For the Week of February 11-15, 08 >> Click here for a printer-friendly version of the Weekly Update

In This Week's Edition . . .

Conference Planning. Join us on Tuesday, March 4, here in Indianapolis, for the first planning meeting of the 2009 Annual Conference Committee. The reason the 2008 Annual Conference was such a success is due to the input we received from those of you who served on the planning committee. The commitment will be two face-to-face meetings to work on theme, speakers, and other critical details. We’ll meet March 4 here at the Farm Bureau building (lunch provided) at 10 a.m. EST to approximately 4 p.m. (or sooner).  Our room is Assembly Hall B on the first floor. This invitation is extended to SWCD staff and supervisors, NRCS staff, RC&D staff and DSC staff. Please RSVP to me for a lunch count by March 2. Click here to go to the 2008 Conference Recap Web page.

Farm Bill Update. The two leaders of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, Chairman Collin Peterson and Ranking Member, Bob Goodlatte have authored an "Open Letter to the Farm Bill Community." The two say there have been a lot of erroneous reports about where the farm bill stands and where it is going so they want to set the record straight. Click here for their statement.

NRCS Hoosier Headlines. Take a few minutes to read the January / February 08 issue of the Indiana NRCS eNewsletter Hoosier Headlines.

SWCD Poster Contest. The IASWCD Auxiliary is once again sponsoring the NACD poster contest here in Indiana. The 2008 poster contest theme is Water is Life.  The state deadline for entries is July 1 to the IASWCD office (225 S. East St. St. 740, Indianapolis, IN, 46202). Contest rules are on the NACD Web site. Each entry must have the 2008 Contest Entry Form (PDF | WORD) filled out and signed by a guardian or parent to be judged. All Districts must fill out the District Form and include it with entries. If you have questions, contact Carol Droege.

Have a good week,
Jennifer

Monroe County SWCD Supervisor named Tree Farmer of the Year

Robert Woodling, a Monroe County SWCD supervisor, was recently named Indiana’s Tree Farmer of the Year. Woodling owns a 100 acre tree farm producing stands of oak, hickory and maple.

“We’ve got mature trees, we’ve got a constant improvement program going forward with the goal to turn out high quality trees to maintain the area as a forest in a very sustainable manner and to me that’s the key, it has to be sustainable,” said Woodling.

The Monroe County tree farmer says his interest in trees began when he was in Cub Scouts and his love of the forest has continued. Along the way, Woodling credits a number of people around the state for his success including the IDNR Division of Forestry, Purdue Extension Service, and his family.

Northern Indiana Grazing Conference a Success

by Martin Franke, LaGrange Co. SWCD Educator/Technician

The 7th annual Northern Indiana Grazing Conference (NIGC) was held on Friday, February 1, 2008. Despite an eight-inch snowfall in the early morning hours the day of the event, over 500 people still turned out for the conference, which was held once again in the Antique Barn on the grounds of the Shipshewana Auction and Flea Market.

The theme for this year’s Grazing Conference was Grazing Management-Important to Small Family Farms. Conference speakers from all over the Midwest included Scott Foerg and Dave Forgey, Logansport; Eric Grim, Ohio; Dereck Klopfenstein, a farm veterinarian, Goshen; Alfrid Krusenbaum, Wisconsin; Roger Rose, Rochester; and for the evening session, Rob Schlabach, Millersburg, OH.  Participants in the Farmer Discussion Panel included Albert Miller and Weldon Yoder, both management intensive rotational grazers from Topeka and Nappanee respectively and Neil McDonald, Indianapolis, but who started his grazing career in Taranaki, New Zealand. 

The Northern Indiana Grazing Conference has been held annually since 2002 to an ever increasing audience of farm producers from all over the United States interested in rotational grazing, grass farming and improving the productivity of farm forages.  Much of the conference deals with dairy production, although each year alternative grazing topics directed at beef, goat and sheep and organic operations are presented as well.  The event is organized by a grassroots Board of Directors made up of members from five Northeastern Indiana counties. The event is co-sponsored by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Purdue University Extension Service, and the LaGrange County SWCD. For more information on the NIGC, contact the LaGrange County SWCD at 260.463.3471 ext 3.

Checks out these grant opportunities that may be of interest to your District:

• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Acres for America
  Acres for America, a partnership between Wal-Mart Stores and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, was established to provide funding for projects that conserve important habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants through acquisition of interest in real property. All grant awards require a minimum 1:1 match of cash or contributed goods and services. Pre-proposals for the next funding round must be submitted by April 1, 2008; full proposals are due June 1, 2008. The online application process will be open March 1, 2008, on the Web site.
  
