Please join the Soil and Water Conservation District Board in con-gratulating Danny

Green in being selected for the 2018 Conservation Farmer of the year. Danny was nominat-ed by a former Conservation Farmer of the Year because of the number of practices he has encouraged others to use on their land, as well as the prac-tices he uses on his own farm-ing operation.

Danny has been farming with Scott Singleton since 1989. Since then, he also began farm-ing on his own in 1999 as well as continuing to work with Sin-gleton’s operation. Danny cur-rently farms approximately 350 acres on his own. Throughout his years, Danny has noticed that the more conservation implemented on the ground, the more it has helped keep the soil in place and the water clean. Danny is from the Richland area of the county and is married to Jama; their son’s name is Jayden.

ANNUAL REPORTJanuary 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018

Spencer County Soil & Water Conservation District

Danny Green selected 2018 Conservation Farmer of the Year

JAYDEN, JAMA AND DANNY GREEN

The Spencer County Soil and Water Conservation District will hold its 75th Annual Meeting on Monday, January 28th, 2019 at the Youth and Community Center in Chrisney at 6:00 p.m. CST. A meal catered by New Boston Tavern will be served and is being generously spon-sored by Old National Bank this year. If the meeting is postponed due to severe weather, it will be held February 4th at the same time and location.

Following the meal, awards will be pre-sented to the 2018 Conservation Farmer of the Year, Spencer County River Friend-

ly Farmer and the 4H Soil and Water Grand Champion. An election will be held for a supervisory position on the Board of Supervisors of the Soil and water conservation district.

Our featured guest speaker will be Jeff Nalley, who broadcasts agriculture news on radio stations in four states. Anyone who is interested in Spencer County and the Soil and Water District is invited to attend. Please RSVP at (812) 649-9136 ext. 3 by January 14th, 2019. A limited number of meals will be available after this date.

Annual Meeting January 28th

Jeff Nalley is a 36-year veteran of radio and farm broadcasting and is currently with Cromwell AG Radio Network.

He is a past presi-dent of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and has received numerous awards for excel-lence in broadcast media from within the NAFB as well as other farm organizations.

Jeff has received distinguished service

awards from Purdue University, the Unit-ed Soybean Board, Kentucky Soybean Association, Kentucky Pork Producers, and the Kentucky Farm Bureau Feder-ation. Jeff was named the 2010 Farm Broadcaster of the Year by the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.

Jeff and the Cromwell AG Network Serve farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Ken-tucky, Missouri and Ohio with daily farm broadcasts.

Jeff and his wife Robin are members of Owensboro Christian Church. They have been married for 26 years and have four teenage children.

Guest Speaker is Jeff Nalley

NALLEY

28th

CelebratingCelebratingYearsYears7575 of of ConservationConservation

in Spencer in Spencer CountyCounty

PAGE 2 SPENCER COUNTY SWCD JANUARY 2019

In these days of water quality con-cerns, there are those that are utiliz-ing conservation practices on their farms that are protecting waterways

and water quality in Indiana and beyond. In Spencer County, Brett Stallings and Greg Sermersheim are among 49 farmers who received the statewide award of ‘Riv-er-Friendly Farmer’ at the Indiana State Fair on Farmers’ Day August 15. This award, hosted by the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD), recognizes landowners and

farmers in the state of Indiana for the work they do on their land to protect Indiana’s natural resources.

Amie Sites from Brownfield Ag News read a short bio as the award recipients received their individual ribbon and cer-tificate from Indiana Lieutenant Gover-nor, Suzanne Crouch, and President of Indiana Farm Bureau, Randy Kron. Jerry Raynor, the new Indiana State Conser-vationist, Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service (USDA-NRCS) and IAS-WCD President, Jamie Scott made brief

remarks congratulating the recipients. The River-Friendly Farmer Award has

been presented by the IASWCD and sponsored by the 92 local Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Indiana Farm Bureau, Inc. since 2000. This year’s group of award winners brings the total num-ber of River-Friendly Farmers in Indiana since the awards beginning to 961.

For a complete list of this year’s win-ners along with a short bio and photo (if provided), go to: http://iaswcd.org/river-friendly-farmer-award/.

