Recent Articles

By Teresa DeMars Minnesota's Rice County farmers have been experimenting with planting cover crops out in the field and have been seeing the benefits. Producers reported improved soil health, including erosion control, increased infiltration, weed suppression and higher organic matter. Farmers also reported spending less on fuel and chemicals while in some cases, their yields… Continue reading →

By Lucy Sears With 3,000 conservation districts across the country, there’s no shortage of success stories, district updates and more. Many districts use some form of social media channel (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and/or LinkedIn) to share what they’re up to. As an employee, you are probably familiar with the type of content your district posts… Continue reading →

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in July 2019 in the summer edition of National Woodlands magazine and is the third of a series of articles in partnership with The National Woodland Owners Association (NWOA). By Jennifer Hinkhouse In recent years, wildfires in the West have increased in frequency and severity; as a result,… Continue reading →

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in April 2019 in the winter edition of National Woodlands magazine and is the second of a series of articles in partnership with The National Woodland Owners Association (NWOA). By Linda Brownson As a first-time forestland owner located in the foothills of the White Mountains of New Hampshire,… Continue reading →

By Teresa Matteson Thanks to NACD funding, I attended NRCS Conservation Planning Boot Camp in Lincoln, Neb., in May of 2018. Entering a room of 34 classmates, many of whom were less than half my age, was a bit daunting. During the first week of the course, Darnell Dunson, one of my younger classmates, initiated… Continue reading →

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in January 2019 in the winter edition of National Woodlands magazine and is the first of a series of articles in partnership with The National Woodland Owners Association (NWOA). By David Daigle Longleaf pine forests and coastal prairies are among the most imperiled ecosystems in the nation, and… Continue reading →

By Marissa Phelps In 2019, the Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWCD) located in Central New York was awarded funding through the National Association of Conservation Districts’ (NACD) Urban Agriculture Conservation (UAC) Initiative to develop a new program promoting urban agriculture and natural resource conservation. “Fresh Connections: Promoting Urban Agriculture and Natural Resource… Continue reading →

Flooding across the Midwest has kept farmers from planting an unusually high number of acres this spring. Unable to plant their cash crop, many farmers are taking a second look at cover crops in order to maintain living cover on their fields and prevent erosion. Unfortunately, the relationship between cover crops and prevented planting crop… Continue reading →

Louisiana conservation districts are using NACD technical assistance (TA) grant funding to hire technicians to monitor and test pumping plants, irrigation and pasture practices. In the Ouachita River Basin, many farmers rely on their own pumping plants for row crop irrigation needs, taking a toll on the Sparta Aquifer. The 2018 grant allowed Morehouse Soil… Continue reading →

Last week, the NACD Forestry Resource Policy Group (RPG) held its annual summer meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The group was joined by federal partners representing the U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Association of State Foresters, National Agroforestry Center and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well as agency partners… Continue reading →