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Vermont dairy farm in winterNRCS This Week mast head

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

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Idaho

Greg Becker drills holes with a willow pilot hole driver while students plant willows along the river bank. Mark Addy, NRCS district conservationist in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, designed the driverAccess Denied to Vehicles at Northern Idaho River
Pick-up trucks and all-terrain vehicles are unfair matches for delicate riverbeds and banks. For years, heavy vehicles have accessed the Pack River in northern Idaho, speeding up bank erosion and sweeping sand into the river, along with vehicle residue.
 

 
Texas

Jessica Benavides explains the value of leaving residue on farmland for the protection of our soilBig Participation at Texas Ag Fair
NRCS, in conjunction with the Kleberg-Kenedy Soil and Water Conservation District, hosted an Ag Fair that provided an opportunity for conservationists and others to make presentations to nearly 3,000 students ranging from pre-kindergarten to seniors in high school.  The Ag Fair was sponsored by the Kleberg-Kenedy County Extension Service and designed to create student awareness of all facets of agriculture.

 

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Anne Arundel County Maryland NRCS District Conservationist (DC) John Minnick received a Circle of Excellence award from Chief LancasterCircle of Excellence Awarded to Maryland DC
Anne Arundel County Maryland NRCS District Conservationist John Minnick received a Circle of Excellence award from Chief Lancaster this week at a special ceremony at NHQ in Washington D.C.  Minnick received the award for his outstanding work in the provinces of Nangarhar and Laghman, Afghanistan.

 

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Use of Soil Dispersants in Clay Liners
 Animal waste pond and lagoon clay liners impede contaminated runoff water from entering ground water aquifers and surface water sources such as streams, lakes, and rivers.  The National Design Construction and Soil Mechanics Center (NDCSMC) Laboratories have performed thousands of Flexible Wall Permeability Tests (ASTM D5084) on clay based soils for use as low permeability compacted soil liners for Animal Waste Ponds and Lagoons.
 

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 NRCS Directives for the Week of January 16, 2008
 

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June 1945 cover of Soil Conservation magazineJune 1945 Cover of Soil Conservation Magazine
 The June 1945 cover of Soil Conservation magazine featured a photo taken a year earlier in July of 1944 of Betty Mueller with an armful of oats on the John Mueller farm near Winona, Minnesota.   (NRCS photo by W.H. Lathrop -- 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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