NACD has opened final applications for the Historically Underserved Farmer to Farmer Outreach Grant Program. This program will award up to $2.7 million in grants for outreach to Native American and historically underserved producers, as well as on the ground projects that mitigate hypoxic conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Interested applicants must submit their project proposals to NACD by June 23, 2023.

In the Gulf of Mexico watershed, farmers manage millions of acres of privately held working lands. Working farms, ranches, and forests provide food, fuel, and fiber for the world, but activities can affect water quality locally and across multi-state watersheds. Implementation of soil and water conservation practices can help reduce runoff and nonpoint source pollution.

The objectives of this grant program are to:

• Work directly with Native American and/or historically underserved producers on novel or innovative techniques, methods, or approaches that reduce non-point source pollution and increase the sustainability and resiliency of their operations;
• Leverage partnerships to increase knowledge sharing and collaboration within and among communities, producers, and partners;
• Collect and analyze data to demonstrate the results of funded projects; and
• Disseminate results to the community to inform future conservation or management practices and expand adoption of the most cost-effective and sustainable approaches.

Projects must be located within the Non-Mississippi River Drainage Region which consists of TX, MS, AL, and portions of FL, GA, NM, and CO. Applications may be submitted by conservation districts, conservation districts’ respective state associations or state agencies (so long as a conservation district is engaged at the local level), Resource Conservation & Development Councils, and Indian Tribal governments or intertribal consortia.

For more information, please visit NACD's website.

TEXAS SWCD ENGAGES COMMUNITY ON IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING WORKING LANDS WITH FRIENDS OF NACD FUNDING

By Marla Heger, Outreach Coordinator, Caldwell-Travis SWCD

Located adjacent to the increasingly urbanized Austin-San Antonio corridor, the Caldwell-Travis Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) saw the need to expand dialogue with area residents, both new and established, on the importance of preserving working lands. Receiving a 2022 Friends of NACD District Grant helped the district ramp up its engagement with the public at-large and partner with local agricultural organizations while increasing Caldwell-Travis SWCD’s visibility in the community.



According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, Caldwell County had 285,170 acres of land in farms, much of which falls in the Plum Creek Watershed. Simple visual inspection of the district suggests the land in farms will show a marked decrease when the next Census of Agriculture is published. With mounting pressure on existing working lands, it was important to the district to get the word out on strategies landowners and producers could adopt to maintain, or in some cases increase, the productivity of the district’s remaining agricultural lands.

Utilizing the Friends of NACD Grant, the district hosted a pair of workshops titled “Protecting Our Working Lands” and “Managing Our Working Lands." Announcement of the events was widely shared on social media and local news media. The first workshop, with its emphasis on “protecting,” focused on how working lands support a valuable agricultural economy. This goes beyond traditional production and into providing natural habitat for wildlife, filtering water and air, managing flood waters, and contributing to overall soil health. Participants learned what tools are available to incentivize protecting working lands from division and development pressure including conservation easement programs. The second workshop, with its emphasis on “managing,” focused on best practices for the sustainable management of soils and the “A to Z” of water quality management plans.

At both events, participants expanded their knowledge as they visited with an array of local agency representatives with expertise in all manner of natural resource conservation technical and financial assistance. Marla Heger, Caldwell-Travis SWCD’s Outreach Coordinator shared, “In addition to the expected outcomes of knowledge sharing from presenters and agency representatives, another benefit of the public programs was the creation of new connections between legacy and new producers. I overheard conversations between participants who share not only in community proximity, but also in their common goal to be good stewards of the land.”

With the new connections created with the public, and partnerships with agricultural organizations directly resulting from the events made possible by the Friends of NACD District Grant, the Caldwell-Travis SWCD encourages other conservation districts to step back and gauge what they could achieve with a grant. “Look at the current activities of your district to see where you want to be in the conservation space," said Heger. "What lies between your current and desired state, is the gap your district could address with a program backed with a Friends of NACD District Grant.”

Read the full article on NACD's blog. Support district programs like this by becoming a Friend of NACD today!

SOUTH DAKOTA HOSTS U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE LEADERSHIP

By Angela Ehlers, SDACD Executive Director

On May 18, South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts (SDACD) leadership hosted U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams and staff as well as representatives of the SD Grassland Coalition, SD Ag Land Trust and Pheasants Forever. The coffee table discussion at NACD Executive Board Northern Plains Representative Karl Jensen’s home near Whitewood focused on South Dakota’s highly successful relationship with Partners for Fish & Wildlife.

“This type of gathering is what I grew up with in Maryland as my dad was very engaged in ag preservation, professionally and by passion," noted Director Williams. "By listening to you, we can learn how to build similar, stronger relationships nationwide."

The group moved on to the Blair Brothers Angus Ranch to see first-hand examples of producer-PFW cooperative agreements at work in sage grouse territory. Winners of the South Dakota’s 2020 Leopold Conservation Award, brothers Ed and Rich Blair and their sons Chad and Britton work with Partners for Fish & Wildlife and USDA-NRCS to embrace conservation practices that enhance soil, water, livestock, and

wildlife. Spanning 60,000 acres near Sturgis and Vale in western South Dakota, miles of pipelines and cross-fencing improve their short duration rotational grazing system. Through conservation practices, they’ve seen an increase in the amount and quality of forage, improvement in animal condition, and better habitat for endangered species such as the sage grouse.