Conservation Clips is a weekly collection of articles distributed by NACD that provides our members and partners with the latest news in what's driving conservation. These articles are not indicative of NACD policy and are the opinions of their authors, unless otherwise noted. If you have a relevant submission or need assistance with accessing articles, please contact the NACD Communications Team.

Editor’s Note: NACD will not issue an edition of Conservation Clips on July 5, 2019.

NACD Blog: Getting Cover on Prevented Planting Ground
06/27/19

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 insurance is a little complex.

NACD Blog: With help from TA grants, Louisiana districts expand irrigation monitoring
06/26/19

Louisiana conservation districts are using NACD technical assistance (TA) grant funding to hire technicians to monitor and test pumping plants, irrigation and pasture practices.

NACD Blog: Forestry RPG learns about island forestry and post-storm recovery
06/26/19

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 from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

NACD Blog: Walnut Orchards and Cover Crops: Telling the Story of the Understory
By Melina Sempill Watts
06/24/19

In partnership with Glenn County Resource Conservation District, Colusa County Resource Conservation District and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), [Daniel] Unruh invited growers to come and see his orchard and its soil.

Feedstuffs: Soil health importance highlighted in House hearing
By Jacqui Fatka
06/25/19

National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) secretary-treasurer Ian Cunningham testified about the importance of addressing soil health. Cunningham owns and operates a fifth-generation family farm with his son in southwest Minnesota, producing corn, soybeans and beef cattle.

The Cap Times: Bill Berry: Farmers are paying attention to climate change — are politicians?
By Bill Berry
06/24/19

(Opinion) One sector that has been slow to accept climate change is agriculture, but that is changing, too. Two focus groups with producers from the National Association of Conservation Districts showed that nearly all producers have been impacted by the extreme weather that is increasing in intensity and frequency.

Agweek: FEEDD Act would offer relief to livestock producers
By: Amanda Radke
06/24/19

U.S. Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) introduced the bipartisan Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters Act, or FEEDD Act, that would provide producers with additional emergency flexibility to help alleviate feed shortages in a year with high levels of prevented planting because of extreme moisture or drought.

Successful Farming: USDA Adjusts Prevent Plant Acres Planted to Cover Crop
By Bill Spiegel
06/20/19

Farmers who planted cover crops on prevented plant acres will be permitted to hay, graze, or chop those fields September 1, 2019. The USDA’s Risk Management Agency adjusted the 2019 final haying and grazing date to help farmers who were prevented from planting because of flooding and excess rainfall this spring.

Capital Press: Cover crop seed demand skyrockets in Midwest
By Mitch Lies
06/25/19

A short-term change in federal policy and other forces are combining to create a run on cover crop seeds in the Midwest.

Inside Climate News: Algae Blooms Fed by Farm Flooding Add to Midwest's Climate Woes
By Georgina Gustin
06/26/19

All that water has flushed vast amounts of fertilizer and manure into waterways, triggering a potentially unprecedented season of algae blooms.

Phys.org: Scientists develop climate-ready wheat that can survive drought conditions
06/24/19

Wheat plants engineered to have fewer microscopic pores—called stomata—on their leaves are better able to survive drought conditions associated with climate breakdown, according to a new study.

WOSU Radio: Monarchs Welcome: Ohio Plants Roadside Habitats For Bees And Butterflies
By Steve Brown
06/24/19

The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Pollinator Habitat Program, which launched in 2011 as a pilot, has expanded to cover about 800 acres of roadside in 45 counties.

The New York Times: ‘Our Small Towns Are Toppling Like Dominoes’: Why We Should Cut Some Farmers a Check
By Robert Leonard and Matt Russell
06/24/19

(Opinion) A common denominator for many of the crises related to global warming is in how we use the land, and that is where we will find the solution. A simple, cheap and relatively quick fix is to pay farmers and ranchers for environmental services.

The New York Times: Can ‘Big Data’ Help Fight Big Fires? Firefighters Are Betting on It
By Jose A. Del Real
06/24/19

As out-of-control wildfires in the West grow more frequent and more intense, fire departments in Southern California are looking to big data and artificial intelligence to enhance the way they respond to these disasters.

Associated Press: US releases review on removing vegetation to stop wildfires
By Keith Ridler
06/24/19

Federal officials have released their review on removing or changing vegetation over a huge swath of the U.S. West to stop wildfires on land used for cattle ranching, recreation and habitat for imperiled sage grouse.

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