Minnehaha Conservation District

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH CONSERVATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY?

Conservation Clips is a weekly collection of articles distributed by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) that provides our members and partners with the latest news in what’s driving conservation. These articles are not indicative of NACD policy and are the opinions of their authors, unless otherwise noted. If you have a relevant submission or need assistance with accessing articles, please contact the NACD Communications Team.

NACD Blog: The National Wild Turkey Federation, COVID-19 and Beyond
By Matt Lindler
08/17/20

With more than 47 years as a leader in wildlife conservation, science-based wildlife and habitat management, and an advocate for hunters’ rights, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is a respected voice in the conservation community throughout the United States.

SARE: National Farmer Survey Documents a Wide Range of Cover Crop Benefits as Acreage Continues to Expand
08/19/20

Despite the crippling rainfall that significantly delayed planting across much of the country in 2019, more than 90 percent of farmers participating in a national cover crop survey reported that cover crops allowed them to plant earlier or at the same time as non-cover-cropped fields. Among those who had “planted green,” seeding cash crops into growing cover crops, 54 percent said the practice helped them plant earlier than on other fields.

KRCG: Iowa farmers, agriculture industry in ‘uncharted territory’ with derecho recovery
By Mary Green
08/20/20

Iowa’s agriculture secretary said the state’s farmers and agricultural industry are in “unchartered territory” in storm recovery, and they might not know the full extent of derecho damage until the harvest next month.

Hoosier Ag Today: NRCS Invests $650,000 to Improve Water Quality in Indiana
08/20/20

Indiana State Conservationist Jerry Raynor is pleased to announce that USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will invest over $650,000 in new projects this year targeting high priority watersheds throughout the state.

The FERN: Can grazing save endangered grasslands?
By Lynne Curry
08/19/20

An alliance of scientists and ranchers is working to prove that cattle grazing can stave off development, support ranch economies and preserve biodiversity on a treasured Oregon prairie.

The Guardian: Extreme weather just devastated 10m acres in the midwest. Expect more of this
By Art Cullen
08/17/20

(Opinion) Unless we contain carbon, our food supply will be under threat. By 2050, U.S. corn yields could decline by 30 percent.

NPR: Farming Releases Carbon From The Earth’s Soil Into The Air. Can We Put It Back?
By Brent Baughman, Emily Kwong and Geoff Brumfiel
08/18/20

Traditional farming depletes the soil and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But decades ago, a scientist named Rattan Lal helped start a movement based on the idea that carbon could be put back into the soil — a practice known today as “regenerative agriculture.”

Star Tribune: On Minnesota farm, experiment could change how farmers get costly nitrogen
By Adam Belz
08/14/20

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have built small-scale prototypes of machines that can make nitrogen fertilizer out of air and water. Kennedy Research, an ag startup in Murdock, Minn., is negotiating with university officials for a licensing agreement to build a larger prototype that it could sell to farmers.

Sustainable Brands: Strengthening Collaboration Between Farmers and Landowners Key to Improving Conservation
By Amy Roady
08/14/20

The relationship between non-operating landowners, which own 62 percent of Midwest farmland, and the farmers to whom they rent land is vital to achieving wide-scale adoption of soil-health and nutrient-management practices across U.S. croplands.

Civil Eats: Perennial Vegetables Are a Solution in the Fight Against Hunger and Climate Change
By Virginia Gewin
08/19/20

Perennial agriculture—including agroforestry, silvopasture, and the development of perennial row crops such as Kernza—has come to prominence in recent years as an important part of the fights against soil erosion and climate change. Not only do perennial plants develop longer, more stabilizing roots than annual crops, but they’ve also been shown to be key to sequestering carbon in the soil.

Albuquerque Journal: Planning for New Mexico’s water future
By Theresa Davis
08/16/20

Key to a long-term plan is acknowledging that future water supplies may be unreliable in the face of climate change, said David Gutzler, a climate scientist and professor in the University of New Mexico’s Earth and Planetary Sciences Department.

Science Daily: Cover crop mixtures must be ‘farm-tuned’ to provide maximum ecosystem services
08/18/20

Researchers, in a recent study, were surprised to learn that they could take the exact same number of seeds from the same plants, put them in agricultural fields across the Mid-Atlantic region and get profoundly different stands of cover crops a few months later.

Scientific American: California Looks to Battle Mega Wildfires with Fire
By Jane Braxton
08/20/20

The effort marks a milestone in California’s pivot away from a century of suppressing fire at all costs and toward working with it instead—using controlled flames to restore ecosystems that evolved to burn in frequent, mostly low-intensity blazes.

Phys.org: Plants take in less carbon in a warming world
By Dominic Jarvis
08/20/20

As world temperatures rise, the rate at which plants in certain regions can absorb carbon dioxide is declining, according to University of Queensland research.