Representative's Tour Shows Support For Farm Bill Programs - On a tour of five Delta towns, people heard Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson speak of his support for Farm Bill programs. More than 550 persons heard the Congressman talk about the benefits of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). NRCS experts took the lead in educating the crowds about the technical aspects of the programs. The Human Resources Development Institute, Inc., of Tougaloo College hosted the tour, which was coordinated by the Northwest Mississippi Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council. Your contact is Jeannine May, State Public Affairs Specialist, on (601) 965-4337.

Tribes From Six States Cultivate Interest In NRCS Plant Materials - Tribal representatives from Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois learned the latest about plant species and NRCS assistance at a recent workshop hosted by the agency's Rose Lake Plant Materials Center. The center's staff described the agency's Plant Materials Program and NRCS assistance available for tribal lands. Participants worked with culturally significant plant species cultivated by the center. A professor from Michigan State University spoke on greenhouses and an NRCS outreach person explained opportunities for grants. A spokesperson for an Indiana tribe that the PMC has been working with discussed the establishment of a 200-acre prairie and development of museum and Native cultural exhibits. Rose Lake Plant Materials Center is located in East Lansing, Michigan. Your contact is Dave Burgdorf, Plant Materials Specialist, at dburgdorf@mi.nrcs.usda.gov

Regions Form Drought Task Force, Publish Report - Experts predict that the frequency and magnitude of large-scale, weather events such as droughts, hurricanes, and extreme heat will increase in the United States. Charles R. Adams, Regional Conservationist for the NRCS Southeast Region and Acting Regional Conservationist for the South Central Region, formed a multi-region drought task force to study the 1999 drought. John Dondero, a Southeast Region management analyst, leads the task force. Vic Simpson, Javier Ruiz, Belinda Duke, Suzanne Pugh, and Jerry Daigle served on the team. Adams presented the task force's research report and marketing strategy to Chief Pearlie Reed. The report shows the effects of drought on the South Central and Southeast Regions. Copies of the report are available from John Dondero on (404) 347-6105.

NRCS, Other Agencies Unite To Fight Hunger - NRCS South Carolina and other USDA agencies have teamed up to fight hunger with the Harvest Hope Food Bank and Arriba Corazones, a service-oriented student group at Spring Valley High School in Columbia. This effort demonstrates USDA's commitment to enhancing community-based human assistance programs. The goal is to collect at least 2,000 pounds of food that will be donated to the food bank and migrant families in several counties. The initiative is a statewide effort; food collected through USDA Service Centers throughout the State will be donated to local food banks. Your contact is Perdita Belk, State Public Affairs Specialist, on (803) 765-5402.

Allergy Sufferer Praises Plants Web Site - The National Plant Data Center's PLANTS web site has earned plenty of recognition, including rave reviews from national news media, but last week the praise became more personal. The center received the following message from a grateful web visitor: "I want to thank you all for your site. My husband came in contact with poison sumac. We had never heard of it before. He was very allergic to it. We have had a difficult time finding good photos from which we could identify this plant. Your site was helpful. My husband was familiar with poison ivy and poison oak and knew how to identify it. This poison sumac was a new one for us. Thanks again." Check out the PLANTS web site at http://plants.usda.gov/plants

AWARDS & GRANTS

NRCS, Partners Call For Wetlands Award Nominees - Nominations are now being accepted for the 2000 National Wetlands Awards Program, which honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding innovation or excellence in wetland conservation. Awardees will be honored next spring at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill and be profiled in the National Wetlands Newsletter, a journal of wetlands science, law, and policy published by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). Past nominees who did not receive an award remain eligible for nomination; organizations and Federal employees are not eligible. Sponsors are NRCS, ELI, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service. Nominations are due by December 15, 1999. For nomination information, contact Gary Wooten, Natural Resource Manager, NRCS National Headquarters, on (202) 690-1588.

