The Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment, USDA, is Ann Mills. Ann oversees the Natural Resources Conservation Service. During lunch on the Conservation in Action Tour she spoke to us about several initiatives under her oversight. She talked about her goals of getting 100 percent participation from Chesapeake Bay area land owners to help with the watershed cleanup efforts. …
Finding A Win-Win Between Farmers and EPA
The Conservation in Action Tour provides an opportunity for farmers to see how other farmers are implementing good conservation practices but it also allows policy makers a chance to learn more about this area. One of our tour participants who spoke to us at our lunch stop was Kelly Shenk, EPA. She works in the Chesapeake Bay Program office. Kelly …
Adapting and Diversifying Key To Long Term Success
The first plantation in Virginia was Shirley Plantation, established in 1613. This was the lunch stop for the Conservation in Action Tour. Tourism and education play a big part in the family business today. Greeting us was Charles Carter who owns and serves as executive director for Shirley Plantation. He says they’ve been there for 11 generations! He says they’ve …
Conserving Soil and Nutrients
While the Conservation in Action Tour was parked under the trees in the shade at one stop, we heard from local farmer, J.N. Mills. Pictured behind him is Eric Randolph, another local farmer we also heard from. A portion of the farm that J.N. operates was a grant from the king of England in the 1600’s. We were definitely seeing …
Generations of Farming
During the Conservation in Action Tour we visited Evelynton Farm which is home to Archer Ruffin who told us about the rich history of this farm which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Our tour group sat in the shade of the largest magnolia tree I’ve ever seen. You’ll be able to hear Archer describe the farm and …
Precision Spraying Assists Conservation
The Conservation in Action Tour provided some really good opportunities to learn about a part of the country I don’t normally get to see while hearing about some issues that are important to all farmers and that includes new regulatory efforts for watersheds like the Chesapeake Bay. I’ll be continuing my coverage of the tour today and over the weekend …
Continuous No-Till
The Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District provided significant help to the Conservation Technology Information Center is setting up and putting on the Conservation In Action Tour. Brian Noyes received recognition at our tour dinner. I spoke with him during one of our farm stops. Brian says the District deals with a lot of diverse issues in their area and …
Helping Manage Storm Water Risk
The first stop of the Conservation In Action Tour was Mainland Farm in James City County, VA. Presentations about the farm, the land and the watershed it is a part of were prepared by James Wallace, Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District. I recorded Jame’s presentation. Our location was adjacent to the James River where you’ll find a lot of …
Conservation Results
We just got back to the hotel after 12 hours on the road visiting farms on the Conservation In Action Tour. I have quite a few interviews and other stories to tell and will do so over the next several days. I’ll be attending the CTIC board meeting in the morning before heading back to the midwest where my next …
Saving Rainforests Would Help U.S. Agriculture
“Saving rainforests isn’t just for treehuggers anymore.” That’s the message past National Corn Growers Association president Fred Yoder of Ohio has about a new report showing that ending deforestation could boost revenue for U.S. producers by between $196-$267 billion by 2030. Yoder participated in a conference call today releasing the report, entitled “Farms Here, Forests There: Tropical Deforestation and U.S. …