NACD's Annual Meeting was held in Las Vegas, Nev., Feb. 8–12, and over 30 Soil Health Champions from across the U.S. attended the conference.
Soil Health Champions Coffee
Most of the Champions were able to attend the Soil Health Champions Coffee on Sunday, Feb. 9, which was sponsored by the
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS). This was a time where Champions were able to introduce themselves, and share a bit about their operations and their soil health journey.
Dr. David Knaebel from the USDA ARS joined the group and shared how they would like to connect with the Champions to further soil health research based on needs expressed from producers such as our Champions. Dr. Knaebel asked the Champions to consider what their needs are for their production system such as: what assistance would be appreciated? If you would like to connect with Dr. Knaebel on this question, please email him at
david.knaebel@usda.gov, as he is still seeking input from our Champions.
Conservation Expo
The Conservation Expo Hall hosted a variety of exhibitors and a special Innovator section, showcasing cutting edge technologies and programs focused on conservation. The Soil Health Champions Network also hosted a chat area where attendees and Champions could get together and discuss soil health and different conservation issues.
Innovation Breakout Sessions
NACD Soil Health Champions were active participants at this year's annual meeting Conservation Innovation breakout sessions. Soil Health Champions who attended the annual meeting were asked to participate in the sessions to share their thoughts and questions. They were present at all four conservation innovation breakout sessions. The sessions focused on innovation at the field level, at a landscape scale, and in systems that seek to quantify and incentivize ecosystem services. A closing session sought to “tie it all together,” and featured Soil Health Champion
Dorn Cox of New Hampshire on a panel of experts. Soil Health Champions were also on hand for a Conservation Innovation Symposium, which closed out the meeting.
Focus Groups
While in attendance, some of the Soil Health Champions participated in focus groups that assisted NACD and conservation partners in understanding issues involving soil health.
Resources from the
NACD Annual Meeting are now online. Visit the
NACD website for this year's Daily Digests, press releases, photos, breakout presentations, and videos of the general sessions, Leadership Luncheon and Appreciation Banquet.
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Photo caption:
Jimmy Bramblett
of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) speaks during a breakout session at NACD's annual meeting. Soil Health Champion
Dorn Cox
(next to Bramblett) was on the breakout session panel.
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Since our last bulletin, there have been some elections and awards presented to NACD Soil Health Champions. As
Scotty Herriman, one of our Oklahoma Champions, has stated before – the term “Champion” seems more palatable when you frame it as you are “
championing the message of soil health,” rather than elevating your status.
The following list of Champions represents many great opportunities for our network to reach broader audiences with the message of soil health. And it is with that focus that we’d like to congratulate and share the following:
Robby Bevis from Arkansas received the NACD/NRCS Olin Sims Conservation Leadership Award at NACD's Annual Meeting
David Daigle from Louisiana received the Hugh Hammond Bennett Award for Conservation Excellence (Producer category) at NACD's Annual Meeting.
Josef Bragger from Wisconsin was elected president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation in December.
Patrick O’Neill from Colorado was selected by the
Colorado Association of Conservation Districts to receive the Supervisor of the Year Award.
Michael Crowder from Washington State was elected NACD President-elect at NACD's Annual Meeting. This transitions him from his role as NACD first vice president, and Crowder will prepare to become president at the 75th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, La.
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We would like to continue to collect a list of books and authors that have been good resources for you as Soil Health Champions as you look to address the different challenges you face on your soil health journey or look to take things to the next level. Here, we are providing you with a brief description of the book and a link to the listings for more information. Please be sure to send your book recommendations to NACD North Central Region Representative
Beth Mason
at
beth-mason@nacdnet.org
.
By William A. Albrecht, Ph.D.
Professor
William Albrecht
was a premier soil scientist and was dismayed by the rapid chemicalization of farming that followed WWII. This book is a well-organized explanation of the relationship between soil fertility and animal and human health. He shows why animal health (and ultimately human health) is based in the fertility of the soil and what farmers can do to improve soil quality, solving livestock disease problems in the process.
By Gabe Brown
Gabe Brown
didn’t set out to change the world when he first started working alongside his father-in-law on the family farm in North Dakota. But as a series of weather-related crop disasters put Brown and his wife,
Shelly
, in desperate financial straits, they started making bold changes to their farm. Brown―in an effort to simply survive―began experimenting with new practices he’d learned about from reading and talking with innovative researchers and ranchers. As he and his family struggled to keep the farm viable, they found themselves on an amazing journey into a new type of farming: regenerative agriculture.
By Daphne Miller
In Farmacology, practicing family physician and renowned nutrition explorer
Daphne Miller
brings us beyond the simple concept of "food as medicine" and introduces us to the critical idea that it's the farm where that food is grown that offers us the real medicine.
By venturing out of her clinic and spending time on seven family farms, Miller uncovers all the aspects of farming—from seed choice to soil management—that have a direct and powerful impact on our health. Bridging the traditional divide between agriculture and medicine, Miller shares lessons learned from inspiring farmers and biomedical researchers and artfully weaves their insights and discoveries, along with stories from her patients, into the narrative. The result is a compelling new vision for sustainable healing and a treasure trove of farm-to-body lessons that have immense value in our daily lives.
