate Mapping Paradigm
The impacts of climate on agriculture have been documented for many years, but only recently has there been an opportunity to view climate impacts on agriculture from a entirely new high resolution spatial perspective. Dr. Chris Daly, developer of the Parameter-elevation Regression on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) and PRISM Group Director, has successfully described how the climate changes with elevation, topographic irregularities, coastal proximity, along with many other physical properties that effect temperature and precipitation.
 

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General Manual                                                                                     

June 12, 2006
Title 120, Part 406, Acquisition, Subpart G, Special Purchase Guide, was revised to update the policy regarding the purchase of day planners from the mandatory source, DayMax.

Title 360, Part 408, Merit Promotion Plan, Subpart J is Reserved.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (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 to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.