Indiana Farmer Works with NRCS to Reclaim Mined Land
As a fifth-generation farmer, Joe Keusch knows a thing or two about his land. And, his 110-year-old farm located in the Ell Creek Watershed is a little different than most in Indiana.
As a fifth-generation farmer, Joe Keusch knows a thing or two about his land. And, his 110-year-old farm located in the Ell Creek Watershed is a little different than most in Indiana.
A southeast Iowa farm family harvested record average yields in 2016 after managing cropland soils with no-till and cover crops. They attribute the yield bump to a bottoms up approach, by improving returns on typically poor-performing fields.
For the past five years, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in North Carolina has been working with local partners and landowners to implement conservation practices to help restore and maintain the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem.
Conservation is already a passion for 15-year-old Nathaniel Tilley. As soon as he was eligible to become an Earth Team volunteer, he got his father Derek Tilley, the director of the NRCS Plant Materials Center in Aberdeen, Idaho, to sign him up.
Conservation is already a passion for 15-year-old Nathaniel Tilley. As soon as he was eligible to become an Earth Team volunteer, he got his father Derek Tilley, the director of the NRCS Plant Materials Center in Aberdeen, Idaho, to sign him up.
Vermont project will expand woodland management program to create healthy and productive forests
Before working with NRCS, Matt Churchill and Jennifer Christian, owners of Pariah Dog Farm, used to irrigate their crops by filling up 500-gallon water tanks with a garden hose overnight, then hauling them out to the field the next morning.
During his first 20 years on the land, Tom farmed the only way he was taught – just like his father. He knew there was something different out there to make his farming methods better for Mother Earth, though.
Organic is one of the fastest growing segments of agriculture, with demand steadily outpacing the U.S. supply. Organic agriculture and NRCS’ goals are well aligned. Many of the USDA Organic regulations can be achieved using NRCS conservation practices, which reflect these shared goals.
Deep in the heart of the Corn Belt, a different kind of agriculture is taking root in the city of Peoria, Illinois. With the help of a 2016 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, a vacant lot in downtown Peoria has been transformed into green infrastr