By Nicole Masters
*Newly Edited Version* Learn a roadmap to healthy soil and revitalized food systems to powerfully address these times of challenge. This book equips producers with knowledge, skills and insights to regenerate ecosystem health and grow farm/ranch profits. Learn how to triage soil health and act to fast-track soil and plant health; and create healthy resilient soil systems; develop a deeper understanding of microbial and mineral synergies; read what weeds and diseases are communicating about soil and plant health; create healthy, productive and profitable landscapes. Globally recognized soil advocate and agroecologist
Nicole Masters
delivers the solution to rewind the clock on this increasingly critical soil crisis in her first book,
For the Love of Soil
. She argues we can no longer treat soil like dirt. Instead, we must take a soil-first approach to regenerate landscapes, restore natural cycles, and bring vitality back to ecosystems.
By Joel Salatin
From farmer
Joel Salatin
's point of view, life in the 21st century "just ain't normal". In
Folks, This Ain't Normal
, he discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love. Salatin has many thoughts on what normal is, and shares practical and philosophical ideas for changing our lives in small ways that have big impact.
By Joel Salatin
A couple working six months per year for 50 hours per week on 20 acres can net $25,000-$30,000 per year with an investment equivalent to the price of one new medium-sized tractor. Seldom has agriculture held out such a plum. In a day when main-line farm experts predict the continued demise of the family farm, the pastured poultry opportunity shines like a beacon in the night, guiding the way to a brighter future.
Additional authors recommended:
Allan Savory
Ben Falk
Justin Rhodes
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DELMARVA SOIL SUMMIT CELEBRATES SOIL INNOVATIONS
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More
than 200 agronomists came together to soak up the latest research and innovations to improve small- and large-scale farming operations at the
Delmarva Soil Summit from Feb. 26-27. Attendees included farmers, local government agency representatives, researchers, nonprofits, educational institutions and students from local colleges and universities.
The event featured guest speakers from across the country, ranging from soil scholars to farmers who presented on the latest in cover crop economics, soil health initiatives, carbon storage, no-till trends, challenges, successes and lessons learned through breakout sessions and farmer-led discussion panels.
Vernon “Chip” Baker, of Millsboro, Del., retired farmer and NACD Soil Health Champion, said the Delmarva Soil Summit was “a great learning experience and there were so many takeaways; however, one of the things I got out of the summit is the reason why you should diversify cover crops. It reiterated what we have been taught the last few years, it’s not as important what is above the ground but what is below the ground. To increase microbial activity in the soil, you should use diverse species of cover crops to feed all the microbes.”
Photo: Soil Health Champion
Keith Berns
from Nebraska gives a presentation on "Carbonomics."
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Soil Health
Policy Resources Catalog Update
The number of legislative bills, policies and programs that advance soil health have increased significantly since the Soil Health Institute (SHI) released its original catalog in 2018. In response, SHI released an update to its state level
Soil Health Policy Resources Catalog
in January 2020. This catalog is a resource for anyone wanting to learn what is being done across the United States to enhance the vitality and productivity of soils.
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Soil Health Research Landscape Tool Update
SHI has enhanced its
Soil Health Research Landscape Tool
. Use this online library and search engine to find soil health-related publications and references. The tool now includes over 13,000 references and an upgraded search engine providing millisecond response and filters for specific soil health problems, indicators, desired outcomes and more.
Bookmark it for your soil health research
here
.
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Soil Health Champions Attend the 2020 Commodity Classic
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Every year NACD holds a booth at the
Commodity Classic
, connecting attendees with the good work of its local conservation districts and sharing information on soil health.
This year NACD Soil Health Champions
Ian Cunningham
(Minn.),
Burlin Findley
(Fla.) and
Michael Crowder
(Wash.) joined NACD CEO
Jeremy Peters
at the event in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 27–29.
This team of Champions also participated in events with Syngenta, The Fertilizer Institute, Agriculture Future of America, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the American Soybean Association.
Pictured above from left to right: NACD CEO
Jeremy Peters
, Secretary-Treasurer
Ian Cunningham
,
Burlin Findley
and
President-elect Michael Crowder
.
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USDA Launches New Conservation Pilot Program for Prairie Pothole Producers to Plant Cover Crops
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced a new pilot program that enables farmers in the Prairie Pothole region to receive payments for planting cover crops on their land for three to five years.
The new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Soil Health and Income Protection Program (SHIPP) pilot is available to producers in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The signup for this pilot starts March 30, 2020, and ends Aug. 21. Learn more at
USDA's website
.
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NACD is looking to start up our Soil Health Webinars again and would like your help.
Have you attended a workshop, conference or seminar that had a great topic or speaker?
As a Soil Health Champion, is there a presentation you give as part of your soil health outreach?
If you said "yes" to either of those questions, please contact
Beth Mason
at
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Remember to contact
Beth Mason
with information on your outreach activities and what’s going on in your area for soil health. When you keep NACD informed, we’re better able to write articles for our publications the
eResource
and
The Resource
.
Many times, members of the press or partnering soil health organizations contact NACD to connect with our network members who live and breathe soil health–the folks with “skin in the game.”
When we know more about you, your activities, your operation, your message and your passion, we are better able to make the right connections and help further your soil health message.
No need to worry about your privacy, though. All connections NACD makes are with the express permission of our network members. Your contact information is kept private, unless you say otherwise. You can contact Beth at
beth-mason@nacdnet.org
or 317-946-4463.
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Promote Your
Next Soil Health Event
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Do you have any upcoming soil health events? Are you looking for an upcoming soil health event to attend? Both NACD and the Soil Health Institute have opened their events calendars for folks to post various soil health events whether they are local, state, national or even international.
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