Soil and water news, Apr. 2012

A Word From the Director

In This Issue

Conservation Districts play a vital role in providing technical Elected District Supervisor Positions assistance and prioritizing financial support for local Regional Office News
REHAB Updates
conservation efforts. Your support of Georgia's 40
2012 Farm Bill
Conservation Districts is appreciated. I encourage you to visit
Ag Water Metering & MIL Programs
our District Supervisor Elections webpage to learn about the Start2Farm Program
upcoming elections process and possibly consider qualifying Natural Resources Conservation

for an elected district supervisor position.

Workshop

Agricultural water-use letters have recently been mailed out to

agricultural water permit holders across the state. The Website Updates

information gathered from these meters is proving very valuable in the state's water planning efforts. In the Urban Program arena, progress is being made in developing new curriculum for our erosion control certification courses, and

Visit the Announcements secion of our homepage and see
GSWCC Executive Director, Brent Dykes' interview with
GrowingGeorgia.

GSWCC is seeing an increase in erosion and sediment control

plan reviews.

Calendar of Events

Click event date for more info.

During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., the Georgia Soil & April 4-7 Water Conservation Commission and our partners advocated GA Cattlemen's Assoc. 51st strongly for the 2012 Farm Bill. The Environmental Quality Annual Convention
Perry
Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship
Program (CSP), among other farm bill programs, have worked April 6-7 Spring Garden Exposition
well in Georgia and we encouraged their continued Gainesville

authorization in the 2012 bill. These two programs alone April 21
brought over $20 million into the state for conservation Agriculture & Conservation

practice implementation in 2011.

Education Series
Loganville

I hope you have a productive start to the 2012 agricultural April 22 planting season, and I look forward to seeing Georgia's Earth Day

economy continue to grow throughout 2012. Brent Dykes, GSWCC Executive Director

April 25
Pond Management Field Day
Lamar County Call Region IV for info. (478) 4455766

April 26 Confederate Memorial Day
State Holiday

April 26-27

Elected District Supervisor Positions Appearing on 35th Annual Vidalia Onion

November Ballot

Festival

Vidalia

Are you willing and interested in representing your county by

serving on a soil and water conservation district board?

May 3 Grazing for Profitability-Field

Elections for elected district supervisor positions in 86 Day

counties will take place November 6, 2012

on

the general

Greene County Call Region IV for info. (478) 445-

ballot.

5766

Click here to view a list of supervisor positions up for

May 10

election!

Spring Team Ag Georgia

Workshop

Dillard

Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisors are unpaid

state officials that work across Georgia to bring conservation

May 13-15 SE Lake & Watershed Mgmt

and natural resource education to citizens in their own Conference

community. Districts hold a minimum of ten meetings a year Columbus

and host educational events, workshops and community field May 17 days. If you are interested in becoming a supervisor, please Agriculture & Conservation
Education Series visit our 'How do I Become a District Supervisor' page for a Conyers

step-by-step guide. What are the typical duties of a district supervisor?

May 28 Memorial Day

Working with landowners and developers to implement soil and water conservation measures Distributing information about natural resource conservation programs

June 3-7 Natural Resources Conservation Workshop
Tifton

Conducting public demonstrations for best land management practices Serving on NRCS Local Work Groups to set funding priorities for the USDA-NRCS Environmental Quality

June 14 Agriculture & Conservation Education Series
Atlanta

Incentives Program

Reviewing 'Erosion & Sedimentation Control Plans' for

land disturbing activities in district counties Administering and participating in conservation programs undertaken by the State of Georgia and partner agencies

Cooperating with partners to maintain and upgrade flood

control watershed structures across the state

Important Information for Candidates:

Elected supervisors serve a four year term. The qualifying period for an elected district supervisor position is May 23 (12:00 noon) May 25, 2012. Eligible candidates must be a registered voter of the county in which he or she runs. A person cannot hold another elected office in Georgia and also
be an elected Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor.

Regional Office News

Region I-Northwest Georgia

On January 31, 2012, the GSWCC Region I office participated

in a Beginning Grazers Workshop in Calhoun, Georgia, put on

by the Georgia Grazing Lands Conservation

Coalition. Workshop topics included: soils, plant

identification, forage quality, livestock grazing behavior,

rotational grazing, contingency planning, and hay utilization &

storage. The day was filled with lots of helpful information

for livestock producers interested in improving their pastures and animal nutrition. Many speakers emphasized the

Soil Erosion Demo at Workshop

importance of soil conservation as well as the need for monitoring soil health.

