Annual Meeting - madisonswcd.org 2017.pdf · dinner. Please RSVP so we ... The landowner spent ......
Transcript of Annual Meeting - madisonswcd.org 2017.pdf · dinner. Please RSVP so we ... The landowner spent ......
Annual Meeting March 9, 2017 6pm
Madison County
4H Building
$5 pp (pay at the door)
Madison County Soil
and Water Conservation
District Newsletter
FEBRUARY 2017
Urban Soil Health Specialist Kevin Allison of Marion County Soil & Water Conservation District in Indianapolis will join us to share his work on urban agriculture and water conservation. Kevin works to assist small farmers and gardeners with cropping systems that regenerate soil and conserve water. He encourages a suite of conservation practices that includes soil testing, cover crops, reduced soil disturbance, mulching, and native plantings. The goal of these no-till gardening practices are to improve soil health, infiltration,
storage, crop productivity and nutrient efficiency. Kevin will be sharing the SWCD’s and growers' techniques and experiences. Carolyn Moreland will be providing our wonderful dinner. Please RSVP so we can have an accurate attendance to provide to Carolyn. To reserve your spot,
please contact Brandi
Frazier at
(765) 644-4249 ext. 3
IN THIS ISSUE
InField Advantage
Program
River Friendly Farmer
Heartland Backyard
Conservation Program
Cost Share
Women Caring for the
LandSM Event
INField Advantage: A Nitrogen Saving Tool
By Meg Leader, ISDA
INfield Advantage (INFA) began 2016 by holding a Winter Meeting to discuss the 2015 growing season. While there was much from the 2015 weather patterns that many wanted to forget, the discussion was productive and lively. Led by facilitators, Meg Leader, INFA State Coordinator, and Hans Kok, consultant, the participants came away with some ideas about their crop management. In fact, the Madison County SWCD has personally spoke with two farmers who have changed their management as a direct result of the data they received from INFA.
INFA continues to be one of the largest adaptive nutrient management farmer networks in the country, while continuing to grow in 2016. This year we added five new local groups, bringing our total number of groups to thirty four state-wide. Nearly 1,000 fields, or over 70,000 acres, were monitored using the INFA tools. In 2016, we also saw the creation of a pilot project with Indiana Pork to study fields that had hog manure applied.
The Delaware/Madison group continued working in 2016 towards our goal of improving nitrogen use efficiency in corn. This year, we had thirteen local growers participate in INFA. Our local group is part of the state-wide program coordinated by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). More information about the program and previous years’ results can be found at: www.INfieldAdvantage.org
INFA uses aerial imagery and the Corn Stalk Nitrate Test (CSNT) to determine nitrogen use efficiency in each field enrolled. Producers are not restricted on tillage,
rotation, nitrogen form, timing or rate, and may enroll multiple fields. The basic level of the program is called Guided Stalk Sampling (GSS). Growers may also use INFA to conduct on-farm research using Replicated Strip Trials (RST). At the end of the year, INFA supplies each grower with the imagery and CSNT results from each field. Any fields with a Replicated Strip Trial will also have an RST report. Each grower also receives a regional report, with each field assigned an anonymous ID number.
Our 2016 working group consisted of thirty eight GSS fields and two RST fields. INFA costs are funded through Indiana Corn Marketing Council/Indiana Soybean Alliance (ICMC/ISA) checkoff funds, and is offered free of charge to producers. The total value of the imagery and lab work to our producers in 2016 was $ 12,338. Our program is possible due to the coordination and support of local Indiana Conservation Partnership staff. We also received additional support from ISDA’s INFA State Coordinator and ICMC/ISA. This in-kind support is roughly valued at $3,500.
The Delaware/Madison Group reconvened for their INFA Winter Meeting on January 31st, with even more success stories from the 2016 season. Our group formed over five years ago, and we’re now seeing the payoff. As mentioned earlier, two of our growers have decreased nitrogen use with the data they’ve received from INFA. We hope to see that continue in the near future.
2017 INFA registration forms will be available by February 15. If you are interested in enrolling fields as either GSS or RST, please contact the Steve Schmidt, at (765) 644-4249, ext. 3, or by email at [email protected].
Mike Shuter Awarded River
Friendly Farmer of Indiana
Mike Shuter, of Shuter Sunset Farms,
was named one of Indiana’s River
Friendly Farmers in 2016. Since
1999, key conservation and
agricultural organizations have
sponsored the River Friendly Farmer
Program. It recognizes farmers, who
through production management
practices, help keep Indiana’s rivers,
lakes and streams clean.
The Madison County SWCD has
worked with Mike the last four years
to research and promote soil health
with the funding from the
Conservation Cropping Systems
Initiative. Each year, we’ve visited
Mike’s field four to five times to
sample both the plants and soils.
This data shows the benefits of
installing best management practices
on the overall soil health of a field.
Mike has been an innovator in the
use of cover crops to help preserve
nutrients in his fields, as well as
reduce erosion and runoff making it’s
way to Indiana’s waterways. We look
forward to more successful years
with Mike and Shuter Sunset Farms.
Congratulations, Mike!