RIVER FRIENDLY FARMER

RIVER FRIENDLY FARMERS FROM AROUND THE STATE OF INDIANA

January 28th – Annual Meeting 6:00 p.m.RSVP by January 14th to ensure a meal limited

meals available after this date

January 14th and 15thIASWCD Conference in Indianapolis, IN

January 21stMartin Luther King Jr. Day observed,

USDA Service Center Closed

January 28thSWCD 75th Annual Meeting at Youth and

Community Center, Chrisney 6 p.m.

February 19thPresident’s Day: USDA Service Center is closed.

February 25th SWCD Monthly Board Meeting, 7:00 p.m., USDA

Service Center

March 6thSouthern Indiana Grazing Conference

WestGate Academy Conferencing & Training Center near Odon, IN

Date to be DeterminedCrop Day St. Meinrad Community Center

March 25thSWCD Monthly Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.,

USDA Service Center

April 22ndEarth Day

SWCD Monthly Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m., USDA Service Center

May 27thMemorial Day, USDA Service Center Closed,

SWCD Board meeting to be determined

June 22ndAdventures with Nature at Tipsaw Lake

June 24thSWCD meeting USDA Service Center, 7:30

June 28th - July 1stSpencer County 4-H Fair

July 22ndSWCD meeting USDA Service Center, 7:30

August 26th SWCD meeting USDA Service Center, 7:30

September 2nd Labor Day US, Service Center is closed.

October 21st SWCD meeting USDA Service Center, 7:30

November 25thSWCD meeting USDA Service Center, 7:00

December 23rdSWCD meeting USDA Service Center, 7:00

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR 2019:

4-H Soil Grand ChampionOur Soils Grand Champion was Elliot Rah-

man, a repeat winner of the Soil and Water section of 4-H. While on display at the Indi-ana State Fair, Elliot received special merit for his display: Water Testing. His project tested public sourced water and well water for total chlorine, total hardness, iron, pH, total alkalinity, copper, nitrates and nitrites and iron bacteria and hydrogen sulfide. Elliot will be recognized at the Annual Meet-ing on January 28th.

RAHMAN

Soil Health DayPerry and Spencer Counties joined to present a Soil

Health Day event on November 16, 2018. PARP and CCH credits were available, but more people came to hear about soil health. Stephanie McLain from NRCS and Mark Anson were our featured speakers. At the end of the meeting, we had a panel discussion where partic-ipants were able to ask questions of seed dealers, Steph-anie, Mark, and the NRCS. There were demonstrations of various soil treatments, as well. Pictured, the rainfall simulator and infiltration.

Our mission is to provide information about soil, water, and related natural resource conservation; identify and prioritize local soil and water resource concerns; and connect land users to sources of educational, technical and financial assistance to implement conservation practices and technologies. The SWCD and the USDA are equal opportunity providers and employers.

SWCD Mission

JANUARY 2019 SPENCER COUNTY SWCD PAGE 3

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) The ACEP is a new program that consolidates three former programs: Wetland

Reserve Program, Grassland Reserve Program, and the Farm and Ranch Lands Protec-tion Program.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) EQIP helps promote agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible

national goals. EQIP offers financial and technical help to assist eligible participants install or implement structural and management practices on eligible agricultural land.

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)CSP is a voluntary program that encourages agricultural producers to improve

conservation systems by improving, maintaining, and managing existing conservation activities and undertaking additional conservation activities.

To learn more about any of the NRCS programs and how they may be right for you, visit the links above. You may also make an appointment to talk to our NRCS District Conservationist, Randy Van Matre at the office at 812-649-9136 ext 3.

Conservation Technical Assistance Available

NRCS EQIP Updates NRCS Applied Practices for the Rockport ServiceCenter (Perry and Spencer Counties) FY17 FY18

