Getty Images Private landowners will be closely watching how Biden administration looks to collaborate on working lands and private lands.
The Biden administration outlined ideas May 6 in achieving the nationwide conservation goal to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. As the report was identified as “big on ideas, short on details,” by the American Farm Bureau Federation, several groups weighed in on how this administration will proceed in accomplishing its lofty conservation goals.
The preliminary report - Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful - is a joint effort from the United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Interior, Department of Commerce and Council on Environmental Quality. It is the Administration’s initial effort toward developing the executive order signed in President Biden’s first days of office.
Darke SWCD announces poster contest winners
Courtesy of Darke SWCD
Courtesy of Darke SWCD
GREENVILLE The Darke Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is pleased to announce the winner of the 2021 Darke SWCD Poster Contest. The 2021 Poster Contest celebrates the 2021 National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Stewardship theme, “Healthy Forests = Healthy Communities.”
There were more than 65 posters entered into this year’s contest and choosing the winners was not an easy task. The 2021 Poster Contest winners are:
Grades 5 and 6: Lucy Gettinger-Greenville Middle School (First Place); Haylee Moore- Greenville Middle School (Second Place); Reese Stewart- Greenville Middle School (Third Place).
Grade 7 and 8: Madeline Lance- Greenville Middle School (First Place); Sara Loudy- Greenville Middle School (Second Place); Kindyl Peltz- Greenville Middle School (Third Place).
Pierre, SD, USA / DRGNews
May 3, 2021 8:17 AM
The National Association of Conservation Districts submitted a letter to the USDA in response to the agency’s request for comments on climate smart solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. “Climate-smart agriculture and forestry need significantly more government investment and action to meet the need of oversubscribed programs,” says NACD President Michael Crowder. Among the suggestions, the NACD Climate Action Task Force reiterated its request for at least $1.2 billion in the Fiscal Year 2022 discretionary funding for conservation operations to bolster local technical assistance.
National Farmers Union President Rob Larew says carbon markets represent a great opportunity for farmers to help in the effort to mitigate climate change, but they do come with risks. Larew calls on the USDA to minimize those risks and provide more certainty for farmers by creating a “public third-party verification system,” facilitat
Reactions vary to Conservation Reserve Program expansion
USDA s plan to expand the Conservation Reserve Program, the country s best-known agricultural conservation program, has drawn a mixed reaction. 5:30 am, May 3, 2021 ×
A butterfly in wildflowers on Conservation Reserve Program land. (Liz Harder / Harder Stock)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture s plan to expand the Conservation Reserve Program has received both praise and wariness from ag groups.
The National Association of Conservation Districts and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition commended the expansion, while the National Grain and Feed Association said it wants to see more details and that CRP should be targeted at the most environmentally sensitive portions of farms.
Pierre, SD, USA / DRGNews
Apr 29, 2021 | 1:56 PM
South Dakota Senator John Thune– a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee– and committee chairwoman Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow have reintroduced the Cover Crop Flexibility Act.
The legislation would remove the prohibition on harvesting or grazing cover crops on prevented plant acres prior to November 1 and allow this flexibility outside of the primary nesting season.
This legislation is an offshoot of Thune and Stabenow’s 2019 effort that led the US Department of Agriculture to make an administrative change that allowed for penalty-free haying and grazing, which significantly benefited states like South Dakota and Michigan. In 2020, Thune and Stabenow again requested that USDA move up the November 1 date to September 1, but the department only provided flexibility in certain counties in South Dakota and North Dakota. This bill would provide a permanent solution to this issue and create greater certainty fo