"If You Want to go Far, Go Together"

Earlier this week I read a quote I can't stop thinking about: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." I couldn't find a person to whom I can ascribe the quote, but I think it's powerful and very applicable to what Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) do.

In Indiana, we rely on the resources and passions of many different agencies, organizations, and individuals in order to improve the health of our environment. Although each group or person works to accomplish individual goals quickly and efficiently, working with other agencies across the state have allowed us all to "go far."

The Indiana Conservation Partnership, which is comprised of the Association of SWCDs, the Natural Resources Conservation Services, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management,  the Farm Service Agency, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and others, works together to solve our common natural resource problems. We all have different resources and different limitations (some of us are nonprofits, some are government agencies; some are locally-based and some are statewide) and it is our differences that enable and inspire us to combine our strengths to build a better, healthier Indiana.

Organize!

The Partnership's goals for all Hoosiers include:

• Clean drinking water
• Cleaner streams, rivers and lakes for recreation
• Productive soils for Indiana’s farmers
• Enhanced quality of life for Indiana citizens
• Stronger state economy
• Funded local District programs
• Funded local cost-share programs

Together, we seek out and receive funding for conservation projects in Indiana (like Clean Water Indiana and Conservation Reserve Program funding). We share the expertise of staff members in order to provide the best possible information and experience to each other and to Hoosiers who take advantage of our services. We appreciate a familiarity and camaraderie with one another that contributes to a stronger Partnership that is more capable of providing high-quality service to Indiana.

Though working together instead of working alone has its unique challenges and progress seems slow at times, our Partnership has allowed us to come much further than we ever could alone.

See what we have accomplished in your county.

Indiana Wildlife Federation Recognizes CCSI & LaPorte SWCD

The Indiana Wildlife Federation serves our state through "promoting the conservation, sound management, and sustainable use of Indiana's wildlife and wildlife habitat through education, advocacy, and action." Like the IASWCD, and our 92 local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, IWF works with state agencies and similar organizations. They monitor and work to improve and protect Indiana's wildlife and habitats, which are made up of the natural resources SWCDs work to protect as well.

Last weekend, IWF recognized the work of two Soil and Water Conservation District entities: one program called the Conservation Cropping Systems INitiative (CCSI) and one standout staff member, Nicole Messacar (Education Coordinator for the LaPorte Co. SWCD).

CCSI received the Agriculture Conservation Award "for its work promotinv environmentally-friendly farming techniques." Nicole earned the Conservation Educator of the Year award for the work she does to educate children about wildlife and conservation.

We are proud to work with these award winners, and excited to celebrate our positive relationship with the Indiana Wildlife Federation! Conservation is something that concerns all of us. Though we work differently, our goals are similar - to protect this land for now, and for future generations.

May is American Wetlands Month

Photo credit: Natural Resources Conservation Service

May marks the 22nd anniversary of American Wetlands Month. It is a time when we all should celebrate the vital importance wetlands play in our world protecting our soil and water resources.

It is also a great opportunity to teach others about the important role wetlands play in our environment and the significant benefits they provide — improved water quality, increased water storage and supply, reduced flood and storm surge risk, and critical habitat for plants, fish, and wildlife.

Wetlands are the vital link between land and water, where the flow of water, the cycling of nutrients, and the energy of the sun meet to produce highly productive ecosystems with unique plant and animal life.

Wetlands are often referred to as the "kidneys" of the landscape for their ability to remove excess nutrients, toxic substances, and sediment from water that flows through them, helping to improve downstream water quality. Natural wetlands have also been effective in removing contaminants such as pesticides, landfill liquids, dissolved chlorinated compounds, metals, and stormwater runoff.

Wetlands play an important role in reducing the frequency and intensity of floods by acting as natural buffers — slowing, absorbing, and storing significant amounts of floodwater. Since flooding is the most common natural hazard in the nation, wetlands play an integral role in managing this risk, particularly through planning approaches that consider the entire watershed.

The presence of wetlands on the landscape can also mitigate flood damage inland. A study by the Wetlands Initiative concluded that restoring wetlands along the 100-year flood plain of the Upper Mississippi River could increase storage capacity to 39 million acre-feet of flood water--a similar volume to the Mississippi Flood of 1993 that caused $16 billion in damages.

The ability of wetlands to store and filter water helps to protect and replenish surface and underground drinking water sources.

As nurseries of nature, wetlands are among the most biologically productive natural ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs in their productivity and in the diversity of species they support. Mixtures of vegetation and shallow water zones provide diverse habitats for a variety of species — plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, shellfish, and mammals. Many species rely on these critical habitats for survival as sources of food, shelter, and breeding grounds.

For example, frogs, toads, and salamanders depend on small, isolated wetlands during their development. It is estimated that one-half of all North American bird species nest or feed in wetlands, and despite the fact that wetlands comprise only 5% of the land surface in the conterminous United States; they are home to an estimated 31% of plant species.

Source: U.S. EPA

Soil Stewardship Week

Jane Hardisty

by Jane Hardisty
State Conservationist, Indiana NRCS
When you picked up your spoon to eat some food today, did you think about where the food came from? Did you make a connection as you ate a bowl of cereal to the dairy and grain farmer? Or the hay or grain the dairy cow ate? Or the fact that the grain and hay grew in the soil? We sometimes take for granted that it’s so easy to go to the grocery store to buy our food. But it’s a long process to get the food from the soil to the grocery store shelf.


National Soil Stewardship Week is April 29 through May 6, 2012, and the theme this year is “Soil to Spoon.” Keeping the soil healthy is a primary focus of the agency I work for, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Our agency is working hand-in-hand with Indiana’s 92 Soil and Water Conservation Districts every day to help farmers and private landowners improve soil health and protect natural resources.

The world population is on the rise, while agricultural land is shrinking. A careful balance will be required to make more room for more people, while at the same time, more food to feed those people. Healthy soil and good conservation choices can ensure we have the resources we need for now and for generations to come. 

Making the connection back to the soil, where our food gets its start is so important. The next time you sit down to a meal, take a minute to think about where your food came from, and the farmers and ranchers who helped produce it. As they work to produce food for the growing population, Indiana’s farmers are dedicated to using responsible land-management practices to ensure a sustainable food supply and healthy land and soil for future generations. Please join me in thanking our local agriculture producers for their role in caring for the land, while providing the food and fiber for our nation and the world.

National Soil Stewardship week reminds us of our personal and social responsibility to care for the natural resources for which we all depend. There is a Soil and Water Conservation District in each county in Indiana where NRCS and other partnership staff are available to serve you and help you make the connection between soil and the food we eat.

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

Water  Conservation District.

Why?

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

And, that's good stewardship.

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

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"