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Conservation Update
August 16 - 28, 2013
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Executive Director's Report
SSCB Meeting September 10
The next State Soil Conservation Board meeting will be Tuesday, September 10 at 9 am at the Buck Creek Fire Department in Green Field, IN (map). Lunch ($8.50, cash only) will be served after the meeting. Following lunch will be a tour to Fortville's Stottlemeyer Waterway (invasive removal/management and riparian naturalization-site) and the McCordsville Town Hall area and Park (effluent ditch naturalization, salt barn buffer, tree planting, permeable paving system). RSVP information will be available soon.
Webinar on Absentee Landowners
The Great Rivers & Upstream Heroes Watershed Implementation and Innovation Network (WIIN) will host a free webinar August 29 (that's tomorrow!) from 1-2 p.m. (CT). Tips on engaging non-operating landowners in conservation" will give conservation districts information about working with absentee landowners. Jamie Ridgely, chief operating officer for Agren Inc., will lead the discussion.
IASWCD N-NE Region Director on NACD Forestry Resource Policy Group
The NACD Forest Resource Policy Group (RPG) had a chance to view some of the country's best-managed private forestland during its annual summer meetingheld in Macon, Ga. Tom Crowe, IASWCD's North-Northeast Region Director, is on the policy groups. He is seen standing at the furthest right in the photograph.  Thank You, Districts!
Thank you to the Districts who have submitted their 2013 dues. View the list of Districts who have paid their dues here.
Have a great week!
Jennifer Boyle Warner, IASWCD Executive Director
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CCSI News
Great Success at Soil Health Expo
From Erin Shoup, Vanderburgh County SWCDSeveral Conservation groups from South West Indiana recently combined efforts in order to present "Soil Health Expo 2013." The expo was held at the Vanderburgh County 4-H Center in Evansville, Indiana. The event was an overall success with nearly 150 farmers, landowners, and conservation professionals in attendance to learn the latest scientific recommendations in controlling herbicide resistant weeds and improving soil health through the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative ( CCSI). Read the full article on Google Docs, or email Erin at erin.shoup@in.nacdnet.net. If you are interested in partnering with CCSI to coordinate an event in your region, contact Lisa Holscher, CCSI Soil Health Program Manager, at lisa.holscher@in.nacdnet.net.
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CCSI Hub Farms Map
Want to find the closest CCSI Hub Farmer? Use our new interactive map to explore farms around the state who work with CCSI to evaluate conservation on the ground, in real time. These twelve farmers also host field days and experiment with new and different farming techniques to keep advancing conservation in the Hoosier state.
Join Our CCSI Event Mailing List!
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Conservation News
The "Fieldprint" Calculator
NACD recently joined the Field to Market Initiative, which developed the Fieldprint Calculator. The calculator is an online education and awareness tool to help growers evaluate their farming decisions. It provides growers with a better understanding about the outcomes of their on-farm practices, while offering other supply chain members and stakeholders the opportunity to engage with growers and better understand sustainability inside the farm.
NRCS Launches New Educational Website for Teachers and Students
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service is unveiling its revamped Teachers and Students webpage, home to a wealth of scholastic resources for youngsters and teachers. These tools help students learn about soil, water, air, plants and animals and how they help us sustain a healthy earth. The webpage's components include a variety of interactive and downloadable classroom activities. Young students will be entertained by fun NRCS characters like S.K. Worm, and older students will enjoy lesson plans that offer hands-on studies that promote field investigation and action. This collection of NRCS resources provides teachers standardized information created from sound scientific research in the field of environmental conservation.
Indiana Soil Survey Planning Program
Gary Streuben, Indiana State Soil Scientist, requests input on the 2013 Indiana Soil Survey Plan, which outlines priorities for the Soil Survey Program. Several documents from the conference may be viewed here in Google Docs; if you cannot access them, please email Gary at gary.streuben@in.usda.gov. He writes, "We hope to increase the communication with all of our partners and users of soils data. Please feel free to contact us anytime we can assist you in providing soils information. We need your input in order to meet your needs for soils data. We are always looking for projects we can collaborate on with other agencies and partners."
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Annual Conference: January 6-8, 2014
Awards:
IASWCD Annual Awards are all due September 9. Application links are below. Please email elizabeth-rice@iaswcd.org with any questions.
Resolutions:
Also, please submit Resolutions for annual IASWCD Business Meeting by September 20. You can read more about the resolutions process here, or download the resolution form here.
Delegates:
Who will represent your District at the Business Meeting this year? Register your delegate online.
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| Other News |
Lake SWCD New Address
The Lake County SWCD has a new mailing address:
880 East 99th Court, Suite A
Crown Point, IN 46307 If your District's address or other contact information has changed, please let Liz know at elizabeth-rice@iaswcd.orgFarmers, homeowners, greenhouse and nursery growers, agricultural specialists and others who need to identify plants, plant
diseases, insect pests and other plant problems have a new mobile application resource created by eight university labs, including Purdue's Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory. The Plant Diagnostic Sample Submission app includes submission forms with customized questions about agronomic crops, weeds, vegetables, houseplants and more. " It allows users to take and send digital photos and plant-problem descriptions to any of the eight participating labs.
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