The Coosa River Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) presented Floyd County supervisor, Thad Rush with a pin to recognize his 40 years of service to the district. The pin was awarded to him at the district's January meeting. Rush cited how proud he was to serve on a district with so many conservation pioneers during his years of service.

Cameron "Drake" Miller, a

Rush (right) receives pin from ViceChair, Jeff Smith

5th grade student at Boynton Elementary in Ringgold, Georgia, was

presented with the 2011 NACD Poster Contest Award for

grade category 4-6 at the Georgia Association of Conservation

District Supervisors' annual meeting in January. The theme for

the 2012 NACD Poster Contest is "Soil to Spoon". Check out
Cameron Miller (left) with Boynton Elem.

the GACDS website to find out how you can enter to win!

Principal, Chris Lusk

Region III-Metro Georgia

The Cobb County SWCD held a stream bank

restoration workshop at the Shaw Park Public

Library on March 3rd for over 40 local citizens

interested in learning more about methods and

plantings for restoring eroded stream banks.

District Supervisor, Jim Lanier gave a

presentation on the vegetative practices used to

stabilize stream banks, including the planting of

willow shoots as well as native plants and shrubs. Joe Burgess with the GA Forestry

Cobb County District Supervisors

Commission spoke of the tremendous value that trees give in an urban environment, including

providing shade to help lower thermal radiation, reduce storm water runoff and benefits to local

wildlife. Individuals that attended the workshop received dogwood tree seedlings.

Environmental.

As a result of successful attendance rates, the Cobb County SWCD is considering hosting similar workshops at local libraries across the district. Workshops are a culmination of a stream bank restoration project that was inititated by the Cobb County District, with the partnership of GSWCC, NRCS, U.S. FWS, Cobb County, Rolling Hills RC&D and Aquascape

Region IV-Central Georgia

Central Georgia SWCD Supervisor, Glenn

Waller was awarded the District III-2012

Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award

for agriculture. Mr. Waller and his wife Rabun

have operated Waller Farm for 45 years in

Harrison, Georgia. The farm consists of nearly

900 acres of cotton, corn, hay, peanuts,

soybeans, wheat, and beef cattle. Mr. Waller

utilizes parallel terraces with drain tile, strip-till

& cover crops, overseeding, and crop rotation to best use his farm's most precious resources: soil and water. He has also modified his irrigation

Governor Nathan Deal and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner, Gary W. Black present the Wallers with a
2012 District III Environmental Stewardship Award

diesel pumps from gas to electric, improved

dams and ponds on the property, and planted native tree species to provide additional food sources

for wildlife.

Region V-Southwest Georgia The Lower Chattahoochee River SWCD held their annual Conservationist of the Year Banquet on January 19th at the USDA Service Center in Dawson, Georgia. District Chairman, Art Johns presided over the banquet and Mr. Duane Watson from SW GA Farm Credit recognized the award recipients. The
Lower Chattahoochee 2011 Conservationist of the Year Winners
Lower Chattahoochee River District encompasses a nine county area in SW Georgia, which includes Clay, Lee, Quitman, Randolf, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell and Webster counties.

The Middle South Georgia SWCD held their annual Valentines Dinner on February 9, 2012 at the Tiftarea Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. Thomas County supervisor, Carrol Fort was recognized with a service pin for 35 years of outstanding support and loyal service to the citizens of the Middle South Georgia District.

GA Southern Wildlife Director, Steve Hein

The Flint River SWCD sponsored

their annual Birds of Prey Wildlife

Demonstration at the Early County

Elementary School in Blakely on

February 23rd. Steve Hein, Director Region V Rep. Luke Crosson (left)

for the Georgia Southern University

with Carrol Fort

Center for Wildlife Education gave an enthusiastic performance to

over 1,100 students in grades K-5. Mr. Hein and his assistant

provided hands-on participation for individuals interested in holding

a 13 ft. Burmese Python, as well as watching the ever-popular Birds

of Prey Flight Show. For the past seven years, Mr. Hein has

traveled to SW Georgia to advocate for birds of prey and help

educate youth about the importance of wildlife and their habitat.

Small Watershed Rehabilitation (REHAB) Program Shows Progress GSWCC is currently in the process of completing a contract with a North Georgia construction company to perform needed maintenance on two watershed dams that were targeted as potential water supply reservoirs in a 2009 study. The company has assisted with mowing small trees and brush on Sandy Creek #8 in Jackson County and replaced a non-functional drainage
South Fork Broad River #19 before maintenance gate. The construction company also removed large trees covering South Fork Broad River #19 in
Oglethorpe County and planted grass to stabilize the site and prevent erosion.

