Brownfield

NACD to hold annual meeting

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) 64th annual meeting begins Sunday, January 31 in Orlando. NACD President Steve Robinson of Marysville, Ohio says both the general sessions and breakout sessions will focus on this year’s theme, “Committed to Conservation.” “We’re going to talk about partnerships, the value of those and how we work together on the local level and on the national level,” said Robinson. “Our breakout sessions will cover lots of topics, some of our district folks will be the speakers at some of those breakout sessions so other districts can learn what their counterparts are doing around the nation.” The ...

USDA economist lays out climate change concerns

A USDA economist says agriculture can and should play a part in the climate change discussion. Jan Lewandrowski, with the agency’s Climate Change Program Office, says the climate is changing, however he says the consequences aren’t all bad for agriculture. “It’s a mixed bag,” Lewandrowski told Brownfield after addressing the National Association of Conservation Districts convention in Orlando Monday. It’s a mixed bag because, he says, the northern and eastern parts of the U.S. are in for longer growing seasons and adequate precipitation. However, he feels being part of climate change mitigation is the thing to do. “[Mitigating climate change] stands to ...

NRCS to get more attention

Harris Sherman, USDA Under Secretary, Natural Resources and Environment has only been on the job for a couple of months, but already he recognizes the importance of partnerships and the Under Secretary says the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) is vital to their mission that USDA wants to accomplish. AUDIO: USDA Under Secretary Sherman (5:10 MP3)

Conservation cuts concern groups

Conservation is promoted and practiced with help from other organizations. There is, however, a degree of concern among conservation interests about proposed Obama Administration budget cuts. At the same time that President Obama was proposing his budget, USDA Undersecretary Harris Sherman was telling the National Association of Conservation Districts annual convention that many federal programs will have to live with frozen or lower budgets. NACD Secretary Treasurer Jack Majeres, a land owner from Dell Rapids, South Dakota, hopes that increased conservation funding of the 2008 Farm Bill will stand, but regardless of that, he says conservation districts have help. “We have many partners out ...

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NPPC still supports mandatory NAIS

The National Pork Producers Council has a lot of questions about the new USDA proposal for a scaled-back version of the National Animal ID Program. Last week, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a plan which would only require animal identification for... Read More...

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Featured: Natl. Biodiesel Conference

Ford’s 6.7 liter diesel fine with B20

The gleaming blue Ford truck parked by a biodiesel pump sports a shiny bold emblem on the left door stating plainly that the machine takes any biodiesel blend up to 20 percent. That particular truck is so new, Brien Fulton, a diesel drive train expert... Read More...

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Managing For Profit

Farm goes back 13 generations

Farming in close quarters is a challenge, but former Cattlemen’s Beef Board Chairman Lucinda Williams says they’ve been living with it a good long while. The former Cattlemen’s Beef Board chairman says, including their kids, their place has been in the family 13 generations; even before their hometown of Hatfield, Massachusetts, was a town. Her... [Read more of this review]