CONNECTIONS – November Edition
Find November's Edition of CDI's new newsletter, CONNECTIONS, below! CONNECTIONS - November 2019
CONNECTIONS – CDI’s new monthly Newsletter!
Please check out CDI's new newsletter, Connections! Connections - Oct 2019
TAMA SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT ANNUAL REPORT
Check out Tama's 2018 Annual Report HERE
CDI and NRCS Presentation – The Economics of Soil Health!
https://youtu.be/1abjAIV-JvY
2019 Iowa Envirothon State Competition
Southwest Valley (Corning) Wins 2019 State Envirothon Competition GRANGER, IA, April 18, 2019 — A group of five Southwest Valley (Corning) high school FFA students won the 24th Iowa Envirothon competition held Aug. 8 at the Jester Park Nature Center. Southwest Valley won the Aquatics portion and placed in the top three in each of the other five events to take the overall title. Marshalltown High School took second place overall and Louisa-Muscatine FFA Gold finished third in the 15-team competition. Southwest Valley will now compete at the national competition at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, July 28-Aug. 2, 2019. The Envirothon, held at Jester Park’s new Nature Center for the first time, tested students’ knowledge in the areas of Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife, and Current Events at stations located throughout the park. Each team was also judged on an Oral Presentation. This year’s scenario asked students to develop a plan for improving a farm operation’s productivity and sustainability for future generations. Marshalltown graded highest in the oral presentation. Other individual category winners included: Decorah Fungus [...]
“Farm the best, Regenerate the rest” – Check out Taylor County’s WQI work!
In 2016, Taylor County SWCD began a 3-year Water Quality Initiative project unlike any other in the state. Following the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, Taylor County is focusing on their landscape and how growers can fully utilize the land they farm. The rolling hills, multiple soil types within a single field, gullies, and thin soils on side hills have all been known to lower yields and crop production for the main commodity crops, corn and soybeans in the county. Not all farm ground is created equal and should not be farmed the same. Knowing this, the SWCD Commissioners have decided to take matters in their own hands and deliver alternatives to their growers. Partnering with EFC Systems and their web-based Profit Zone Manager (PZM) tool, producers can virtually see where working capital can be reallocated to maximize ROI and make more profitable and sustainable land management decisions. In other words, using this tool, producers can create and compare scenarios on their fields to determine which practices, rotations, or land management changes maximizes their ROI. [...]