17 Oct October 2018 Conservation Update
The last month of September was spent educating kids on watersheds, soil health and erosion. September 24th was the fifth-grade field day for Manchester Intermediate at Allen’s Farm near Lagro. Tashina partnered with Katie Peden with ISDA to put on a watershed presentation for the entire fifth grade class. We focused on water pollution, what it is, the types we face locally and how to prevent it. On September 25th we participated in the fourth Grade Ag Expo, demonstrating to all 423 Wabash County students what erosion is and why we want to prevent it. Erosion is a portion of the 4th grade ISTEP and the stream table is a great demo for the kids. On September 27th and 28th we partnered with Purdue Extension to run a water quality rotation for the 460 ninth-graders from Huntington High School. The field day was hosted by the Army Corps of Engineers and organized by the DNR.
Tashina has also spent several days with our SWCD partners on the Lower Salamonie River Watershed (LSRW) doing both macroinvertebrate sampling and the regular water sampling. Both are tests of water quality to continue to gather baseline data and to see as conservation practices are applied is there any improvements being made. The LSRW has received a second 319 grant with IDEM to continue cost-share funding for conservation practices.
The annual fall conference of the Indiana District Employee Association (IDEA) was October 2nd-4th and Tashina attended with fellow employees from our region. This is a great time for staff from all over the state to network with each other and attend the sessions geared for their job duties.
As the board heads to the fields for harvest this month Tashina will be busy compiling and submitting the cover crop cost-share applications. We have cost-share opportunities for farmers in the Beargrass Watershed within our county. All of the paperwork is worth it, to see those acres of cover crops hold our soil over winter and help prevent erosion!
Our next board meeting is October 16, 2018 6:30pm, at the USDA Service Center 599 Bryan Ave.
If you would like further information on the items above or other work performed this month, please contact our office and we would be happy to meet with you.