Conservation INsight
March 15, 2023
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IASWCD April Lunch 'n Learns
For Indiana SWCD Staff and Supervisors
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Reminder: Legislative Updates and SWCD State House Visits
2023 Legislative Session Updates are emailed weekly to Indiana SWCD Staff and Supervisors. These updates are also posted online on the IASWCD website/CWI page.
Districts can visit the State House during the 2023 Legislative Session with support from IASWCD Lobbyist Cress Hizer (chizer@inag.biz) and IASWCD Executive Director Liz Rice (elizabeth-rice@iaswcd.org). Contact them to set up your visit.
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LAST CALL*LAST CALL*LAST CALL
for Abstracts Due March 31:
2024 Annual Conference of Indiana Soil & Water Conservation Districts
For the January 2024 annual conference, oral presentations are invited to be considered on topics relating to three session tracks: On the Ground(conservation implementation/technical), District Management, and Outreach & Education.
- Conference Dates: January 8-9, 2024
- Location: The Westin, downtown Indianapolis
Sample topics and more information can be found on the submission form.
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IASWCD Region Directors
Indiana Soil & Water Conservation Districts are divided into eight regions across the state. Each of these regions has representation on the Indiana Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts' (IASWCD) board. You can view the region map and current board members on the IASWCD website. Current executive board officers include President Jeff Baker (Warrick County); Vice-President Marc Roberts (Montgomery County); Sarah Delbecq (DeKalb County); Mark Kingma (Jasper County); and Past-President Bobby Hettmansperger (Wabash County).
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Mark Kingma Featured in Ceres Solutions' Centered on You Video Series
Mark Kingma, Jasper County SWCD Supervisor and IASWCD board Treasurer, and Craig Smith of Mark Kingma Family Farms in Wheatfield, IN, believe being stewards of the land is an essential part of farming. Their commitment to environmentally sound practices is building a better future for their farmland, their business, and our communities.
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Urban Soil Health Program News |
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Urban/Small Farms 401 - Technical Specifications
Monday, April 10
9:30 am - 3:30 pm (EDT)
Learn about new and revised tools to help with conservation planning on small farms.
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Meeting ID: 254 288 488 678
Passcode: J4RbAT
Or call in (audio only)
+1 202-650-0123,,385136058# United States, Washington DC
Phone Conference ID: 385 136 058#
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IDEA 2023 Membership Drive
Due March 31
Dues for membership in the Indiana District Employee Association must be received no later than March 31. See membership form for membership benefits and more information.
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For Indiana SWCDs:
District Support Specialist Update
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Indiana NRCS Accepting Applications for Additional EQIP, CSP, ACEP Funding and NWQI-Lake Wawasee
INDIANAPOLIS (March 1, 2023) -- Funding is now available from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Indiana to help farmers and private forestland owners implement conservation practices on their ground. Additional funding is available for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was passed by Congress in August 2022. Funding is also available to producers in Noble and Kosciusko counties through the National Water Quality Incentives Program (NWQI) to help address water quality concerns in the Lake Wawasee watershed.
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2023 Black Loam Conference Dates Announced
The first stop of the Black Loam Conference will take place March 18 in Evansville. Additional dates include March 25 in Bloomington, April 15 in Gary, May 6 in Fort Wayne and May 20 in Indianapolis.
INDIANAPOLIS (March 7, 2023) – Legacy Taste of the Garden and Connecting Kids Inside Out are partnering with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Indiana to host this year’s Indiana Black Loam Conference. The conference is part of a five-year cooperative agreement with NRCS to support and advance equity goals by providing critical outreach and technical assistance to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers and producers throughout the State of Indiana.
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Noblesville Organic Farm Utilizes Indiana NRCS Assistance to Address Food Insecurity
Success Story
By Brandon O'Connor, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA-NRCS, Indianapolis
Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) are competitive grants that drive public and private sector innovation in resource conservation. Authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill, CIG uses Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds to award competitive grants to non-Federal governmental or nongovernmental organizations, American Indian Tribes, or individuals. Producers involved in CIG funded projects must be EQIP eligible.
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USDA Requests Public Input on Key Water Quality Initiatives Public, Partner Comments Requested by April 7
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is asking for public input on two water quality conservation initiatives, the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) and the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI). Through the Federal Register notice published today, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) seeks feedback on how best to target program benefits, quantify impact, and improve program delivery and outreach in the future.
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Reminder: Conservation Reserve Program General Signup through April 7, 2023 |
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IDNR-Division of Fish & Wildlife
Newsletter: Wild Bulletin
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Indiana Water Report
The Indiana Water Monitoring Council is a network of water professionals and volunteers dedicated to communication, coordination, and sharing of monitoring information to support the stewardship of Indiana waters. Check out their latest water report!
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SARE Fellows Program Now Accepting Applications
Applications are now being accepted for the SARE Fellows program. The SARE Fellows program provides an immersive educational experience for participants to enhance their understanding of sustainable agriculture through broad-based training and interpersonal interactions at unique agriculture operations nationwide. Participating Fellows build professional relationships, improve their teaching and technology transfer skills, and are better prepared to develop programs that meet the needs of their local agricultural communities.
Applications must be submitted by May 8, 2023.
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The 2023 Professional Development Program Grant Call for proposals is now available. Proposals are due at 4pm central on April 6, 2023.
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Pollinator Action Team Update |
Arbor Day, April 28, 2023 |
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Life Hacks over Lunch: A Meet-up Series for Watershed Professionals – Join us for the Spring 2023 season!
This free, virtual meet-up series is a peer-learning opportunity for watershed professionals to share ideas and advice for solving real-life challenges of watershed projects. If you work with farmers and/or communities on watershed-scale projects to improve water quality and have ever found yourself thinking, “I don’t want to recreate the wheel,” this meet-up series is for you. Registration is required.
When: The 3rd Friday of the month: March 17th, April 21st, and May 19th
Time: 11:30am CT / 12:30pm ET. The meet-ups last 60 minutes.
Place: Zoom
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Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program: Grant Applications Due April 21
For more than 30 years, the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program has provided grants to reduce nutrients and sediments entering the Great Lakes. This year’s program will focus on helping nonfederal units of government, tribes, or incorporated nonprofit organizations reduce phosphorus contributions to waters within the Great Lakes basin and other efforts to achieve measure of progress under the GLRI Action Plan III. Applicants are invited to submit proposals for sediment and nutrient reduction activities associated with one of two project types: 1) agricultural non-point; and 2) shoreline or streambanks.
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Soil Health Nexus Digital Cafe Series: Lessons learned from on-farm cover crop research in Nebraska
Wednesday, March 15 at 2pm CT
In this Digital Café, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Assistant Professor Andrea Basche and PhD graduate student Fernanda Krupek will share results from five-year on-farm experiments conducted through a partnership program with Nebraska NRCS and the Nebraska On-Farm Research Network. This includes findings on how cover crops impact soil properties, nutrient cycling, weed communities and best practices for sampling at the farm scale.
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Job Postings :
Current list of Conservation Job Opportunities now posted on the IASWCD website.
Note: Job Postings can be submitted to Amy Work at: amy-work@iaswcd.org . Please include job description and deadline to apply in a single PDF file or with a link.
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Upcoming Conservation Events:
March 31 - Deadline for SWCD Conference Abstract Submission
April 26 - Indiana Envirothon State Competition
July 10-11 - Conservation in Action Tour
August 6-9 - SWCS International Annual Conference, Des Moines, IA
August 9 - River Friendly Farmer Award Ceremony, Indianapolis
October 4-6 - Indiana District Employee Fall Conference
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