The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Pike County Planter SwCD Newsletter September and october 2014 E- 1 Pike County SWCD SuperviSorS Mike Whaley, Chairman Norman Dillon, Vice Chairman Jason Dickson, Supervisor David Flint, Supervisor Paul Lake, Supervisor Kelly Atkins, Associate Supervisor Brad Smith, Associate Supervisor Sam Whiteleather, Associate Supervisor Staff S. Erica Burkemper-Fischer, District Administrator and Newsletter Editor Chuck White, SWCD Soil Technician Matt Robinette, SWCD Soil Technician Travis Gogel, NRCS District Conservationist Chris Shoults, NRCS Soil Conservationist SWCD/NRCS HouRS Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Due to the nature of the work that the SWCD and NRCS staf f performs, at times there will be no one in the office. Call 812-354-6120 ext .3 before visiting. Farm Service Agency county committee Robert Weitkampt II, Chairman Keith Breidenbaugh, Member Jeff Davis, Member Katrina Seitz, Minority Advisor Staff Amy Barber, County Executive Director Amy Foust, Program Technician Lisa Gladdish, Program Technician Brenda Nicholson, Program Technician FSA oFFiCe HouRS: Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4:30pm inside: on Farm Network 'cornfields' PAge D-3 Rain garden Workshop PAge D-3 Supervisor candidates wanted PAge D-3 improve garden soil health PAge D-2 Pike County Soil and Water Conservation District Newsletter Pike County Soil and Water Conservation District Newsletter Planter Planter september / October 2014 Volume 5, Issue 5 special section published bimonthly by The Press-dispatch Southwest SWCDs host successful Soil Health expo pike county Local Working Group to meet September 11 Teaming up once again to host a fabulous Soil Health Expo are the ladies from the "Fabulous Five" SwCDs: (l to r) Erin Shoup, Vanderburgh Co. SwCD; Ann Ice, Gibson Co. SwCD; Carrie Parmenter, Posey Co. SwCD; Audrey Persinger, warrick Co. SwCD; Tabitha Anthis, Gibson Co. SwCD; Erica Burkemper-Fischer, Pike Co. SwCD; and Jeri Ziliak, Posey Co. SwCD. Be on the lookout for more events hosted by these amazing ladies soon! The five Southwest Soil and Water Conser vation Districts of Gibson, Pike, Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick hosted the 2014 Soil Health Expo at the Vanderburgh County Fairgrounds. This year's topic was on Precision Ag for the Agriculture Community. Featured speakers were Mike Shuter, a Conser va- tion Cropping Systems Initiative (CCSI) hub farmer; Paul Gordon, Founder of Gordon Ag Group and Dr. Randall Reeder from OSU Faculty Emeritus. The day started with Mike Shuter speaking to the group on VR A N with High-Clearance Sprayer Modifications. He spoke on his experience develop- ing a high clearance seeding machine to seed cover crops in standing corn and soybeans to get these crops off to a faster, earlier start. He was followed by Paul Gordon, who assists producers to lower production costs while maintain- ing and improving yields through crop monitoring and soil plant analysis using Geo-referenced (GPS tagged) Data. John Neufelder, Posey County Purdue Extension, gave updates for the producers earning PARP credits. Lisa Holscher, Indiana Association of Conser vation Districts, CCSI and Meg Leader, Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), spoke on using precision Ag On-Farm Trials and the On-Farm Network guided stalk nitrate testing that is continuing in fields throughout Southwest Indiana by the Districts and other Conser vation Partners. Dr. Reader is considered one of the leading research and education advocates for conser vation tillage and no-till. He spoke to the group on using technology to avoid soil compaction and how continuous living cover plus long-term continuous no-till reduces soil compaction and achieves soil quality, chemical quality, physical and biological soil health. The final speaker for the day was from Precision Hawk on using drones for crop scouting to collect data, sur vey- ing, collecting images and visual thermo in high resolution for up to a 300 acre field. Field data is then downloaded After securing another Clean Water Indi- ana grant for a soil technician, the SWCDs of Warrick and Pike County set to the task of hiring that perfect person for the job. After a strenuous hiring process, Morgan Devine, of Vanderburgh County, was of- fered the full-time, grant-funded position. Devine has been with the Districts since June of 2014, quickly learning the conser- vation practices and lingo, thanks to her histor y with soils and BMPs. Morgan, who grew up in Warrick Coun- ty, graduated from USI in 2012 with a BSC in Geology, with an emphasis on soil and groundwater. She has assisted with several wetland rehabilitation projects, as well as other conser vation efforts in Vanderburgh County before coming to the SWCD. She is even an accomplished author, having a piece published in Geological Society of America. Morgan is an active member of her com- munity, including being a member of the Neighborhood Arts Association in down- town Evansville and resides in Evansville with her family. Welcome Morgan to her new job if you come across her in your fields performing residue checks, field checks, assisting the District's other technicians or performing sur vey and designs in many conser vation projects. Devine joins pike county SWcD staff Morgan Devine It's that time of year again to reconvene the Local Working Group for Pike County! When the new 2014 Farm Bill rolled out, it re-emphasized the importance of the roles and responsibilities of the Local Working Groups in each county. In each state, NRCS has established a State Technical Commit- tee to assist in making recommendations re- garding implementation of technical aspects of natural resource conser vation activities and programs. This is an advisor y com- mittee that may be utilized by any USDA agency with conser vation obligations. The 2014 Farm Bill designated the Local Working Groups as a subcommittee of the State Technical Committee. The Local Working Group's role is to provide similar recommendations and advice as the State Technical Committee, with a focus on the resource priorities of the local community (county). The Local Working Group should consist of representatives who are able to provide input on the wide range of natural resource and agricultural concerns for your county. The Local Working Groups provide recommendations on local natural resource priorities and criteria for conser vation activities and programs, within the scope of State outlined resource priorities (7 CFR 610.25(2)). Local Working Groups should consist of representatives who are able to pro- vide input into the wide range of natural resource and agricultural concerns for the county. This year, we are asking the Local Working Groups to discuss how well Indiana's current technical information and programs address the local resource con- cerns. To assist in relaying this information to the Indiana State Technical Committee, a sur vey will be provided for your input at the Pike County Local Working Group meeting on September 11 at 6:30pm at the USDA Ser vice Center located in Peters- burg, IN. Along with the sur vey, there will also be a comprehensive list of identified resource concerns in Indiana to assist with your discussions, and to assist in prioritiz- ing your local resource concerns for the local portion of Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Please keep in mind that these local rankings are an important component of the overall ranking system for EQIP contracts awarded to our county's producers. Again, all land owners in Pike County are encouraged to attend the informal meeting on Thursday, September 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the USDA Ser vice Center in Petersburg. If you cannot make the meeting, but would like to take part, then contact the office to complete a sur vey and priority list in advance. While an RSVP is not required, we would be ver y appreciative if you would let us know by September 9 if you plan to attend. over 100 people were in attendance for the second annual Soil Health Expo. The Expo also saw 12 vendors from various agricultural businesses at the event, too, for participants to visit and learn more about their product. See SoIL EXPo on page 2