Practice Name Amount AmountAccess Control (ac) 50 Animal Mortality Facility (no) 2 Brush management (ac) 173 Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (no) 1Conservation Cover (ac) 7 615Conservation Crop Rotation (ac) 2,704 6682Cover Crop (ac) 1,108 556Critical Area Planting (ac) 4 2Early Successional Habitat Development (ac) 24 1103Fence (ft) 21,483 1488Field Border (ac) 2071Filter Strip (ac) 24Forage and Biomass Planting (ac) 42Forest Management Plan (no) 3Forest Stand Improvement (ac) 468 211Grade Stabilization Structures (no) 6Grassed Waterway (ac) 7Heavy Use Area Protection (sq. ft.) 4,876 2000Herbaceous Weed Treatment (ac) 45 6High Tunnel System (sq. ft.) 2000Integrated Pest Management (ac) 475 772Lined Waterway (ft) 32 67Livestock Pipeline (ft) 5,093 1060Mulching (ac) 2 3Nutrient Management (ac) 761 485Pond (no) 1 Prescribed Burning (ac) 1598 637Prescribed Grazing (ac) 133 59Pumping Plant (no) 2 Residue and Tillage Management, No Till (ac) 482 869Residue and Tillage Management, Reduced-Till (ac) 1985Residue Management, Seasonal 2241Riparian Herbaceous Cover (ac) 8Roofs and Covers (no) 5 Stream Crossing (no) 1 Subsurface Drain (ft) 535 7055Tree/Shrub Establishment (ac) 6 9Underground Outlet (ft) 1,002 Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (ac) 452Waste Storage Facility (no) 3 Waste Transfer (no) 3 Water and Sediment Control Basin (no) 6 4Watering Facility (no) 17 1

Indiana farmers planted 970,000 acres of cover crops in 2017, according to a recent survey. Cover crops are now the third-most planted crop in the state, next to corn and soybeans.

With the late harvest and heavy rains farmers experienced last fall, seeing close to one million acres of cover crops growing is no small accomplishment and worth celebrating. This year’s data shows that Indiana once again sets the bar, nationally, when it comes to incorporating conservation on the farm.

You may see the NRCS vehicles occasionally looking at fields alongside the road. This year, Jamie, Courtney, Amy and Betsy took to the roads on December 6th to survey the tillage, crops and cover of our county. Results will be published on the internet under the Indiana State Department of Agriculture page https://www.in.gov/isda/2383.htm.

Tillage Transect Information

Tillage Transect, Amy, Courtney, Jamie and Betsy

Spencer county SWCD Awarded $50,000 for cover crops and soil health edu-cation

INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 26, 2018) — The State Soil Conservation Board (SSCB) awarded more than $1 mil-lion to 32 Soil and Water Conservation Districts for projects designed to improve water quality across the state. This fund-ing is part of the Clean Water Indiana (CWI) grant program, which is administered by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

“This year alone, Clean Water Indiana has sup-ported 373 conservation projects and prevent-ed more than 63 million pounds of sediment from entering our waterways,” said Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “These grants are critical to shoring up the work being done by Indiana’s conservation districts and provide opportunities for farmers that otherwise would not exist.”

The CWI program, funded mainly by the state’s cigarette tax revenue, was designed to support Indiana’s conservation districts, as they work to reduce non-point sources of water pollution. While the projects vary depending on the needs of each district, some examples include promoting conser-vation, purchasing better equipment and providing technical assistance, education and training in the community.

Districts were also encouraged to collaborate with neighboring counties and many will use this fund-ing to leverage additional resources from outside organizations or cost-share programs.

“Encouraging conservation districts to work together is a fundamental part of this program,” said Bruce Kettler, ISDA Director. “It builds synergy and allows them to tackle some of the challenges that extend past county lines.”

Robert Woodling, SSCB Chairman, believes this funding is crucial to supporting the voluntary con-servation efforts of farmers.

“Clean Water Indiana enables farmers and com-munities to adopt conservation as part of their strategy,” Woodling said. “The State Soil Conser-vation Board is pleased to be able to provide this support and looks forward to the day we can do much more.”

PAGE 4 SPENCER COUNTY SWCD JANUARY 2019

GRANTS

Nutrient and Sediment Runoff Reduction ProjectIn 2016, 2017, and 2018 the district financially

assisted several producers with cost-share on var-ious conservation practices. This grant was an equal endeavor of the Spencer, Perry and Dubois County SWCDs. Though the grant has con-cluded, many practices such as Heavy Use Area Protection pads (HUAPs), watering systems, and cover crops were utilized in needed areas.

Start looking in the spring for some pollinator plots in public spac-es in the City of Rockport!

The SWCD is still taking applications for pollinator forage plots. The Pollinator program’s goal is to encourage urban and rural partic-ipants, including local apiaries, to establish pollinator forage plots. The purpose of the pollinator forage plots is to help increase the variety of pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds and the Monarch Butterfly. The populations of many of these species have declined in the last decade.