Western Share Announces Grant Competition - USDA's Western Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program is calling for proposals for producer-directed research efforts. Producers and producer groups in the Western U.S. can compete for grants to identify, evaluate, and test sustainable agriculture practices and challenges. Proposals must be led by one or more producers, include a professional agricultural technical advisor and provide a plan for sharing information with their communities. Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m., Mountain Standard Time, on January 17, 2000. To apply, contact the host office at Utah State University on (435) 797-2257, or check the web on wsare@mendel.usu.edu The call for proposals will be available on-line after October 29 at wsare.usu.edu

Be Fruitful and Multiply: Conservation Activities and Multipliers - Conservation activities impact local economies with changes in production, recreation, jobs, taxes, and spending. These impacts occur not just once, but have a multiplier effect. A dollar spent on seed for a contour grass strips at the local elevator helps pay salaries and other operating costs, provides profit for the dealer, and the wholesale cost of the seed. While wholesale costs are paid to the out-of-county seed producer, the rest of the dollar circulates within the community and multiplies. Every industry that produces goods and services generates demands for other goods and services, and so on. Each round produces a smaller impact as some benefits "leak out" for outside purchases. Yet the total local impacts per dollar is the economic multiplier. These impacts can be calculated in dollars of sales, local profits and wages, jobs created, or local taxes received--measures that our customers understand.

One way to calculate these multiplier effects is through use of inter-industry input-output (I-O) tables developed by Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Wassily Leontief. Columns and rows of data show the relationships between industries and their production linkages. These gauge impacts of changes in one or more industries, on other industries, and total economic impact.

Data come from the 5-year Economic Census (including the Census of Agriculture) and other Commerce Department information. The Forest Service developed the IMPLAN model to use a modified set of these I-O accounts for their resource planning efforts, and later privatized the model to MIG, Incorporated (www.implan.com).

The IMPLAN model has application for watershed projects, RC&D areas, and State and regional planning. NRCS is required to estimate both national and regional economic impacts for each PL-566 watershed project. Similar impact analysis is needed for State conservation programs and projects. RC&D projects are primarily locally funded, so RC&D customers may want to know their local economic impact. NRCS also uses IMPLAN to examine impacts of proposed regulations and local benefits of conservation programs.

IMPLAN estimates staffing and program impacts to State and local economies and allows systematic comparisons between alternative policy proposals--knowledge useful for preparing staffing plans, advertising local programs, assessing state cost-sharing programs and examining the impact of proposed regulations on local agricultural sectors. An IMPLAN study on the impact of agriculture in South Dakota was followed by an impact study of lost grazing and production due to natural resource problems. These studies resulted in a doubling of the South Dakota State Government Conservation Grant Program. Many State universities have published impact studies of the CRP based on IMPLAN.

Some of the current NRCS economic impact work is available at http://waterhome.brc.tamus.edu/NRCSdata/implan Recent NRCS work includes:

• Impacts of proposed dairy regulations in Maricopa County, Arizona. NRCS calculated the impact of a typical dairy farm closing or changing production practices and estimated the best cost-sharing rates under a PL-566 project to ease farmers' transition under proposed regulations.
• Impacts of a watershed project in Kansas and Nebraska, including estimated flood reduction, crop production, recreation and construction impacts.
• Watershed flood control and water quality project impacts in New York and Maryland.
• The impacts of CRP, Wetland Reserve Program, and other conservation expenditures within various States, particularly with counties approaching 25 percent of cropland acreage under the programs.
• The Northern Plains: "Conservation In Action" publication listing a $4.89 return to the Northern Plains region on every NRCS dollar invested.
• A symposium on NRCS uses of IMPLAN at the 1998 American Association of Agricultural Economists meeting.
• Studies showing regional economic impacts of wildlife-related recreational expenditures.

NRCS economists can merge IMPLAN analysis data for a combination of counties and States into the specified 'local' area. For more information, or to use the IMPLAN model, contact your NRCS state economist or David Buland, Natural Resources Inventory and Analysis Institute, Temple, Texas, buland@brc.tamus.edu

October 1999--National Disability Employment Month

 

Sharing the Heartland: Practical Tools for Conserving Farmland and Natural Resources

Bloomington, Minnesota

October 29-30, 1999

Information on helping local decision-makers and organizations protect productive farmland and natural resources. See the conference's web site at www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/heartland

 

American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society, and the Soil Science

Society of America Annual Meeting

Salt Lake City, Utah

October 31-November 4, 1999

 

November 1999--America Recycles Day: November 15

 

National Earth Team/ NRCS Public Affairs Specialists Meeting

Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 1-4, 1999.

"Changing Patterns: Conservation, Communication and Volunteerism."

 

The Second Wetlands Regulatory Workshop

Atlantic City, New Jersey

November 2-5, 1999.

Wetland assessment techniques and applicability; regulatory and non-regulatory issues and approaches to protection, including hydric soils and Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permits; and wetland compensation and mitigation banking. Your contact is Ralph Spagnolo, (215) 814-2718

 

American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers Annual Meeting

Reno, Nevada

November 4 - 6, 1999

NRCS and NASS will host data and technology displays.