Landowners Take Advantage of the Heartland Backyard Conservation Program
In 2016, the Madison County SWCD, along with Hamilton, Hancock and Marion Counties, began our fourth year of our partnership on
the Heartland Backyard Conservation Program, and some Madison County residents took advantage. In past years, most of the grants
we’ve worked with focused on agricultural land. This program is geared towards residential areas, where residents could install
conservation practices in their own backyards.
There were numerous participants with projects that ranged from rain gardens and bioswales, to pond edge enhancements that
discourage geese congregation. The partnership approved cost share for small prairie plantings and tree and shrub plantings. Not
only do these practices increase wildlife habitat in an urban setting, they help water quality and soil health.
One of Madison County’s highlighted projects involved planting understory shrubs in an established woods. The landowner spent
hours upon hours removing bush honeysuckle, an Indiana invasive, that had taken over the understory. New shrubs, that tolerate
shade, were planted in the areas where the invasives were removed, and the understory was rejuvenated.
Another project focused on forage and honey bee habitat on her small chicken and turkey farm. Flowering plants and shrubs were
planted just outside her chicken pen. Fruiting plants were planted close enough that the chickens were able to eat the fruits off of the
plants. An acre pollinator prairie mix is going to be planted in the spring to increase honey bee habitat. She took it a step further and
planted a wind break on the west side of her property with pine trees.
In all, it was a very successful year for the Heartland Backyard Conservation Program. These are just a small sample of what cost share funds can be utilized for. If you have ideas on creating wildlife habitat or have questions about what you can do in more of an urban or residential area, contact Brandi Frazier at (765) 644-4249, ext. 3, or by email at
Hello Madison County! I am
very excited to be the new
Watershed Coordinator for
the Madison County SWCD. I
was born and raised in
Alexandria and have actually
never lived outside of
Madison County. I currently
live in Alexandria with my
husband of 17 years, Jessie,
our son, Kolton, and daughter,
Brooklyn. My family and I are
avid sports fans. Of course we
love the Colts, Purdue and the
Chicago Cubs, so, you can
imagine how excited we were
when the Cubbies finally
broke the curse this year! I
love watching Kolton play
football, and Brooklyn started
basketball this year. Other
than running the kids to
practice and games we enjoy
swimming, boating and
spending time with family and
friends. I have enjoyed
learning this new industry, as
I am looking forward to
participating in the Master
Gardner Program and the
Watershed Leadership
Academy in the coming year.
I want to thank Steve for all
his knowledge and patience
this year with me being new
to the conservation world. I
look forward to meeting
everyone! Please feel free to
email me at
or call (765) 644-4249 ext. 3
MEET OUR NEW STAFF!!
I grew up in the fast-growing city of Nashville, Tennessee. My family’s roots are in Western Tennessee. This is where I gained a love for being outside and learning about agriculture. My grandfa-ther had a swine operation and I would spend every summer there. As a child I took an interest in farming, how crops grew, and what it took for crops to grow. With most of family attending Ten-nessee State University and majoring in Agriculture, I naturally decided I wanted to go in a different direction. When I started college in 2005 I majored in Computer Science at Middle Tennes-see State in Murfreesboro. Although it was a good experience, I wasn’t able to avoid my interest of agriculture. Therefore, I trans-ferred to Tennessee State University and completed a degree in Agricultural Business. Before coming to Indiana NRCS, I was of-fered an internship in Spencer, Iowa while in college through the SCEP program with NRCS. After spending the summer in Spencer, Iowa I interned in Tennessee for about nine months. After graduating I was offered full-time soil conservationist position in Donnellson, Iowa where I worked for three years. In 2015 I transferred to Americus, Georgia spending about a year and a half there before coming to Indiana. Well I’m a very competitive person, so in my spare time I like to play sports, board games, card games, etc. Basically anything I have a chance at beating anyone at, you can count me in. I also enjoy singing, writing music, exploring new things, spending time with the people I love, and traveling. What I’m looking forward to most in this position is creating new part-nerships and be able to help farmers of Indiana protect their soil.
Madison County SWCD
182 W. 300N. Return Service Requested
Anderson, IN 46012
Standard Mail
U.S. Postage
Paid Permit No. 20
Anderson, IN
Attention Women Landowners
Interested in maintaining
productive land, while conserving your natural resources?
Join us for an event developed specifically
for female landowners and farmers interested in learning more about
conservation. Women Caring for the Land
SM is a women-only, peer-to-peer,
informal discussion about conservation, individual land stewardship goals and
information sharing. Female conservationists will be available to
facilitate discussions and share resources.
April 13th 2017
9:00am—3:-00pm Madison County Fairgrounds
Alexandria, In
We will provide a continental breakfast, lunch and an afternoon field tour which will
allow participants to speak with a local producer and view conservation practices
in the area.
Please RSVP by April 7th at 765-644-4249 ext. 3 or
[email protected] This session of Women Caring for the Land
SM is a collaborative effort involving the
Delaware County SWCD, Madison County SWCD, Madison County Purdue Extension, Women4theLand, and the Women, Food and Agriculture Network.
For more information contact: Delaware Co SWCD (765) 747-5531 ext.3, Madison
Co SWCD (765) 644-4249 ext.3 Madison Co Purdue Extension (765) 641-9514