NRCS This Week - 10/20/00

Crop Residue Survey application - CropRes - allows users to upload survey transect data, enter county profile data (county crop acres), and adjust tillage percentages. CropRes is now available at http://calais.itc.nrcs.usda.gov/ctic/ (A PMRS user ID and logon are required to enter this site).

Computer Tools Now Available to Field Offices! Field office personnel now have access to better tools to reduce paperwork, improve efficiency, and allow more time to work in the field with customers. Computer tools are available at http://www.info.usda.gov/NRCS/FOWR/

AGRICOLA: USDA's AGRICultural Online Access

e-Notes from NACD: Weekly news briefs from the National Association of Conservation Districts

Ag Day - Nationally syndicated daily program at http://www.agday.com/.

Conference & Training Connection!

See the alphabetical-by-subject list of upcoming events.

FOCUS ON THE FIELD

Youth Enterprise in Agriculture (YEA) and NRCS Team to Develop Leaders of Tomorrow - The agricultural landscape has changed across the country as more large farms and corporations replace small farms. A program started in 1991 by the Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation (ALFDC), with assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is working to reverse that trend.

"The YEA Program is developing our next generation of leaders," said Dr. Calvin King, ALFDC president. "The program encourages youth to pursue continuing education in agricultural areas and gives them a better understanding of rural life and support agencies."

At the heart of YEA is a family-based learning experience that gives youth personal contact with rural leaders and agricultural professionals. During the first year of the program, students are placed in on-farm summer internships where they live and work with rural farm families. Twenty-seven students entered the program this year. The program gives them hands-on experience in production agriculture and management and marketing techniques. The on-farm internships also support student leadership development through exposure to the culture and values of rural communities. A second-year summer assignment places the students as interns at USDA agencies or community-based organizations where they learn the administrative side of agriculture and rural policy. This year, three of the 12 second-year students worked as interns at NRCS offices in Lee, Cross, and St. Francis counties.

"To face the challenges of the future, we must be prepared for dramatic changes in education and employment. YEA directly responds to that need. By raising the awareness among youth of the broad range of agriculture career opportunities and by providing practical experiences in those fields, the YEA Program has established itself as a national model," said Kalven L. Trice, NRCS Arkansas State Conservationist. Your contact is Creston Shrum, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, 501-301-3168.

Environmental Stewardship Award Goes to Resource Specialist - Rick Orr, resource specialist in Nevada, received the Natural Resources/Environmental Stewardship Award from the Western Region of the National Association of Extension

4-H Agents. Orr and Don Holloway, extension educator with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, received the team award for developing the "Naturally Resourceful" 4-H program. The program consists of a 5-day summer camp for 8-12 year olds to learn about soils, water, plants, and other natural resources. Since the volunteer program started 7 years ago, enrollment has increased from 19 to 155 annually, and is now impacting more than 24 percent of the youth nationwide. Orr and Holloway placed second in the national competition. They will be recognized in November at the 4-HA Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. Your Contact is Elizabeth A. Warner, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, at 775-784-5863.

NRCS Teams Up with Mushroom Industry to Talk Water Quality In Spanish - NRCS has developed a display and literature that Pennsylvania mushroom growers will be using to help inform their Spanish-speaking employees how their conservation efforts on mushroom farms help protect drinking water.

Entitled "Your Drinking Water and Your Job," the display highlights conservation practices used on mushroom farms to improve water quality and reminds workers that what they do on the farm affects their family's drinking water.

The NRCS Hispanic Employees Committee in Pennsylvania produced the display and accompanying brochure in English and Spanish. It will be exhibited at various mushroom farms throughout the area. Your Contact is Stacey Mitchell, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, at 717-237-2208.

Water Quality Project Completed - The Cane Creek Watershed District in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, in cooperation with NRCS, recently completed the first year of a water quality and quantity project along Cane Creek. The project provided cost-share assistance to landowners to construct grade stabilization structures to control erosion, provide for storm water runoff, reduce nutrients from entering the stream, and provide wildlife habitat. A 400-acre drainage area is now protected by 10 grade control structures. More than $80,000 in conservation practices were completed in the first year and, for FY 2001, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture has agreed to provide $60,000 for the project. Your contact is Lavonne Winters, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist, at 615-736-5490.

