Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
May 10, 2017
Conservation Update

April 27, 2017 - May 10, 2017
 

IASWCD News
Clear Choices, Clean Water Informational Webinar
IASWCD and Clear Choices Clean Water are exploring how to bring the public outreach program of CCCW t o all Districts. First we want to gauge district interest in the program and better understand the opportunities for collaboration. Plea se consider joining us for one of the two introductory webinars offered. IASWCD is hosting this webinar about Clear Choices Clean Water so that Districts may learn more about how Clear Choices works, what materials are available to its partners, and how Districts could possibly use the program as their own local 'call-to-action' campaign. The webinar will then be followed up with a survey to help determine if and how this program may complement the efforts of the Districts. The webinar is offered twice to help accommodate as many schedules as possible - the webinars will have the same content.  Please visit the appropriate link below to register for the webinar most convenient for you. Thank you!
River Friendly Farmer applications due June 16
River Friendly Farmer logo
The River-Friendly Farmer Award Ceremony will take place at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on August 16, Farmer's Day. Farmers/Landowners and their families will be invited to attend as well as District staff and supervisors and ICP leaders. The RFF application and questions may be viewed on the IASWCD website .
 

Shoutout ***
Shoutout***Shoutout***Shoutout
To Tashina Lahr-Manifold (Wabash County SWCD-new employee)  for her featured article regarding Earth Day 2017. Published in The Paper of Wabash County! Great job, Tashina!

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And, to Stephen Schmidt (Madison County SWCD) for  his Earth Day article getting published in the Anderson Herald Bulletin

. . . the Jennings County Pollinator Committee in North Vernon,  Indiana, Jennings County Soil & Water Conservation District for their g reat efforts in  educating people in rural and urban communities about the importance of pollinators and encouraging these communities to take steps to protect and restore pollinator habitat.

Pathway logo
Pathway to Water Quality Update
This year, volunteer sign-up for staffing Pathway to Water Quality at the 2017 Indiana State Fair will open at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, June 1. The state fair will run from August 4-20.  If you would like to sign up as a group to volunteer for "a day at Pathway," you will need to fill all 9-11 positions total for that day. The advantage is you can sign up now! To reserve your group day at Pathway, email Sara Peel at pathwaytowaterquality@gmail.com by May 26.  See more details here ...
NACD News  
Submit your Idea for the NACD Conference Theme
Help NACD decide the theme for their 2018 annual meeting in Nashville on January 27-31.  NACD is seeking creative submissions. Whoever submits the winning theme for the 2018 Annual Meeting will be awarded $250 toward their registration cost. To submit a suggested theme idea, please  fill out this form . The deadline for entries is Tuesday, May 30.

NACD URBAN AG GRANT PROPOSALS-
Deadline: May 14
This year, NACD will award grants to 20 urban or suburban districts through the Urban Agriculture Conservation Initiative to build technical capacity for agriculture conservation.  The deadline for 2017 proposals is  May 14 . For more information, go to  NACD's Urban and Community webpage.

NACD Summer Meeting
July 15-18 in Iowa
ISDA News
Cropland Weed ID Training for Indiana Conservation Partnership Staff 
Registration NOW OPEN! Click on links below to register:
Leadership Training Institute (LTI)
"Leadership in Change" workshop
June 9 
Jasper, IN
USDA-SARE News
2017 CTIC-SARE-ASTA Cover Crop Survey
The link to the 2017 Cover Crop Survey is now live and sponsored by USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Agency (SARE), the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). Please distribute to farmers within your networks, and to others who can also distribute the link to farmers in their networks whether they use cover crops or not. 
USDA-NASS News
Two Major Mid-Year Surveys
During the next several weeks, U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct two major mid-year surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey. The agency will survey over 2000 farmers across Indiana to determine crop production and supplies levels in 2017. NASS gathers the data for the June Agricultural Survey online, by mail, phone and in-person interview. Read more...
USDA-NRCS News
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NRCS Soil Health Update - May 2017
Read here ...
Purdue Extension  
Training: Native Warm Season Grass Establishment and Management 
May 16 - West Lafayette, IN
May 18 - Farmland, IN

Drainage Field Day
June 7-8, 2017
Davis Purdue Ag Center
More information and registration can be found here.
Other News
2017 Spring Educational Series
Eco-logic, along with Indiana Native Plant & Wildflower Society (INPAWS), announced their Spring Education series classes. These classes include information on Bio-swales, Prairie Plantings with Plant ID, Rain Garden Certification and more. Details and registration information available here.

