As part of the Agri-Pulse Farm Bill Summit, Sara Wyant moderated the panel “Conservation- What Works, What Doesn’t.” Panel participants included: Tina May, Sr. Director of Sustainability, Land O’Lakes; Eric Lindstrom, National Manager of Agriculture Policy, Ducks Unlimited; Suzy Friedman, Sr. Director of Agriculture Sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund; Dave White, Co-Founder/Partner, 9-B Group; and Anne Simmons, Democratic Staff Director, House … Read More
Chairman Roberts Highlights Need for Conservation
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, (R-Kan), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, spoke with members of the National Association of Conservation Districts, highlighting the importance of voluntary conservation programs in the upcoming farm bill. “The conservation districts are the perfect example where we see coordination in government working at its best – bringing together federal, state, local … Read More
Conservation District Officials Take on Capitol Hill
The National Association of Conservation Districts took on Capitol Hill just days after President Trump’s disappoint budget proposal. Members of the group addressed conservation programs in the farm bill, funding of conservation program, technical assistance for conservation efforts, as well as voluntary conservation as they made their visits. “Today our members will hit the halls of Congress to meet with … Read More
Van Dyke Assumes Head of NACD
Brent Van Dyke was sworn into the position of president of the National Association of Conservation Districts at their recent annual meeting. Van Dyke was elected to serve one year as president-elect in 2016 and now begins his two year term as president. “Brent knows conservation – he comes from the farm and understands how important sustainable agriculture is to … Read More
Smartphone App Balances Conservation and Production
The LandPKS suite of mobile apps provides specific information about soils to anyone with a smartphone, says USDA soil scientist Jeff Herrick. LandPKS, (Land-Potential Knowledge System) is made up of the LandInfo and LandCover modules, including cloud computing, digital soil-mapping data, and the Global Positioning System (GPS) to give information about the sustainable potential and future climate of a piece … Read More
Agren & Land O’Lakes Provide Precision Conservation
Land O’Lakes is partnering with a small business from Central Iowa focused on offering sustainability solutions to agriculture. Agren‘s technology platform will be used to deliver scalable, geo-spatial tools to find highly-erodible areas in a field and create a plan to protect the soil and improve water quality. The program, branded as SoilVantage, will be the first to offer precision … Read More
Switchgrass Can Improve Soil Quality
In parts of Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas the loss of topsoil leaves growers to work with difficult claypan soil, but researchers at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources are hopeful about a solution. Studies show switchgrass, a perennial plant commonly used for biofuels, can build up the soil quality on farms that have … Read More
Ag Groups Join with NRCS
Agribusiness and agricultural associations from across the nation, including the Agricultural Retailers Association, have joined together to promote and expand federal conservation programs. Members of the group signed a memorandum of understanding with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to expand the reach of technical and financial assistance to extend conservation adoption and increase the overall sustainability of farming, ranching … Read More
Maryland Cattle Operation Shows Conservation Success
Conservation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed has been on the national radar for years. Now the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Catoctin and Frederick Soil Conservation Districts are showing off successful conservation efforts by local farmers and ranchers. A recent event at Hedgeapple Farm, a Maryland Angus operation, highlighted the volunteer efforts that have lead to improvement of the Bay’s … Read More
Everyone Wins with Pastures For Pollinators
A new clover seed mixture developed by Grassland Oregon (GO) is a win-win for livestock producers and the environment. Pastures for Pollinators is a seed blend including a variety of flowering annual clovers that could help enhance pollinator habitat nationwide, according to GO co-founder Risa DeMasi. “There are 400 million acres of pasture ground in the U.S., and it happens … Read More