Front Page e-Newsletter
February 22, 2021
Register for the 2021 Virtual Conservation District and PA Agency Ag Meeting
The 2021 Virtual Conservation District and PA Agency Ag Meeting will be held via Zoom March 16-17, 2021. Staff from PA state agencies, USDA-NRCS, and conservation district agricultural technicians, watershed specialists, and management are invited to attend. Registration is free and required.
 
Formerly known as the All Bay Meeting, this annual meeting has been expanded to include sessions that are relevant to conservation districts across the state, as well as more focused sessions for conservation districts within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
 
The draft agenda includes topics such as agency updates, getting the most out of PracticeKeeper, a review of the Integrated Water Quality Report and mapping tools, local rapid stream delisting strategies, and other timely and relevant sessions.
 
Click here for more information and to register.
PACD Hiring Natural Resources Executive Assistant
The incumbent has primary responsibility for providing assistance and coordination support for the National Conservation Planning Partnership conservation planning efforts. The position is under the technical supervision of the NRCS Natural Resources Specialist located in Benton, PA.
 
The location of this position is negotiable. The employer of record is the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts and day-to-day technical guidance is provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
 
Click here to read the job description.
 
A cover letter and resume should be emailed to personnel@pacd.org by March 2, 2021.
Register for Your Virtual Spring 2021 PACD Region Meeting
PACD members and partners are invited to register for the spring PACD region meetings, which will take place virtually this March and April. Registration for all six web meetings is free and required. To register, please click on the link for your region meeting below:
 
March 18, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
 
March 24, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
 
March 25, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
 
March 30, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
 
April 8, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
 
April 16, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Native Plant and Pollinator Technical Training Recorded 
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service offered free technical training to Pennsylvania’s conservation districts on native plants and pollinators. The webinar was held on February 18, 2021. A recording of the webinar is available here.
Recorded Webinar Series on Working with Farmers for Cover Crop Success 
Steve Groff, a farmer, educator, and author from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, teaches soil health practices that have been refined on his farm. He has shared this knowledge with audiences in more than a dozen countries.
 
In January 2021, Groff led a unique webinar series about how to work with farmers for cover crop success. The series also highlighted regional corporate sustainability initiatives and opportunities in advising farmers who are transitioning to organic production.
 
The four webinars are:
 
Part 1: What Got Us Here, Won’t Get Us There
Part 2: From Soil Health Message to On-Farm Implementation
Part 3: Do Cover Crops Pay?
Part 4: Tips and Tricks for Cover Cropping Success
 
You can view the two-hour sessions here.
New Cover Crop Decision Support Tool for the Northeast States
From Mark Goodson, NRCS PA Weekly News Flash

The Northeast Cover Crop Council has released a beta version of its new cover crop explorer and selector tool online. You can check it out by going to http://covercrop.tools/. The tool catalogs dozens of cover crop species that are grown in USDA Hardiness Zones. The site features a way for users to narrow down the number of species by searching the database by functional group, environmental tolerance, growth habit, etc., and create a list of species best suited to the desired purpose in their location. Future enhancements will include a seeding rate calculator for cover crop mixtures.
 
Photo caption: Screenshot of cover crop species selector tool. 
PA4R Nutrient Stewardship Virtual Field Days 
Learn about local farmers and agribusinesses making 4R decisions for their specific operations. With a combination of pre-filmed footage and a discussion panel, we hope you'll join us for an engaging and informative program to help you understand how 4R practices can work on your or your client's farm. Please share this invitation with your network of farmers, conservation practitioners, and ag retailers!
 
We will have two sessions, each highlighting a different farm and different practices. Certified Crop Advisor Continuing Education Credits and Act 38 Nutrient Management credits are available for both sessions. Join us for both!

  • Thursday, February 25, 11:00 a.m.–Noon - Tour Susquehanna Orchards in Delta, PA, and learn about how The Mill works with farmer Mike Kurek to manage nitrogen decisions with advanced mapping, variable rates, and nitrogen modeling.
  • Thursday, March 4, 11:00 a.m.–Noon - Tour Wolgemuth Farview Farms in Mount Joy, PA, to learn about how Karl Dirks manages both manure and fertilizer in his operation with help from Rosetree Consulting, as well as how precision seed management plays a key role in his crop production plan.

Click here to register. Webinars will be recorded and shared with registrants after the webinar. Contact Katie Turner at katie.turner@tnc.org with any questions.
 
Photo caption: Photo provided by PA 4R Alliance. 
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