SWCS-Hoosier Chapter  Summer Workshop 
June 20, 2017 (Deadline to register is June 16)
Eagle Marsh Preserve, located SW of Ft. Wayne
The focus of the  meeting is the collaborative partnering efforts needed to tackle potentially devastating resource issues that can impact us on a large scale basis. Other topics include funding coordination, GLRI, wetland easements and invasive species practice design. Speakers will include Betsy Yankowiak, Director of Preserves and Programs, LRWP; Dr. Chris Winslow, Director, Ohio Sea Grant Program; Rick Duff, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Field Coordinator, NRCS; Duane Riethman, Area Engineer, NRCS; and Andrew Pursifull, Engineer, NRCS. For more information view the flyer or contact Curtis Knueven at  curtis.knueven@in.usda.gov
Registration costs (including lunch and snacks):
$30 members, $60 non-members
$20 spouses/retired conservationists
$5 students 

Indiana MS4 Annual Meeting
May 16 with a networking event the evening of May 15

Grazing for the Future Conference featuring Dr. Pol
August 17-18
Clifty Inn, Madison, IN
Ripley & Jefferson County SWCD's along with Historic Hoosier Hills are excited to announce the Grazing for the Future Conference agenda is complete and registration is open!  Our featured speakers include reality TV Veterinarian, Dr. Pol from the National Geographic channel, Blaine Hitzfield, with Seven Sons Farms and Ben Bartlett, Holistic Management International. 
For the month of April we are opening the Grazing for the Future conference registration for our partnership.  Starting May 1st we will begin publicizing this to the general public. Our hope is that this will allow time for you to obtain supervisor/board approval. After all, our partnership is the key to our success here in Indiana, so why not allow you to register first. The registration link is active on this Eventbrite link. It is also active for the public (just not advertised yet) so if you have a guest wanting to attend with you they can register at the same time. You can also register by filling out the registration on the brochure and mailing a check to Historic Hoosier Hills at PO Box 407, Versailles, IN 47042. Full conference registration is $65 and includes dinner and breakfast. For the meal/evening only with Dr. Pol it is $40 and includes only the dinner. There are limited number of rooms available at Clifty Inn so book early!   See details...
In This Issue
Quick Links
Upcoming Events
Please refer to the IASWCD Events and CCSI Soil Health Events calendars for a full list of upcoming events and more details regarding these events below: 

May 14 - DEADLINE: Urban Ag Grant Proposals

May 16 - Native Warm Season Grass Establishment and Management, West Lafayette, IN

May 18 - Native Warm Season Grass Establishment and Management, Farmland, IN

May 22 - State Soil Conservation Board meeting, Prophetstown

June 1 - Pathway to Water Quality volunteer sign up begins

June 7-8 - Drainage Field Day, Farmland, IN

June 9 - Leadership Institute Training workshop, Jasper, IN

June 13 - Women4theLand Women's Learning Circle, Pike & Gibson Counties

June 14 - Women4theLand: Women's Learning Circle, Benton/Warren/White Counties

June 16 - DEADLINE: River-Friendly Farmer applications

June 20 - Women4theLand: Women's Learning Circle, New Harmony

June 20 - SWCD-Hoosier Chapter, Summer Workshop

July 15-18 - NACD Summer Conservation Forum and Tour

July 23-29 - NCF-Envirothon

July 30-August 2 - SWCS Annual Conference

August 4-20 - Indiana State Fair

August 16 - River-Friendly Farmer Award Ceremony, Indianapolis, IN

September 12 -  Women4theLand: Women's Learning Circle, Jennings County

October 11-13 - IDEA Conference, West Lafayette

October 23-27 - Stream Simulation Training, Bloomington

November 12-17 -  National Association of 4-H Extension Agents/Educators Conference in Indianapolis

December 7-8 - National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health

January 8-9, 2018 - Annual SWCD Conference, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown

January 27-31, 2018 - NACD Annual Conference, Nashville, TN
Current Job Openings *

See Job Descriptions and/or Applications at www.IASWCD.org 

Ag Resource Specialist, 
Johnson County SWCD

Executive Director, 
Indiana Wildlife Federation

Office Coordinator, 
Hamilton County SWCD

Director of Education and Outreach
DNR, Marion County

*(Note: please submit job openings to: 
amy-work@iaswcd.org 
and include instructions for applying, deadline and job description in a single PDF file. Thank you.)
Upcoming Award Deadlines:
 
River Friendly Farmer
due June 16
(Google Form)

Special Thanks to the following Districts who have paid Annual Dues as of 05/09/17:

Adams

Allen

Fountain

Fulton

Cass

Clark

Clinton

Decatur

Dekalb

Elkhart

Hamilton

Jackson

Jasper

Jay

Jennings

Kosciusko

LaGrange

Lawrence

Miami

Monroe

Newton

Pike

Posey

Randolph

Rush

St. Joseph

Tipton

Union

Vanderburgh

Wabash

Warren

Warrick

White

Whitley