The district will also be hosting a Women’s Conservation Learning Circle on Wednesday, August 1st. This event is facilitated through Women4theLand, which is a partnership of natural resource agencies and conservation organizations working together to provide education and resources to Indiana women landowners, farmers, and natural resource professionals. We use Women’s Conservation Learning Circles as an effective way to help women learn how to implement conservation practices on the land.

We have also partnered with Manchester University’s Eel River Watershed Initiative for the 10th Annual Canoe Float. This float will be held on Saturday, August 25th. It gives people from the community an opportunity to canoe the Eel River while learning about its natural and historical beauty. This event is appropriate for all ages.

Wabash SWCD has submitted a River Friendly Farmer nominee to the state association, Greg Dawes. He was accepted as Wabash’s River Friendly Farmer for his conservation practices! His farm, Liberty Acres will be recognized at the state fair on August 15th.

Wabash County SWCD is a group leader for the In Field Advantage program funded by Indiana Pork, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, and Indian Soybean Alliance. Seven participants from Miami, Huntington, and Wabash counties have submitted 17 corn and 8 soybean fields. Through this program they will receive free tissue samples, corn stalk nitrate samples, soil samples and aerial imagery. The results of these allow the landowners to determine a more accurate reading of nitrogen on their fields, preventing over application.

Our next board meeting is July 24^th 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.

The post July 2018 Conservation Update appeared first on Wabash County SWCD.

April was filled with watershed steering committee meetings. The district tries to be involved in all soil and water improvement projects in the county. We met with the Lower Salamonie Watershed group on the April 9^th. They will be conducting water sampling and implementing conservation practice cost share for land owners. Unfortunately, Wabash does not have enough of the watershed to qualify for cost-share dollars. We will however be participating in water sampling. Sampling since 2009 has shown particularly high levels of phosphorous, nitrogen, total organic carbon, sulfates, and total suspended solids. These elements increase the turbidity and fertility of the waters flowing into the Salamonie Reservoir, where blue-green algae blooms have been noticed in past years. One of the thirteen sampling sites are in Wabash county. It will be in Lagro, at the bridge on East Hanging Rock Road.

The Upper Middle Eel Watershed group met on the 16^th of April. The watershed management plan will be completed in December of 2018. As a result, Wabash Co. SWCD is eligible to apply for the IDEM 319 Implementation Grant for the Upper Middle Eel Watershed. Wabash will be partnering with Whitley and Kosciusko counties for the implementation of conservation cost-share. Wabash also plans to continue the water monitoring that it is currently collecting with Manchester University’s Environmental Studies Department.

In Field Advantage(INFA) enrollment is beginning and final applications will be submitted by June. The INFA program is funded by Indiana Pork. Participants are from Miami, Huntington and Wabash counties. Through this program they will receive free corn stalk nitrate samples and aerial imagery. The results of these allow the landowners to determine a more accurate reading of nitrogen on their fields, preventing over application

Our next board meeting is May 15^th 6:30pm, at the USDA Service Center 599 Bryan Ave.

If you would like further information on the items above or the other work performed this month, please contact our office and we would be happy to meet with you.

The post May 2018 Conservation Update appeared first on Wabash County SWCD.

In the middle of the March, the district hosted a Conservation Round Table for local producers. The topic was General Cover Crops; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. These round tables are an opportunity for producers to speak with one another about issues or successes they are having on their farms in an informal setting. The district had twelve producers join our board of supervisors for lunch with beneficial conversation about soil health.

As April begins, the SWCD is interviewing students for summer intern positions at the County Farm. Thus far candidates have been very well prepared. The intern selections will be made by April 14^th.

April 3rd will be our annual pick up from Jasper-Pulaski State Tree Nursery. As an SWCD we provide a third party pick up location for landowners who purchased trees from the state nursery. 1,400 seedlings have been ordered and will be planted in our area!

Wabash SWCD has partnered with Clear Elevations to redesign and update our website. Clear Elevations is a local web design company that was able to make our website more user friendly to mobile devices. The new page can be viewed at wabashswcd.org. Now that the new website has launched, Tashina will receive training from them on how to keep it maintained.

April is filled with watershed steering committee meetings. The district tries to be involved in all soil and water improvement projects in the county. We will be meeting with the Lower Salamonie Watershed group on the 9^th, the Upper Middle Eel Watershed group on the 16^th and the Wabash River Defenders on April 18^th.

The post April 2018 Conservation Update appeared first on Wabash County SWCD.