One of our goals with the NACD Soil Health Champion Network is to provide opportunities for Champions to get together for a time of learning, sharing, and making connections in the soil health arena.

We would like to extend an invitation for NACD Soil Health Champions to join us in person at the next NACD Annual Meeting, which will be held in Orlando, Fla., February 12 – 16. The following are some of the special opportunities we will have for you:

Below are the details of the stipends:

Once your request has been received, please look for a response to confirm.

For more information on the NACD Annual Meeting, please visit the NACD website.

by Frank Lessiter, chairman and editorial director of Lessiter Media, Inc.

This hardbound book chronicles the establishment of the once controversial practice of no-till. Taking a decade-by-decade look at the world of no-till through the experiences of the innovators and early adopters since the first commercial plot in the U.S. in 1962. This book contains:

To order a copy of this book please visit the No-Till Farmer website.

In December 2021, the Midwest Cover Crop Council (MCCC) is releasing the third edition of the Cover Crop Field Guide, a pocket-size, in-field reference guide which helps growers effectively select, grow, and use cover crops.

Topics in the guide include cover crop selection, cropping system recommendations and effects of cover crops. Updates to the guide include recommendations for cover crop termination in unfavorably wet springs and planting green into cover crops. The cover crop species section of the guide has also been expanded to incorporate white clover, forage brassicas, balansa clover and several cover crops commonly used in a mix.

Upon release later this month, the guide can be purchased online at the Purdue University's Education Store. It will be available as a single guide for $6 or in boxes of 25 with a 10 percent discount.

Edited by Jorge A. Delgado, Clark J. Gantzer, and Gretchen F. Sassenrath

This book is available on the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) website as a free pdf download or for purchase as a 6" x 9" softbound book. Published in 2020, this book is an anniversary collection which celebrates our progress and explores the future of conservation.

For more information on this book and to get a copy, please visit the SWCS website.

The National Grazing Lands Coalition (NGLC) has been experiencing great growth as an organization of the past few years - expanding their staff, their online presence and their portfolio of projects and partnerships. Such growth has led them to create a partnership with Producer's Voice to assist in disseminating NGLC's message and information through their publication.

Producer's Voice is a publication that uses written stories, podcasts and videos with original content as well as sharing news from partner sources. To stay in touch with NGLC and receive this new publication, please visit the Producer's Voice website to subscribe.

U.S. commodities like corn, cotton, potatoes, rice, soybeans and wheat represent a significant proportion of the cropland in the U.S. and are often associated with complex supply chains that require innovative approaches to sustainability measurement and data sharing. The National Indicators Report is a peer-reviewed report that analyzes sustainability trends over time for U.S. agriculture, evaluating the conservation and stewardship efforts of our nation's commodity farmers. This trend analysis provides important context, enables informed discussions of priorities for more localized efforts and creates a baseline against which to monitor and measure future change.

Please visit the Field to Market website to download and review a copy of the National Indicators Report.

In 2020, Field to Market released its first report on Pest Management, analyzing barriers to progress and presenting available solutions for the food and agriculture value chain to take collective action to advance responsible pest management. Modeled after their National Indicators Report, this report focuses on chemical use and pest management practices from USDA surveys from 1990 to 2018 on nine commodity crops covered by Field to Market's programs.

Please visit the Field to Market website to download and review a copy of the Trends in Pest Management in U.S. Agriculture report.

The National No-Tillage Conference has lined up nearly 40 top-notch no-tillers, agronomists, researchers and other no-till experts to deliver innovative ideas that can help you get the most out of your no-till farming system. This 30th annual conference offers a mix of thought-provoking General Sessions, expert-led No-Till Classrooms and collaborative No-Till Roundtables. Plus, valuable pesticide recertification and Certified Crop Advisor credits are available to qualifying attendees. 

As the leading no-till conference of the year, it's no wonder we find four of the NACD Soil Health Champions on the program.

Jimmy Emmons, Leedey, Okla.

Jay Baxter, Georgetown, Del.

Russell Hedrick, Hickory, N.C.

Mike Starkey, Brownsburg, Ind.

Have you been experimenting with different practices or processes in your operation or out in the field?

Are you making new discoveries or confirming anything?

NACD would love to share your experiences with the NACD Soil Health Champions Network to assist in the peer-to-peer learning experience. Please email beth-mason@nacdnet.org and don't forget to share any photos!

Champions Kirsten and Nathan Couevas of New Mexico have just been named the recipients of the "Growing the Future Award." This award is produced by Farm to Table NM and the NM Food and Agriculture Policy Council.

As an award recipient, the Couevas are invited to speak about their work in the New Mexico Capitol Rotunda during the New Mexico Food and Farms Day on January 27, 2022.

This award is part of a slate of awards celebrating exceptional programs and partners in New Mexico who actively foster innovative and creative approaches to complex problems facing the local food economy.

The Soil Health Institute presented a series of virtual meetings as part of its Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton project.

The goal of the project was to increase adoption of soil health management systems. The “Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Farmer Showcase” is a video series which featured cotton producers and soil health specialists across the United States discussing the challenges and successes they have encountered on their journey to improve soil health. Each state’s speakers summarized how producers are making essential soil health practices like no-till and cover crops work under local soil and climate conditions.

Sledge Taylor of Como, Miss. is in Episode 1: "Soil Health Challenges in the Delta: What Works and What Doesn't"

Jason Carter of Eastover, S.C. is in Episode 7: "Lessons from Eight Years of Regenerative Agriculture."

Champion Russell Hedrick from Hickory, N.C. was featured on a No-Till Farmer podcast where he shared his latest venture - a mobile grain milling operation he launched with partners Liz Haney and Sarah Varble called Regen Mills. Through this venture, Hedricks and his partners seek to return more profit to farmers.

To hear more, tune in by visiting the No-Till Farmer website.

The Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) Sustainable Agriculture Program was developed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in 1987. NCAT continues to manage the program with the majority of funding for this program coming from a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Through this program, NCAT's mission is to provide high-value information and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, Extension agents, educators and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States.

The sustainable agriculture resources and information ATTRA provides is organized under the following categories:

-Agroforestry

-Crop Insurance & Risk Management

-Education

-Energy Alternatives

-Equipment

-Farm Start Up

-Field Crops

-Food Safety

-Horticultural Crops

-Livestock and Pasture

-Local Food Systems

-Marketing and Business

-Organic Farming

-Pest Management

-Publicaciones en Español

-Soils and Compost

-Aquaculture

Tipsheets

-Water Management

-Other Resources

ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture also provides a calendar of events and many multi-media resources such as a blog, tutorials, searchable databases, podcasts, publications and videos.

Be sure to check out all they have to offer by visiting their website.

Are you a member of our Facebook Group? If you are an NACD Soil Health Champion or the conservation district/ Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employee who sponsors a Champion, be sure you connect with us on Facebook.

Share your conservation articles, your pictures, your updates and your events with us by connecting through Facebook! This can not only be a chance to network about soil health, but it can also be a chance to do outreach even among other members.

New rules with Facebook don't allow us to send out invitations to individuals we aren't already connected with on the platform.

So, be sure to search for "NACD Soil Health Champions" and request to join today!