GSWCC has worked in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the GA Environmental Protection Division to complete assessments on 28 flood control structures in the state that might serve as future sources of public water supply for local communities. Visit our website to read more about these assessments.

South River #19 after maintenance

Hope for a 2012 Farm Bill? On Thursday, March 29, the House approved a FY 2013 Budget Resolution, introduced by Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan. The resolution only controls spending actions in the House and sets off two Farm Bill actions by the House Agricultural Committee:
1) By April 27, the House Ag Committee must produce a bill that cuts $33.2 billion from farm bill spending. The bill must be reported on time and include specific policies that will reach the required savings. 2) The budget resolution assumes ten-year farm bill cuts of $180 billion, including $30 billion in cuts to crop subsidy programs, $16 billion to conservation programs (like EQIP), and the remaining cuts to food stamp programs.

In order for a farm bill to pass this year, the Senate Ag Committee will need to approve its version of the bill before Memorial Day so the House Ag Committee can make adjustments in June & July. After that, both houses may adopt versions of the bill that go to a House-Senate conference during the 2012 national election. Analysts agree that approving a Farm Bill this year is an achievable goal, but not an easy feat before the current bill expires this September.
GSWCC Continues to Promote Water Efficiency on Georgia Farms The Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission is committed to helping Georgia's farmers improve onfarm irrigation efficiency. Our Agricultural Water Metering Program helps producers to determine annual agricultural water use by measuring the amount of water used on-site through irrigation meters. Since 2008, the U.S. Geologic Survey has worked with GSWCC to
analyze metered water data in order to understand Georgia's water resources and assist with statewide water planning. Download and print a program brochure here.

In conjunction with the Metering Program, the GSWCC Mobile Irrigation Lab (MIL) Program provides no-cost irrigation system assessments to irrigators in South Georgia. Since the program's launch in 2001, the MIL Program has performed over 1,670 irrigation audits and 694 system retrofits for the state's farming operations. This improvement in on-farm irrigation efficiency has resulted in billions of gallons of water savings in Georgia.

Reducing water needs on the farm also lowers the cost of operation. Schedule your irrigation uniformity test today by contacting (229) 995-6001 and asking for more information about our FREE courtesy test.
Start2Farm Offers Resources for Beginning Farmers & Ranchers The Start2Farm Program is a joint project between the USDANational Agricultural Library and the American Farm Bureau Federation. The program's goal is to assist individuals that are new to farming and ranching, as well as farmers that have less than 10 years of agricultural experience. The online database connects farmers and ranchers with available federal programs and resources and is searchable by topic or geographical area. Use the database to find training resources, financing, technical assistance, and businessto-business support. Check out this great resource today (click image to visit start2farm.gov)!
Natural Resources Conservation Workshop (June 3-7, 2012) The Georgia Association of Conservation District Supervisors would like to announce the 2012 Natural Resources Conservation Workshop for rising 10th, 11th, and 12th graders, June 3-7 in Tifton, Georgia. Students that attend the five-day event will have the opportunity to learn about the value, protection and conservation of Georgia's natural resources. Professionals that work with federal, state and private agencies
will hold classroom lectures and host outdoor activities to demonstrate careers in natural resource management. On the final day of the workshop, students are tested on the material they have learned during the week and have the opportunity to win scholarships. Over $17,000 worth of college scholarships were awarded in 2011. Visit www.abac.edu/dnr to download an application.

Contact your regional GSWCC office to find out how local Soil and Water Conservation Districts sponsor attending students!

Looking for more information? Contact your local GSWCC office!
Region I Rome Office - John Loughridge, Region1@gaswcc.org (706) 295-6131 Region II Athens Office - Robert Amos, Region2@gaswcc.org (706) 552-4479 Region III Conyers Office - Russell Tonning, Region3@gaswcc.org (770) 761-3020 Region IV Milledgeville Office - Keegan Malone, Region4@gaswcc.org (478) 445-5766 Region V Dawson Office - Luke Crosson, Region5@gaswcc.org (229) 995-6001 Region VI Statesboro Office - Rahn Milligan, Region6@gaswcc.org (912) 681-5241
Visit us on the web at www.gaswcc.georgia.gov!
Loren Moore, Editor lmoore@gaswcc.org