NACD’S SUMMER MEETING IS APPROACHING… Which CDI tour are you attending this July?

NACD and the Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) will be jointly hosting the 2017 Conservation Forum and Tour from July 15 to 18 at the Prairie Meadows Hotel in Altoona, Iowa. You can visit NACD’s website to register, read through the tentative meeting agenda, and reserve your hotel room at NACD’s special discounted rate of $107 per night. On Tuesday – the last day of the meeting – attendees will have the choice of going on one of two all-day conservation tours. Which one will you be on?

The Water Quality Tour will start with a visit to the third-fastest-growing city in the U.S. – Ankeny, Iowa – where Polk County SWCD will introduce tour goers to different urban conservation water quality practices in residential and city park settings.

The next stop is Iowa’s Land Improvement Contractors Farm in Melbourne, where attendees will learn about Iowa’s extensive water quality monitoring efforts, including the Iowa Soybean Association’s most extensive tile monitoring program in the nation and Conservation Districts of Iowa’s retaiN program. Lunch, courtesy of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, will follow.

After fueling up, the tour bus will drive through Iowa State University’s 1,900-acre campus in Ames, and make a stop at the Alluvial Brewing Company, the fourth-best college town brewery in the country.

On the Soil Health Tour, attendees will start their trip with a visit to the Badger Creek Watershed Lake Project in Madison County. In addition to learning about “prairie STRIPS,” a practice unique to Iowa that integrates restored prairie into crop fields, tour goers will hear how Iowa is fighting Palmer Amaranth and how the home district of NACD First Vice President Tim Palmer is leveraging federal funds for conservation with state funding.

Tourees will then head to Keller Brick Barn in Dallas County – the fifth-fastest-growing county in the nation – for lunch courtesy of the Iowa Cattleman’s Association and a presentation from the Dallas County SWCD. Two more field stops, hosted by the Polk County SWCD and the Bruce Carney family, will demonstrate the importance of soil health in suburban and rural settings.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD ON USDA’S REORGANIZATION

As you know, on May 11, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a planned reorganization of USDA’s mission areas that would put NRCS under the same mission area as the Farm Service Agency and the Risk Management Agency. The plan also requires the NRCS chief and FSA administrator to submit a report within 60 days on how NRCS and FSA office locations and administrative functions may be streamlined to improve customer service.

The reorganization plan is open to public comment through June 14, and while NACD is in the process of developing our own comments, it’s important for USDA to hear your thoughts or concerns about this plan directly. You can find more information on how to submit your comments by going here.

As part of a six-month series on district operations, the Did You Know? monthly feature in eResource will highlight chapters of the NACD District Outlook Task Force report: “Blueprint for Locally-Led Conservation – A Strategy for District Success and Sustainability” (available here on our website). This month’s chapter tackles business plans.

A business plan is a living blueprint that guides an organization's priorities and activities. It also incorporates market research and resource identification with implementation strategies for achieving growth and sustainability objectives. These plans typically include the following three components: analysis, strategic decision-making, and the plan itself.

Click here to read today’s Did You Know? in full on NACD’s blog.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR: 'Helping People Help Pollinators’ webinar

Learn what your district can do to boost pollinator habitat on the next NACD Urban and Community Conservation webinar, scheduled for noon-1:00pm Eastern time on June 15.

Nancy Adamson, a pollinator conservation specialist for the Xerces Society, will speak to the value of pollinators, the challenges they face, and what resources individuals and communities can use to protect them. Holly Anderson, the urban conservationist for the Pulaski Conservation District in Arkansas, will share how the district used funding and technical assistance for school pollinator gardens and activities.

These webinars are sponsored by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and are free to participate in. To register, email NACD’s Deb Bogar with your name, title, district or business name, and state.