Annual Conference

January will be here before we know it! We are working hard to bring you a great conference on January 11-13, 2015 with a variety of speakers and workshops. If you haven't registered yet, you can do so online or by downloading the registration form and mailing it. All conference information is available on the IASWCD website.

There are four different workshop tracks you can choose at Annual Conference depending on your interests: Conservation Implementation, Technical, Capacity Building, and Outreach & Education. 

Interested in leveraging your district's communications to better engage your community? Check out the "Build a Better Newsletter" round table with communication pros from NRCS and Indiana Farm Bureau. Maybe you'd like to learn more about how climate change impacts agricultural production. If so, the "Soil Health & Climate Change" session with Dr. Jerry Hatfield of the Midwest Climate Hub and the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment might be a great choice for you! Whatever your area of focus, there is a session track for you at Annual Conference. You can read more about all of the available sessions in the conference brochure.

Sponsor Spotlight

Clark Farm Drainage is a third-generation, family-owned farm drainage business, located in East Central Indiana.

They serve the conservation community as an NRCS Technical Service Provider (TSP) in Drainage Water Management. Founded in 1979 by a former District Conservationist, the company places a high priority on maintaining a legacy of quality and environmental stewardship.

Current company president, Bob Clark II strives to be a steward of the land and a leader in the drainage industry. He currently serves as National President of the Land Improvement Contractors Association (LICA), a board member of the Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition, an advisor to a land grant university research group on agricultural water management, is the former Chair of the LICA Water Table Management Committee, a past Indiana LICA President, and is a recent contributor to Drainage Contractor Magazine on the topic of water quality and the drainage industry's role in conservation.

Clark Farm Drainage is co-sponsoring this year's conference with Agri Drain, a company that manufactures many of the products that make the drainage industry's conservation practices possible. Agri Drain is America's leading provider of agricultural water management products, and consistently works to develop new products that push forward the leading edge of conservation.

Thank you, Clark Farm Drainage and Agri Drain for your support of the IASWCD 2015 Annual Conference!

Sponsor Spotlight

Conservation Partner News

A Leadership Institute workshop on the topic of conflict management will take place on November 19 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in Indianapolis at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Normandy Barn. The workshop will be led by Janet Ayers of Purdue University. Register by submitting this form by November 14.

 

SWCD Fall Region Meetings
  

November 18, S-NE Region

• Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Wells, Adams, Grant, Blackford, Jay, Madison, Delaware, and Randolph counties 
• Evening event at Ball State. More information TBA.

December 2, N-NW and S-NW Regions

• Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, Jasper, Starke, Pulaski, Benton, White, Cass, Carroll, Warren, Fountain, Tippecanoe, Montgomery, Clinton, Howard, Tipton, Boone, Hamilton, Hendricks, and Marion counties
• Evening event at Klondike Branch Library, West Lafayette.  More information TBA.

USDA to Provide $4 million For Honey Bee Habitat
 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week that more than $4 million in technical and financial assistance will be provided to help farmers and ranchers in the Midwest improve the health of honey bees. 

Photo credit: USDA-NRCS

"The future of America's food supply depends on honey bees, and this effort is one way USDA is helping improve the health of honey bee populations," Vilsack said. "Significant progress has been made in understanding the factors that are associated with Colony Collapse Disorder and the overall health of honey bees, and this funding will allow us to work with farmers and ranchers to apply that knowledge over a broader area."

For more information on USDA-NRCS and their efforts to protect pollinators, click here for the official announcement.