Each year American farmers and growers continue to feed more people using less land; more than 30% of our food relies on insect pollination. Many vegetables and fruits are dependent upon bees for pollination. The decrease in pollinators is believed to be caused by the destruction of breeding sites, urban sprawl taking over fields of wildflowers and pesticides meant to kill insects which attack crops and kills other insects. The districts want to bring awareness and encourage the development of pollinator forage plots to bring bene-fits to the bee keeper, gardener and farmer alike.

If you are interested in planting pollinator forage plots (large or small), please contact the SWCD for an application.

Pollinator Forage Program

Clean Water Indiana Grants

POLLINATOR FORAGE PLOTS

By: Randy Van Matre Spencer Perry District Conservationist

Soil health is the continued capacity of a soil to function as a vital, living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans. Only living things can have “health,” so viewing soil as a living,

breathing ecosystem reflects a shift in the way we view and manage our nation’s soils. Soil isn’t an inert growing medium, but rather is the home of billions of bacteria, fungi, and other organisms that together create an intricate symbiotic ecosystem. This ecosystem can be man-aged to support plants and animals by cycling nutrients, absorbing, draining and retaining rainwater and snowmelt for use during dry periods, filtering and buffering water to remove potential pollutants, and providing habitat for the soil biological population to flourish and diversify to keep the ecosystem functioning well.

The four key soil health management principles are minimizing disturbance, maximizing soil cover, maximizing biodiversity, and max-imizing the presence of living roots.

The first two principles focus on protection of the soil habitat: mini-mizing disturbance and maximizing soil cover. Practices that use these principles maintain or increase stable soil aggregates and soil organic matter (SOM) and protect the surface of the soil that is most suscep-tible to the degrading forces of wind and water. Maximizing soil cover also buffers against temperature fluctuations that stress plants and soil organisms, reduces evaporation rates, and increases the amount of water entering the soil profile from precipitation and irrigation. SOM is highest at the soil surface and is critical for stabilizing soil aggregates. Maintaining SOM helps support additional soil functions including water infiltration, drainage and storage, nutrient-holding capacity and release, and habitat for soil biota.

The second two principles focus on feeding soil organisms. Maximiz-ing the diversity of food (energy and carbon inputs) and aboveground biodiversity increases diversity of soil animals and microorganisms. Diversity not only refers to food sources, but also the aboveground diversification of plants and animals and the microbial diversification underground. Diversification stimulates a host of additional benefits including breaking disease cycles, providing habitat for pollinators and stimulating plant growth. Maximizing the presence of living roots in the soil can be accomplished through eliminating fallow, diversifying crop rotations, and the inclusion of cover crops. Mixing up which plants are grown during the year or over the course of multiple years may also help to break disease/pest cycles. When these two principles are properly applied as part of a soil health management system, soils can maintain or even increase SOM content as well as enhance nutrient cycling.

Healthy functioning soils are able to cycle nutrients effectively, store carbon and nutrients in soil organic matter, provide good aeration to promote root growth, improve farm and ranch resiliency and profitabil-ity, improve yield stability, reduce runoff and erosion, improve water storage and plant available water while protecting water quality, be resilient to drought, heavy rainfall events, and temperature extremes, and reduce disease and pest problems.

Soil health management system principles can be generally used in all production systems to achieve this. However, the specific practices chosen to implement the principles must be adapted to each produc-tion system, climate, ecosystem, and soil to effectively build and main-tain healthy, functioning soil.

Principles for High Functioning Soils: Soil Health Defined

JANUARY 2019 SPENCER COUNTY SWCD PAGE 5

The District is frequently invited into the classroom and to other programs to help with science and social studies presentations on soils for all ages. We also often help with High School classrooms for water testing and other activities. Some of the schools we visited this year include Chrisney Elementary, David Turnham, Luce Elementary, and Rockport Elementary. There are many different programs we can provide for the classroom, libraries, scout groups, and more! Please contact the office if you have any questions; programs can be tailored to meet your standards or your badge needs. If you would like to have the SWCD at your next educational event, or schedule a program, please call or e-mail Courtney at 812-649-9136 ext 3 or Court-ney.Hall@in.nacdnet.net.