  
• America the Beautiful Seeds the Future
  America the Beautiful is accepting applications for Operation Green Plant. Through this program, America the Beautiful distributes free seeds to community programs throughout the U.S. Donations of 100 to 1,000 seed packets are available to organizations working to improve their communities through gardening for a nominal shipping and handling fee. For additional information, visit the Web site.

Check Out Upcoming Facilitation Webinar

We’ve promoted this facilitation seminar before, so if you weren’t able to take advantage of it, you might want to this time around. It is a free seminar offered via the Web on Thursday, February 21 at 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. EST. Learn over a dozen tools and techniques that you can use right away in this 90-minute webinar on facilitation skills.  Richard Smith, Principal with Leadership Strategies, Inc. and former consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), will provide you an overview of the Leadership Strategies facilitation approach and share with you over a dozen tools and techniques that you can use right away.  Whether you facilitate focus groups, executive sessions, and community gatherings or task forces doing strategy development, issue resolution, requirements analysis, process improvement, or simply action planning, this webinar will give you a comprehensive approach for working with groups.

The seminar title is An Introduction to Facilitating Groups – The Secrets of Facilitation. System Requirements are PC-based attendees must have Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server,  or Vista. Reserve your Webinar seat now by going to this Web site – click here.

Everyday Conservationists Take Center Stage of National Campaign

An Amish family in Ohio. Two Florida brothers famous for watermelons. A Hawaiian family besting pests with fewer chemicals. A father-son team from England realizing their dream to farm in New England. These are among the non-celebrity “celebrities” taking the spotlight in  a new campaign rolled out Tuesday by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service at the National Association of Conservation Districts’ (NACD) national conference in Reno, Nevada.

The campaign, called Conservation: Our Purpose, Our Passion was introduced by NRCS Chief Arlen Lancaster at the general session of the NACD conference. Lancaster showed the audience an emotional five minute video featuring eight families across the Nation.

Caring people need help—expertise, support and sometimes money—to realize their intention to help the land—and that is where agencies and organizations like NRCS and NACD join with them to put conservation on the ground, said Harden. We know we need national policy and conservation programs, but we also need to remember that the most compelling case for conservation comes straight from the mouths of those who put their commitment into action on the land.

The eight featured landowners join a cache of over100 stories and photos portraying conservation voluntarily undertaken by agricultural producers in every State in the Nation. The stories can be found on the NRCS Web site by clicking here.

USDA Renewable Energy Program Grant Assistance Workshops

Are you a rural small business owner looking for ways to fund energy efficient improvements to your facility? Are you an agriculture producer who needs to save energy or wants to produce power from your own operation?

Also known as Section 9006, or the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program, provides grants and loan guarantees to farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses.  The Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development will present seven workshops around the state to help you understand and navigate the federal grant process.

The meetings are schedule for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and lunch is provided.  Reservations are suggested. Call 765.336.9522 or send an email. The locations are:

• February 26, Kosciusko REMC
• March 4, Dubois REMC
• March 5, Orange Co. REMC
• March 18, Parke Co. REMC
• March 20, White Co. REMC
• March 25, Decatur Co. REMC
• March 27, Jay Co. REMC

In 2007, up to $23 million was available for grants and guaranteed loans for renewable energy projects.
To be eligible, small businesses and agricultural producers must show financial need and

• projects must be located in a rural area
• must be technically feasible
• meet environmental requirements, and
• must be owned by the applicant.

For more information including examples of projects and grant guidelines visit http://www.in.gov/energy.

DNR Presents Canada Goose Management Programs

If Canada geese have become a problem on your property, plan to attend one of six programs to be presented in March by the DNR's Urban Wildlife Project.

Various aspects of Canada goose management, including relevant laws, basic biology, and methods to control damage from geese will be covered. A special workshop on proper techniques for egg and nest destruction follows.  Such instruction is necessary because if eggs are simply broken or completely removed, there will be no lasting effect; females will just lay another clutch of eggs.

The Canada geese population in the Mississippi Flyway exceeds 1.5 million and is growing at a rate of 6 percent per year. Destroying eggs and nests is helpful in controlling these numbers.

Federal rules allow landowners properly registered at this site – click here – to complete Canada goose egg and nest destruction on their own property. Registrants must provide a summary report of their Canada goose nest destruction activities to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Oct 31. Failure to report can result in privileges being revoked for the forthcoming year.

Programs will be held:

• March 5, Clarksville Community Center in Clarksville. 
• March 7, Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area Office outside of Edinburgh;
• March 19, The Garrison South Ballroom, inside Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis;
• March 25, Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center near Chesterton;
• March 26, Potato Creek State Park Nature Center near North Liberty; and
• March 27, Franke Park Pavilion #1 in Fort Wayne.