Our 2018 Annual Meeting tours are scheduled – which will you be on?
NACD is heading to Nashville for our 72nd Annual Meeting from January 27 to 31, 2018! The agenda is posted on NACD’s website, along with the instructions on how to reserve your hotel room at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, apply for a first-timer scholarship, and/or become a meeting sponsor or exhibitor!
The 2018 NACD Annual Meeting will feature EIGHT tours of Nashville and the surrounding area. On Saturday, attendees can join the Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts on a morning tour of Tennessee historical sites and museums, and/or in the evening, enjoy a show at the Grand Ole Opry.
Tour descriptions of all eight Annual Meeting tours are available here on NACD’s website. Signing up for a tour is easy – just indicate which one(s) you’d like to attend when you register for the meeting here. And don’t forget! You save $15 when you register online!
CTIC Conservation in Action 10th Annual Tour
Last week, the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) hosted their 10th annual Conservation in Action Tour in their “hometown” of West Lafayette, Indiana, with approximately 180 attendees from across the country.
NACD First Vice President and CTIC Board Member Tim Palmer was in attendance, along with Director of Development Melisa Augusto and North Central Representative Beth Mason. Pictured above is a great example of the candid conversations that took place throughout the tour. On the far right is Jim Lake, former NACD staff member and CTIC founder, talking with Mike Sharkey (at center), an Indiana farmer and NACD Soil Health Champion.
Plans for next year’s tour at the Delmarva Peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay area are already underway. Be sure to visit the CTIC website for more information as it becomes available.
NACD WASHINGTON D.C. UPDATE
Last week, Congress and President Trump came to an agreement on how to fund the federal government into Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, which starts October 1: a continuing resolution (CR) through December 8, 2017. Once the CR ends, Congress will once again have to figure out what to do to prevent a government shutdown.
You may be wondering how a government shutdown can affect conservation districts, or even what “continuing resolution” means. That’s why NACD Director of Government Affairs Coleman Garrison posted this story on NACD’s blog. Read this short post to get the most up-to-date information on the federal annual appropriations process and what to expect next.
You may have also received information from NACD last week regarding a new USDA reorganization proposal. You can read more about the proposal and NACD’s take here on our blog as well.
 Jefferson County Conservation District, Alabama
In western Birmingham, Alabama, the Jefferson County Conservation District is partnering with Project Hopewell, the Hillman Neighborhood Association, and the Lawson State Community College Culinary Department to increase access to fresh foods and promote their importance among members of the Hillman neighborhood, a food desert challenged by underemployment.
The project began with volunteers clearing a tornado-damaged urban lot of weeds and old fencing. Next, the ground was leveled, an educational hoop house was erected, irrigation was installed, and seeds and produce were planted.
District staff worked with a project coordinator – a hire made possible through a 2016 NACD Urban Agriculture Conservation grant – to provide college and high school culinary arts teachers and their students use of the  high tunnel. A "planting ceremony" was held for local and state representatives to tour the Hillman High Tunnel grounds, learn about the project’s value to the community, and plant mustard seed, collard greens, kale, and flowers.
During other community events, residents explored the history of the neighborhood and enjoyed freshly-cooked greens harvested from the hoop house. The district has held workshops at the high tunnel as well, and says the project continues to grow with the support of a neighboring church and local high school students.
NACD Soil Health Champions to headline 2nd annual cover crop, soil health conference
 The 2017 National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health will be held December 7-8 in Indianapolis. Whether you are a farmer contemplating using cover crops for the first time, or you have years of experience to share, this meeting will provide you with networking and practical learning opportunities.
NACD Soil Health Champions Jimmy Emmons of Oklahoma and Keith Berns of Nebraska are headlining the meeting as speakers alongside David Montgomery, a geologist and author of Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life, and Corn Belt farmers Dan DeSutter and Trey Hill.
Over 40 presenters, nearly half of them farmers with years of cover cropping experience, will be speaking during breakout sessions on planting green and interseeding cover crops, grazing cover crops, managing herbicide resistant weeds with cover crops, as well as new approaches to measuring soil health, building soil organic matter, and understanding soil biology.
Optional farm tours near Indianapolis will also be available. To learn more about the meeting’s agenda, head to the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s website.
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