First grade classes often call the SWCD to present to their students. This year, we visited Chrisney Elementary, David Turn-ham and Nancy Hanks Elementary Schools. Learning about soils functions and textures is part of the State of Indiana core curricu-lum for first grade students. We give these little learners the opportunity for a sensory experience in soils. We ask the students to touch and observe the various sandy, silt and clay soil samples we bring into the classroom. Students are asked to describe the texture of the soils. Silty soils are often described as soft, clay as sticky, and sandy soils are gritty or rough.

AEP’s theme for Earth Week was “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” In keeping with the theme, and that Mother’s Day was the next week-end, we helped almost 800 students create flower bombs for their yards. A flower bomb is like a chunk or “nugget” of clay, compost, and native seeds that you throw on the ground. You can throw them in your yard or in a neglected space to help turn it into a flowering wonderland. Plant your seed bombs in Spring, Summer and early Fall and make your yard even more beautiful. Many students chose to make their flower bombs into heart-shaped gifts! It was hands-on, messy, and so much fun!

Every year, Spencer County Farm Bureau hosts a wonderful educational event for third grade students called Springtime on the Farm at the Youth and Community Center in Chrisney. This year, Courtney and Amy Sims of the ISDA spent the day talking to students about how soy beans can be converted to crayons! Many students had no idea how crayons were created, let alone that they could come from soy. The crayons given to the students to take home were pro-vided by the Glass Barn Education Center.

2018 Youth Education Programs

Classroom Activities

First Grade Soils Classes

Springtime on the Farm

AEP Earth Week

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY SOIL TEXTURE

Courtney at Nancy Hanks

Photo at right is Courtney at Youth and Community Center in Chrisney

Student making a flower bomb with native wildflower seeds

This year, the Chrisney Library invited several local people to share how they became involved in environmental fields and working in the area. Michael Crews (IDNR), Amy Sims (ISDA), Courtney Hall (Spencer Co SWCD) and Don Ryan (ISDA) shared their experiences, interests, and path to their current positions. Amy Sims brought a water conservation model, Michael Crews brought snakes, and all of the students seemed to enjoy the day.

Career Day at Chrisney Library

Above right photo: Amy Sims shows the Water Conservation Model.Left photo: Michael Crews shows the class snakes.

PAGE 6 SPENCER COUNTY SWCD JANUARY 2019

Adventures with Nature Each year the Spencer County Soil & Water helps to

sponsor an event called Adventures with Nature in the Hoosier National Forrest. This year the theme was Fish-in’ Indiana. Which included a fishing derby where more than 50 children competed and many types of crafts and activities for the all ages.

Crop Day Perry-Spencer Crop Day was held in early March this year. Due to the required

Dicamba training, the event had more in attendance this year than in previous years; just under 120 people. Efficient Soil Sampling for Precision Soil Management discus-sion was given by Dr. Jason Ackerson, Agronomy-Soil Science—Purdue University. Sara Dzimianski, Extension Educator—Perry County, presented “Threading the Nee-dle” discussion on Dicamba.

Rockport Elementary 5th Grade Science Night

The fourth annual Science Night was a success! The SWCD was invited to participate in this event where volunteers present science-related topics. The RES 5th Grade Students also present their Science Projects! Many different organizations were represented. The SWCD invited students to play soil trivia for prizes.

Community and Adult Education Programs

4-H Fair

Poster ContestThis year, the Spencer County

SWCD held the Poster Contest during the 4-H fair. Children of all ages could turn in a poster about their watershed. After they turned in their posters, they were given “tickets” for friends and family members could vote on their favorite posters. We had 18 kids participate in the contest. The winners of this year were Jax-ton, Lelyn, Azalea, and Carmen.

Glass BarnIndiana State Fair

Amy Sims (ISDA) and Courtney Hall spent a day at the Indiana State Fair being a part of the Bean Team. The Glass Barn is full of interactive exhibits that adults and children alike can learn more about farming, trans-portation, soybeans, and their multitude of uses. There was even an example of AstroTurf which was soy-based, rather than petroleum based. Visitors were given a chance to play Bean-go, a game that led them through the exhibits and helped them learn more about the world of farming. When they were finished, they could return their cards for a prize.

The SWCD fair booth was successful in attracting the atten-tion of many fair goers! Savannah McCutchan, our SWCD intern, cre-ated a wonderful water-shed model for our booth that had many people interested in watersheds and non-point source pollution.

