Monday, April 30, 2012

We celebrate stewardship every day

Are you ready for Stewardship Week? The 57th NACD Soil and Water Stewardship Week started yesterday, April 29 and runs through Sunday, May 6! This year's theme is "Soil to Spoon.”

The theme highlights the importance of knowing where your food comes from. The National Association of Conservation Districts could not have selected a more appropriate theme.

That is why the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and our 92 Soil and Water Conservation Districts and our great Indiana Conservation Partnership (ICP) work so hard to promote the "soil to spoon" story.

A sample of some very healthy soil protected
by cover crops over the winter from a farmer's field.
Cover crops protect against water and wind erosion and
improve soil quality.
The story begins with soil health and that is something we take very seriously here in Indiana. Simply, we believe maintaining soil health . . . whether it’s our vast acres of farmland across Indiana, or the soil in the yards, greenways and parks of our cities, towns and suburbs . . . it is all essential to protecting our natural resources.

The Conservation Cropping Systems INitiative (CCSI), and ICP program, helps Indiana farmers by promoting a systematic approach to production agriculture. CCSI specialists encourage the adoption of long-term continuous no-till practices on farmland, along with cover crops, nutrient and pest management and precision-farming technology, and the use of conservation buffers.

Hamilton County farmer Rodney Rulon is
planting soybeans into cereal rye, a cover crop.
Rulon is a Supervisor for the Hamilton County Soil and
Why?

Because it is providing us with: clean water to drink, and healthy soil to grow food and feed

And, that's good stewardship.





Monday, April 16, 2012

Show Pride in Your Produce with "Indiana Grown"

In late March, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) announced the new Indiana Grown program. Its goal is to enable consumers to easily identify, find, and buy Indiana-grown products. Through connecting producers - farmers, ranchers, nurseries, etc - processors, wholesalers, retailers and ISDA, Indiana Grown will brand and promote Hoosier produce and production.

If your product was grown in Indiana, your operation could be included in the Indiana Grown Program. If you would like to be a member, ISDA is accepting applications. It's a simple and straightforward app. If it is accepted, you can use the attractive Indiana Grown logo (shown above) for a full year to help promote your products and show your Hoosier pride. According to ISDA, "This program encompasses everything from a big farming operation to a small roadside stand."

The program categories are:
  • Produce, Field Crops, Forestry
  • Dairy (BOAH permits must be submitted to ISDA)
  • Eggs (must submit egg permit license from Purdue University, Indiana Egg Board)
  • Livestock & Livestock Products (Processed Meat & Poultry Products, Beef Cattle)
  • Fish & Seafood
  • Ornamental Horticulture (Greenhouse Nursery, Floriculture & Turf Grass)
You can apply here.

Other news stories on Indiana Grown:
"This Old Farm, Indiana Grown" - video via WishTV
"Indiana Grown program to boost state's farm goods" - via the Indianapolis Star

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Soil Tillage = Hurricane+Forest Fire+Earthquake

Not to sound too drastic, but “tilling the soil is the equivalent of an earthquake, hurricane, tornado, and forest fire occurring simultaneously to the world of soil organisms” says the Natural Resources Conservation Service. NRCS continues, stating “there are more individual organisms in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on earth.” The health of our soil must be taken very seriously, for it gives us the food we eat, the land upon which we live, and filters the water we drink.

NRCS* and the Indiana SWCDs recommend the following strategies to improve and maintain your soil’s health:

Fantastic image and information featuring
Dr. Elaine Ingham on how living soil = health
from Natural Farming Hawai'i
Manage more by doing less
No-till or strip-till: disturbing the soil creates a hostile, instead of hospitable, place for soil organisms to live and work.

Wise use of fertilizers and pesticides
Misusing chemicals and other soil inputs can disrupt the naturally-balancing relationship between fungi, microorganisms, and crop roots.

Diverse Cropping
Just like humans need a variety of foods to eat to be healthy, crops need a variety of nutrient sources. “Biodiversity will ultimately be the key to success of any agricultural system,” states NRCS, and “Lack of biodiversity severely limits the potential of any cropping system and disease and pest problems are increased.”

Keep your land alive
Soil organisms feed on living plant roots first – it is the richest & most easily-accessible source of nutrients. Then they’ll feed on dead plant roots, then crop residue (i.e. husks), and then the leftover organic matter in the soil. Keep your soil happy by giving it the best food: from living roots, like cover crops.

Keep the soil covered
Soil is heavily disturbed by falling raindrops, which can cause erosion. Protect your land by protecting your soil: leave crop residue on the land, and use cover crops when you’re not growing a cash crop.

It all starts with soil.
If your soil is healthy, the health (and wealth) of your land will follow. Contact your local SWCD for more information on how to improve your land and your crops.

*Much of this information is taken from the NRCS publication "Farming in the 21st Century: a practical approach to improve Soil Health, November 2011 version"