New Directions in Buffers: Common Sense Conservation

Billings, Montana

November 8-9, 1999

Hosted by the Montana Chapter Soil and Water Conservation Society. Contact Valerie Oksendahl, Program Chair, on (406) 538-7401x117.

 

National Forage Quality and Animal Well-Being Training

New Orleans, Louisiana

November 15-18, 1999

Grazing land specialists and other NRCS personnel will participate. The Grazing Lands Technology Institute and Texas A&M University's Grazing Land Animal Nutrition Lab will provide training. Contact Arnold Norman, Grazing Lands Technology Institute on 817-509-3214 or by email at: anorman@ftw.nrcs.usda.gov

 

Third Annual Training Conference: NRCS American Indian/Alaskan Native Employees Association

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

November 15-19, 1999

"Tears in the Past--A New Trail into Our Future." Held in conjunction with the Intertribal Agriculture Council Annual Symposium.

Native Plant Summit V

Bismarck, North Dakota

November 16-17, 1999

The theme is biodiversity. Addressed will be conservation programs, revegetation standards, mitigation efforts, and environmental mandates. Visit the web site at http://www.nativeplantsummit.org Contact Melissa Reep on (701) 223-8536; fax on (701) 223-9024; or e-mail at melissa.reep@nd.usda.gov

 

Eastern Native Grass Symposium

Baltimore, Maryland

November 17-19, 1999

Sponsored by NRCS, Agricultural Research Service, and the National Association of Conservation Districts. For more information, contact Gwen Meyer at the National Plant Materials Center, (301) 504-8175, or visit the following web sites: www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/BCS/links/eNG.html and www.NACDNET.org

 

Society of Soil Scientists of Southern New England

Sturbridge, Massachusetts

November 22-23, 1999

Current soil science research conducted at universities and other institutions throughout the Northeast. For more information, contact Sarah Heminway at (860) 928-7343. Send e-mail to margie.faber@ct.usda.gov

December 1999

 

Adding Value through Environmental Marketing: Opportunities for Food

Producers, Processors, and Retailers

Madison, Wisconsin

December 6-7, 1999

Production, marketing, and distributing field crops, meat and dairy products. Contact the IPM Institute of North America, 1914 Rowley Ave., Madison, Wisconsin, 53705; call (608) 232-1528; or fax (608) 232-1530. E-mail tagreen@compuserve.com See the web at iatp.org/labels/envcommodities/index.htm

 

Agricultural Total Maximum Daily Loads Workshop/Conservation 2000 Conference

New Orleans, Louisiana

December 14, 1999 (Workshop) December 15-17, 1999 (Conference)

For information, check the web at ctic.purdue.edu, or call (765) 494-9555.

 

January 2000

 

National Association of Conservation Districts 54th Annual Meeting

Colorado Springs, Colorado

January 30 to February 3, 2000

Registration information and agenda are at http://nacdnet.org/meetings/00annual/

 

March 2000

 

Sustainable Agriculture Coming of Age in the Year 2000

Portland, Oregon

March 7-9, 2000

Innovative agricultural techniques, scientific research, networking, visions of the future, and examples of successful sustainable agriculture. Sponsored by USDA Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, with contributions from land-grant universities and the Federal sustainable agriculture effort. Check the web site at http://wsare.usu.edu/2000

 

Global Sustainability Conference

Springfield, Illinois

March 28-29, 2000.

Carbon sequestration and ecological practices in agriculture and forestry, global warming, water quality, bio-energy, soil health, world food security, production agriculture, and ecological economics. Sponsored by the Gallatin County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Shawnee RC&D Council. E-mail: Michele.Gidcumb@ilridgway.fsc.usda.gov

 

May 2000

 

Use of Conservation Buffers on Urbanizing Landscapes

Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska City, Nebraska

May 9-11, 2000

For more information, please check the National Arbor Day Foundation's web site on

arborday.org

 

June 2000

 

Association of State Floodplain Managers' 24th Annual Conference

Austin, Texas

June 16-23, 2000.

"Floodplain Management 2000 and Beyond: A New Beginning in a New Millenium." For reservations, call (512) 477-1234.

 

National Association of RC&D Councils Conference

Ogden, Utah

June 18-21, 2000

Your contacts are the National Association of RC&D Councils on (202) 434-4780, and David Spann, Coordinator, Bonneville RC&D Office, 1030 West 5370 South, Murray, Utah 84123. Phone: (801) 262-6838. Fax: (801) 263-3667. E-mail: mpatten@ditell.com

Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

-- Will Rogers, American humorist

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