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Small farm near Ames, Iowa (Agricultural Research Service photo by Scott Bauer)NRCS This Week mast head

The Natural Resources Conservation Service — Helping People Help the Land.

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Idaho

scouts and Allemang (w/hat) pull apart dozens of native Creeping Spikerush plants from huge pile (NRCS photo)NRCS and Boy Scouts Team Up to Restore Wetlands in Idaho
An NRCS wetland restoration project in southwest Idaho turned out to be the perfect opportunity for 16-year-old Boy Scout Kyle Lewis to achieve Eagle Scout rank, benefit his community and the environment, and allow him to demonstrate leadership skills.  Eager to start restoring wetlands with NRCS, Lewis rounded up 14 more Scouts, ages 10 through 16, to help with the work.
 
Maine

Flanked by Maine Rural Partners Board Chair Jeff Heron (also of Aroostook County Action Program) and Maine Rural Partners Executive Director Mary Ann Hayes, NRCS awardees are (from left) Resource Conservation and Development Coordinator Mark Hews, Threshold to Maine RC&D Office, Gray; State Conservationist Joyce Swartzendruber of the Bangor State Office and District Conservationist Ron Desrosiers of the Augusta NRCS Field Office (Magic City Morning Star photo)NRCS Named Maine Rural Partners “Partner of the Year”
Citing a culture of performance-based innovation, leadership, and team-building, Maine Rural Partners (MRP) Board Chair Jeff Heron and Executive Director Mary Ann Hayes announced last week that NRCS has been named 2006 Partner of the Year.

Nebraska

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NRCS Civil Engineering Technician Kim Kolling helped designed Vernon Nelson’s center pivot to operate at its highest efficiency, reducing the amount of water pumped onto the field and saving energy (NRCS photo)Adobe Acrobat Document   NRCS Improves Irrigation System Resulting in Water and Fuel Savings
Phelps County farmer Vernon Nelson knew that he wanted to upgrade his irrigation system from flood irrigation to center pivot. With over 3,000 irrigated acres, Nelson wanted a system that was more efficient. NRCS worked with Nelson to design an irrigation system that is now providing significant savings in diesel costs and inches of water pumped.
 
West Virginia

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  Chris Winslow, USDA Radio reporter Rod Bain, and Warren Mickey discuss how the WHIP projects on Bull Skin Run (NRCS photo)Windows Media Player logo How Farmers are Helping the Chesapeake Bay
Rod Bain, USDA Radio reporter, visited the Eastern Panhandle and interviewed West Virginia farmers and NRCS employees.  The topic was what they are doing to help the Chesapeake Bay.
 

 

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 NRCS Chief Arlen Lancaster Windows Media Player logoChief Lancaster Talks about the Next Farm Bill
Farm bill conservation programs have been a tremendous success by anyone’s standards and NRCS Chief Arlen Lancaster expects that to continue and even get better under the next farm bill.

 


 

USDA 2007 Agricultural Outlook Forum logoUSDA Agricultural Outlook Forum Set For March 1-2, 2007
USDA will hold its 83rd Agricultural Outlook Forum on March 1 and 2, 2007, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.  USDA holds the forum to provide timely forecasts of farm prospects and insight into developments affecting the farm economy.  Speakers include top government officials, industry analysts, farmers, business leaders, and other experts in agriculture-related fields. The public is invited to attend. Last year more than 1,400 participants attended.  Program details are available on the forum’s website.
Your contact is Ted Kupelian, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 202-720-5776.

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Hugh Hammond Bennett, first Chief of the Soil Conservation Service, inspects wind eroded farmland near Ottawa County, Michigan (click to enlarge)Hugh Hammond Bennett, first Chief of the Soil Conservation Service, inspects wind eroded farmland near Ottawa County, Michigan -- click to enlarge
NRCS This Week features a weekly historical photo and caption.  NHQ, districts, States, RC&D councils, and all other NRCS entities are invited to submit a historical photo of activities or individuals who have worked or are working for the agency along with a caption. 

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map of SNOTEL statesSNOTEL
NRCS installs, operates, and maintains an extensive, automated system designed to collect snowpack and related climatic data in the western United States and Alaska. The system is called SNOTEL (for SNOpack TELemetry).

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Adobe Acrobat Document This week, we feature an article on the Beginnings of the Western Snow Conference.

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NRCS Directives for the Week of November 27, 2006
Important Note: Due to server space issues, readers will no longer be able to link directly to a General Manual, User's Guide, National Bulletin, etc., directive.  Instead, they will need to link to the eDirectives Web site, click on the type of directive (General Manual, National Bulletin, Technical Note, User Guide, etc.) on the left hand side of the page, and then click on the series, title, part, sub part, or number to access a particular directive.

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.