Crop Day at St. Meinrad Community Center

Courtney at the Glass Barn, helping with Bean-Go

Delaney, Carmen and Jadon at the

4-H Booth

Adventures with Nature in the Hoosier National ForrestSavannah McCutchan cre-

ating a watershed model

Courtney attended the IDEA con-ference this fall in Bloomington, IN. During that time, Courtney attended several informational sessions includ-ing well-head protection and sam-pling, how to build a mobile garden for educational purposes, and a very well-presented topic on understand-ing and working with various gener-ations. Evening activities included presentations from the Indiana Raptor Center, outings on Monroe Lake, and various staff-building activities. At the meeting, IDEA awards were pre-sented; Courtney received a 5-year service award.

The District staff are often looking for ways to improve their service to the dis-trict. Many trainings and workshops are offered throughout the state. Many, such as the State Board of Accounts trainings are detailed training sessions

to help keep the district up to date in financial reporting to the State of Indiana. Program Support Specialist (PSS) trainings are held by the NRCS and are designed to help us better serve those producers and other clients who come to the service center for assistance with EQIP and other NRCS Programs. The PSS training also helps provide the opportunity to learn to assist NRCS and the District Conservation-ist better through our cooperative working agreement.

JANUARY 2019 SPENCER COUNTY SWCD PAGE 7

Staff Trainings & Workshops

Indiana District Employee’s Association (IDEA) Conference

INDIANA RAPTOR CENTER UNDERSTANDING GENERATIONS

MOBILE GARDEN

The 10th Annual Southern Indiana Grazing Conference (SIGC) is a collaborative educational event tailored to provide livestock producers with the most current graz-ing information and resources available in the marketplace.

The SIGC Planning Committee is promoting the Southern Indiana Grazing Con-ference at West Gate Academy in Odon, IN on March 6, 2019, beginning with regis-tration at 7:30 a.m. (EST) and the meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 3:45 p.m. Eastern time.

Producers from several Midwest states attend this one-day event to learn from a variety of nationally known presenters on topics such as Using Managed Grazing to Restore Soil Fertility, Regenerative Systems & Savanna Ecosystems, Getting the Most Out of the Land you Control and Effectively Marketing Your Farm Products. This year’s conference will feature Greg Judy who is back by popular demand, Darby Simpson and Peter Allen.

The SWCD will be accepting applica-tions from those interested in the Student Intern position. Please contact the Spen-cer County SWCD at (812)649-9136 ext. 7003. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior or college student preferably in the fields of agriculture or conservation and be a Spencer County resident. The job requirements include, but are not limited to: computer data entry, field work and survey assistance, conservation education, and 4-H Fair booth assistance. Spencer County SWCD

is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please feel free to visit our website and

Facebook page to follow along with our activities throughout the year. This will give any candidate a better understanding of the Spencer County Soil and Water Conservation District and our mission.

Resumes may be sent to:Spencer County SWCD Attention: Courtney Hall996 N SR 66 Suite 102 Rockport, IN 47635

2019 Internship Announcement

Contribution Agreement with Natural Resources Conservation Service

The Current contribution agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Ser-vice is multi-faceted. Courtney Hall has been the Program Support Specialist for the year, aiding in uploading contract data, working on contract maintenance, and assisting producers with questions when others are not available.

Due to several changes with the Farm Service Agency CRP program, the district did not have as many CRP areas to check for re-enrollment. The district, IASWCD (Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts) and the NRCS (Natural Resourc-es Conservation Service) are currently working together to draft another agreement for 2019.

Since being hired in late September, I have been keeping busy with many workshops and trainings to become more comfortable with the technical skills of this position. I’ve had several opportunities to go out into the field with Amy Sims (ISDA) and with the NRCS technical team to help with sur-veys and construction checks of conser-vation practices.

Both Amy and the tech team have also been training me on designing certain NRCS practices. In addition to field training, I’ve attended several work-shops put on by surrounding conser-vation districts and Purdue Extension educators that went over topics such as assessing soil health, soil sampling, ero-sion control practices, identifying crop diseases, and the benefits of cover crops.

