Conservation Update  
 
September 26 - October 9, 2013 
Executive Director's Report
 
District Showcases: October 10 and 16

Rain Garden Workshops with Rusty Schmidt

These workshops are great for great for conservation professionals, homeowners, landscape professionals, gardeners, and anyone interested in growing beautiful plants and improving our streams and water bodies. Topics include rain garden design & construction, planting recommendations, & maintenance. The workshop features Rusty Schmidt, wildlife biologist and landscape ecologist. Schmidt is the co-author of Blue Thumb Guide to Raingardens. Register now by contacting the individual Soil and Water Conservation Districts at these alternate email addresses and phone numbers during the government shutdown.

  • Oct. 21, Nappanee: Contact the Elkhart County SWCD at [email protected] or 574-312-0336.
  • Oct. 22, Sellersburg: Contact the Clark County SWCD at [email protected], or the Purdue Extension Office of Clark County at 812-256-4591.
  • Oct. 23, Sellersburg: Contact the Clark County SWCD at [email protected] or the Purdue Extension of Clark County at 812-256-4591.
  • Oct. 24, Greenfield: Contact the Hamilton County SWCD at [email protected] or 317-773- 2181
  • Oct. 25, Jasper: Contact the Dubois County SWCD at [email protected] or 812-309-8728
Envirothon Materials Available on IASWCD Website
Hopefully by now you have received your updated Indiana Envirothon booklet that was mailed to you by the Indiana State Envirothon Committee last week. The committee encourages Districts to promote the Envirothon competition to your local high school-aged student teams to participate. The dates for the regional completion next March 2014, the registration form and the 2014 booklet are available to download from the IASWCD website. If you have any questions about the Indiana Envirothon competition, contact Darci Zolman, President, Kosciusko County SWCD, at [email protected].   


Shutdown Information

During the 2013 Government Shutdown, many Indiana Soil & Water Conservation Districts don't have access to their email or phones. The Indiana Association of SWCDs, as an independent nonprofit, is still operating as normal. We are posting information for Districts online as we receive it. You can find information about the shutdown, news releases, and regularly-scheduled emails and updates there. Your District Support Specialist is also available to help you. 

  

We will also be active on Twitter and Facebook. District staff may like to send us an email address where we can reach you if necessary during the shutdown. Email us at [email protected].

 
Have a great week!
Jennifer Boyle Warner, IASWCD Executive Director
CCSI News 
 
Evaluating Success With Conservation Practices
Part of CCSI's mission is to provide science-based information on the effects of conservation practices on producers' land and overall operation. CCSI partners and farmers have been working for the past year to conduct studies, take measurements, gather data, and prepare reports on conservation practices at seventeen different demonstration sites across Indiana. Though it will be some time before CCSI is prepared to produce definitive reports on its research, we are excited to share some of the methods the project is using! Read all about it on CCSI's website.
 
Keep updated with CCSI events on Facebook and Twitter, or sign up to join our mailing list! 
Annual Conference News
 

Welcome to Our Platinum Sponsor

The IASWCD welcomes back Saddle Butte Ag as the Platinum Sponsor for our 2014 Annual Conference. Saddle Butte Ag, Inc., is a family owned and operated seed company, established by Don & Maryanne Wirth and located in the heart of the "Grass Seed Capital of the World" Tangent, Oregon. The company markets a wide variety of both proprietary and common, turf and forage products to retail markets as well as national and international wholesale customers.

  

Currently Saddle Butte Ag markets under the Bio Till logo. The premier line of products includes Bounty Annual Ryegrass followed by Enricher Cover Crop Radish. In addition they market the Nitro 80/20 Mix, 3-Way Cover Crop Mix, Buckeye Mix, Soil Buster Mix, Bounty Annual Ryegrass, Crimson Clover, Enricher Cover Crop Radish, Phacelia, Cahaba Vetch, Peas and Triticale. They have a distribution network throughout the Midwest. For more information on the company, contact Ron Althoff at 217.868.5181 or visit their website.  

  

Keynote: Envirothon Champion Josh Seehorn
Josh Seehorn, an accomplished outdoorsman, will be our first conference keynote speaker on Monday, January 6, 2014, at 11 a.m. 

 

He is crossing the United States on foot in support of Envirothon. Officially partnering with Envirothon, his trek aims to "draw attention to this amazing organization and to increase awareness about the field of natural resources and outdoor education." Formerly a competitor at the regional, state and North American levels, Josh now serves as the coordinator for the 2014 North American Envirothon Competition to be held in Athens, GA, and is the vice-chair of the Georgia Envirothon. He also maintains certification as a wild land firefighter and serves with the U.S. Forest Service.


Having started in California five months ago, Josh left Council Bluffs, Iowa just two days ago. He will be passing through Indiana eventually and would appreciate meeting some local conservationists! You can follow his route on his website. Josh also got some news coverage when he passed through Nebraska; you can watch his clip here
Annual Conference:  
January 6-8, 2014
 

Delegates: 

Who will represent your District at the Business Meeting this year? Register your delegate online. 

Get In Touch

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Upcoming Events


October 9:
Understanding Why Farmers Choose to Adopt BMPs (Webinar)
   

October 21, 22, 23, 24, 25:

Rain Garden Workshops w/ Rusty Schmidt (See details at left) 

 

January 6-8

Annual Conference of Indiana SWCDs

 

December 5

World Soil Day


CCSI Events
 
November 1:
Annual Conservation Tillage Meeting
Register Now!

November 12:
Advanced Cover Crops
Other News

 

Faces of CRP  

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Readiness Initiative was created to build a quality pool of conservation professionals to help the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) accomplish the work involved with CRP enrollments, CRP plan development and implementation, and the follow up management of developed plans. You can become a certified CRP Technical Service Provider through this program.  

  

October Grazing Bites

The latest issue of Grazing Bites is available from Victor Shelton, NRCS State Agronomist/Grazing Specialist.

 

   

Center for Watershed Protection Webcasts 

The Center offers another webcast in their Watershed and Stormwater Management Webcast series: Stormwater Trading - Markets or Mayhem? The webcast, scheduled for Oct. 16 from 12 to 2 p.m. EDT, will focus on the various dimensions of pollutant trading programs, different perspectives on nutrient trading, and opportunities for public/private cooperation to invest in restoration and stormwater management. Based on the information you learn in this webcast, we hope you will weigh in on whether pollutant trading programs constitute "markets or mayhem." Read more and register here.

Upcoming Grants: 
 

 

October 25: 

Grants for Cover Crop Research from the National Wildlife Federation. Proposals should not generally exceed $5,000. All proposals and questions should be sent to Trisha White at [email protected]  

 

November 1:

SARE Youth Educator Grant 

 

November 12:

SARE Farmer / Rancher Grant 

 
2014 annual conference
Position Open
Individuals interested in soil and water quality and sustainable agriculture systems should apply for the project coordinator position with the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC). The complete job description provides more details on position requirements. For more information, contact Nicholle Vaughn at 765-494-9555.