WHAT'S UP IN WASHINGTON

Associate Chief Signs MOU on Sustainable Forest Management Data - On Monday, Associate Chief Danny Sells signed a Memorandum of Understanding Among Federal Agencies Responsible for Data on the Status of Sustainable Forest Management in the United States with eight other Federal agencies. The other Federal agencies signing the MOU were Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service; Forest Service; National Agricultural Statistics Service; Department of Defense; Bureau of Indian Affairs; National Park Service; Bureau of Land Management; and the U.S. Geological Survey. The MOU provides a common interagency forum for Federal coordination to resolve issues integral to collecting, monitoring, analyzing, reporting, and making data available on an ongoing basis related to the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests. It also establishes a process for helping Federal agencies develop a national report by 2003 for the Montreal Process on the state of the Nation's forests and progress toward sustainable forest management in the United States. Your contact is Doug Williams, NRCS National Forester, at 202-720-1858.

Instructor Notebook for Conservation Planning Course is Updated - The Conservation Operations Division and the National Employee Development Center have updated materials for the Instructor Notebook for the Conservation Planning Course. States can download the June 2000 revised Instructor Notebook from www.info.usda.gov/NRCS/COD/. Part I of the course, modules 1 - 5, will continue to be available at www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/start.htm or at the NRCS Conservation Operations Division or National Employee Development Center homepages. Part I can be taken in the classroom. Part II, modules 6-8, covers all three phases of the planning process and is a hands-on exercise. Part III, module 9, is the on-the-job application of the planning process. Your contacts are Gary Gross, NRCS Conservation Operations division, 202-720-7730, and Jerry Williams, NRCS National Employee Development Center, 817-509-3259.

NRCS, Partners Receive Hammer Award - The National Partnership for Reinventing Government announced that NRCS and the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Advisory Council for Historic Preservation have been awarded the Vice President's Hammer Award. The partners were recognized for their work in managing conservation of natural and cultural resources on U.S. Army installations worldwide. Your contact is Angel L. Figueroa, NRCS Liaison to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at 410-436-1559.

USDA 2000 National Disability Employment Awareness Month - The theme for October's USDA 2000 National Disability Employment Awareness Month is "Ability You Can Bank On." The theme of the 2000 education program kit (available at http://www50.pcepd.gov/pcepd/pubs/ek00/index.html) conveys a vital message that "People with disabilities are ready, willing, and able to be an essential part of our Nation's human resource capital."

TECH TIPS

Mining Metal from Plants - Excess heavy metals in soil can be toxic to humans, animals, and plants. Once soil is contaminated with heavy metals, it is expensive and difficult to remedy the problem.

One way to remove metals from soil is through phytoextraction. In this process, hyperaccumulators – plants that absorb large amounts of metals – are planted on the contaminated soil and harvested. The harvested material may be disposed of in several ways. In some cases, the metal can be "mined " out of the plants for reuse.

Although preventing contamination is far preferable to any method of remediation, phytoremediation can be used for a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. However, treatment of a site may take several growing seasons, and the process works better for some metals than others.

For more information about the current state of phytoextraction technology, see "Heavy Metal Soil Contamination" – the third in the series of Soil Quality – Urban Technical Notes from the Soil Quality Institute. It is available at http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/urban.shtml. Your contact is Michael Hubbs, Soil Quality Institute, at 334-844-4741, ext. 177, or mhubbs@eng.auburn.edu.

CONFERENCE & TRAINING CONNECTION

October 20, 2000

As a service to NRCS personnel and the agency's partners, "NRCS This Week" offers the following by-subject list of conferences and training sessions. To add an event, please send an e-mail message to fred.jacobs@usda.gov

AFO/CAFO

Agricultural Economics

Agroforestry/Forestry

Agronomy

Air Quality

Animal Residuals Management

Coastal Zone Management

Environmental Education

Farmland Preservation

Grazing Land & Grassland

Irrigation

Locally Led Conservation

Mining & the Environment

Partnerships

Resource Conservation & Development

Rivers

NEW! Soil Science/Erosion Control

Water Quality

Watersheds

Wetlands

AFO/CAFO

The Innovative Technology for Planning Animal Feeding Operations

December 4-6

Denver, Colorado, Renaissance Denver Hotel

Attendees will be producers, government agencies, businesses, and consultants writing comprehensive nutrient management plans. Topics include land application technologies, alternative manure uses, air quality control strategies, mitigation of impacted sites, filter strips, etc. Exhibitors: $400.00 with two free registrations. Posters: Individuals presenting posters should be registered for the conference. Contact Ron Schierer, at 970-330-0380 or ron.schierer@co.usda.gov or Mike Collins at 307-682-8843, ext. 113, or mike.collins@wy.usda.gov