Amy Sims and the NRCS technical team

Southern Indiana Grazing Conference

Technician Training 2018

PAGE 8 SPENCER COUNTY SWCD JANUARY 2019

PLATINUMAmerican Electric PowerFarm Credit Mid AmericaLeibering & Sons, IncLindauer Farms

GOLDAutomated Routing, INCDiamond J. CompaniesFred and Joann AndersGerman American BancorpReinke Farm SupplySteckler Trenching, LLCWaupaca Foundry

SILVERBeacon Ag GroupBlesch Brothers Equipment Co. INCBrosmer Land Surveying and EngineeringBrownie’s PlaceBurroughs FarmsCrop Production Services (Nutrien Ag)Dubois County Tire & SupplyEvrard ConstructionGiles Farms INCNorman Hayden & Sons Dozer ServiceHD ConstructionHohl Family Farms, INCHoosier Hills Credit UnionHurm Farms Jeaneda and Christopher MiddletonJohn’s Tractor Service, INCKiesel Enterprises, INC

Thank you 2018 Affiliate Members!Thank you to the following Affiliate Members for your dedication and support of the Spencer

County Soil and Water Conservation District and its mission to increase conservation awareness and adoption of conservation measures:

Sigler FarmsPerry Spencer CommunicationsRichard and Betty MichelSeng Brothers PartnershipSingleton FarmsSMS Price Farms Spencer County BankSuperior AgTempel Land and Livestock, LLCWayne Kessens

BRONZEMariah Hill Lumber and Feed Com-panyBreivogel Farms Hopf EquipmentKueken Angus FarmPhillip Schmidt FarmNew Boston TavernRuhe Drainage & ExcavatingSibrel FarmsSteve Sitzman ConstructionSouthern Indiana PowerSpencer Industries IncorporatedSteve and Linda DamingWaninger Brothers FarmWinkler, INC

CONTRIBUTORAbner ConnerAll Seasons Lawn EquipmentDilger Brothers Grandview Aluminum Products, INCTop Auto Center, LLC

Are you interested in becoming an Affiliate Member of the SWCD?

Each year, the Spencer County Soil & Water Conservation District peti-tions our County’s businesses and citizens by requesting financial support in promoting the conservation of soil and water resources. Those individuals and businesses who find it important to support our mission financially, help conserve our county’s natural resources by donating to the SWCD, an Affil-iate Member supports our conservation and education efforts beyond office operations. The SWCD has been providing technical assistance, local lead-ership on natural resources and educational support for more than 74 years.

District operations are financed by county and state funds, but also by con-tributions from private and public sources. Affiliate Membership funds stay within the County to help promote conservation and education, and even help with cash match for grants.

Examples of these activities sponsored by the Affiliate members in the past include: field days, co-sponsoring Crop Day, Adventures with Nature Pro-gram with the Hoosier National Forest, Springtime on the Farm, Envirothon, Spencer County 4-H Fair and even classroom activities which help teachers meet science and social studies standards.

Mark Lubbehusen member of

the Board of Supervisors

Burke Sibrel Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors

Alan Waninger, Secretary of the Board of Supervisors

Brian Rahman, Chairperson of

the SWCD Board of Supervisors

Tim Luecke, Board Member

Spencer County Board of Supervisors

I’m very excited to be the new district technician and join the Spencer Coun-ty SWCD team! I’m looking forward to meeting everyone involved and becoming familiar with the surrounding area. I grew up in Illinois and graduated from Iowa State with degrees in animal ecology and environmental studies.

During college I interned at Theodore Roosevelt National Park as a park ranger and after finishing my undergrad I contin-ued to move around the country doing sea-sonal work. I worked as a field technician in Wisconsin where I assisted with fauna surveys including small mammal trapping and collection of soil, tick, beetle, and mos-quito samples. After this position ended I moved to southern Arizona to be a state park ranger working as part of the cave unit.

My job was to make sure the cave was healthy by constantly checking air temperature and humidity. My most recent job in the education department at Mesker Park Zoo brought me to this area. It’s fun moving around and getting to explore new places, but I am so excited to finally have a perma-nent position where I can truly get to know the community, grow within my position, and work toward something I’m passionate about.

Welcome, Jamie Michaels

MICHAELS

Contractors ListDid you know that we keep a list of local contractors who have asked

to be included? If you have a project you need to select a contractor, we would be happy to share that list with you!

We are constantly updating our list. If you are a contractor and would like to make sure your name is on our list, or would like to update your information, please contact our office at 812-649-9136 ext 3 or e-mail Courtney at courtney.hall@in.nacdnet.net. We have a one-page survey to help identify your areas of expertise which is also available on our web-page http://spencerswcd.org.