The Four Cornerstones of Leadership: Leadership Institute

Geneva Rawlins is one of 5 District Support Specialists for the IN State Department of Agriculture- Division of Soil Conservation providing administrative support and leadership development opportunities for Indiana’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts. 

Ask anyone involved in any capacity within any community about the successes and struggles of their cause and most likely the common thread determining success or failure can be traced to leadership.  Any mission is dependent on leaders to envision, strategize and implement a plan for success, and preserving our natural resources for future generations is no different.  Our local Soil and Water Conservation Districts depend on the leadership of a Board of Supervisors to be at the forefront of the conservation movement in order to effectively serve our counties, and the Leadership Institute is one unique tool designed specifically to teach and challenge our local natural resource leaders and Soil and Water Conservation Districts. 

A series of four workshops build on each other, starting with defining what leadership is and how our personalities and perspectives affect how we serve within leadership positions.  Following workshops examine how we may better communicate with and listen to those we serve, and how Board dynamics effect the effectiveness and success of a Soil and Water Conservation District.  Finally, the Leadership Institute wraps up the series by discussing how we may further impact our communities through strategic planning and implementation. 

Because each workshop is hosted in a different location, an evening of networking is usually planned which also gives participants an opportunity to experience a unique aspect of the local community.  The  most recent Leadership Institute workshop was hosted in Lafayette, IN and Supervisors and Staff from Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state participated in a Howl Night at the local Wolf Park, where they were given limited interaction with the wolves through howling & communicating with the wolves. 

The next Leadership Institute workshop will focus on communicating and building relationship in your community and with partnering agencies and other organizations.  This workshop will take place Dec 6-7 in Madison, IN, with a Christmas home tour to follow the evening of the 6^th.   Please contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District for more information!

Tracking Conservation Tillage Trends

 by: Laura Fribley, District Support Specialist, Indiana State Department of Agriculture

Scott County farmers are continuing the trend of plowing less of their land as they employ sound conservation practices that preserve valuable topsoil while making it all work toward a better bottom line.  Data from the 2013 Tillage Transect indicate that as a result of tillage practices on Scott County’s corn and soybean acres, an estimated 75,100 gallons of diesel fuel are saved compared to conventional tillage this year, and 121,100 tons of soil!

As Indiana farmers wrapped up planting, local conservation agency teams around the state conducted “Tillage Transect” countywide surveys.  The process identifies the types of tillage systems farmers are using and long-term trends of conservation tillage adoption. 

Conservation tillage leaves 30 percent or more crop residue cover such as stalks, leaves, and roots on the soil surface before and after planting.  “Conservation tillage helps keep the soil where it belongs: on the field.  This residue cover can help reduce soil erosion by 50 percent or more compared to bare soil.  This is good for our farmers, good for soil productivity, and good for healthy streams,” says Laura Fribley, Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA).  Conservation tillage also includes a practice commonly known as “no-till”, where farmers directly plant into the previous crop with little disturbance.  No-till farming methods can reduce soil erosion by 75 percent compared to a conventional (chisel-disk) tillage system.

Indiana State Department of Agriculture’s Resource Specialist Ed Roll examines crop residue in a Scott County soybean field as part of the 2013 Tillage Transect survey.

In June, employees from ISDA, Scott County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), and Natural Resources Conservation Service spent the day collecting data within the boundaries of Scott County.  Ed Roll, Resource Specialist with ISDA, has assisted with thirteen Scott County Tillage Transects since they began in 1990.  This experience, along with being a lifelong resident, has given him the perspective of watching conservation tillage grow over time.  “My brother and I started with no-till by renting a corn planter in the early 1980s, from Clark County SWCD and a no-till drill from Scott County SWCD as well,” says Roll.  “Over the years, a lot of agencies encouraged no-till, and a lot of local producers adopted these conservation tillage methods.  Scott County has always had a good amount, which is why we’ve been locally called the “No-till Capital of the World’”.   

 

One way of measuring residue cover is the line-transect method.  It involves counting the number of times a marked line intersects with a piece of residue.  Crop residue is important because it can help protect the soil from the impact and erosive properties of rainfall.

Indiana is the only state nationwide that still continually conducts the Tillage Transect, and the data is used by multiple agencies and publications.   For more information on conservation tillage trends within your county and around the state, please visit http://www.in.gov/isda/2383.htm or contact your local SWCD http://www.in.gov/isda/2370.htm .

Ft. Wayne River Fest Provides Opportunity to Help Educate Urban Residents About Agriculture Production and Ag Environmental Stewardship

By Jim Lake

Jim is a District Support Specialist in the northeast area of Indiana. Jim has been working in conservation for over 40 years, in which time he has not only dutifully served ISDA’s Division of Soil Conservation, but also has played a formative role in creating the national Conservation Tillage Information Center.  In his many years of dedication to conservation, Jim has also aided nearly every state in the US in creating plans for addressing non-point source water pollution.  He has managed the Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District and has been a leader at Purdue University’s agronomy department as a Soil and Water Conservation Education Specialist.

Each of the last two years the St. Joseph River, Upper Maumee River Watershed Project and St. Mary’s River Watersheds Groups have joined forces with the Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and cooperating agricultural producers and equipment dealers to provide educational displays at the Ft. Wayne River Fest. 

This year’s River Fest held Saturday, June 22 on the shoreline of the St. Joseph River at Fort Wayne’s Indiana-Purdue University Campus. The River Fest drew over 15,000 people. The River Fest is marketed as a family fun and educational day and primarily draws city and suburban residents of Ft. Wayne and suburb areas.  

A highlight at the event is the agricultural equipment display. This year, a large tractor, no-till soybean planter, precision sprayer and a grain combine were on display. Jim Lake, District Support Specialists for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, has helped with the agricultural equipment display each of the last two years. The large equipment is a magnet for children who love to climb up into the cabs of the equipment. While the parents are waiting in line to help their children get up into the equipment, we have the opportunity to talk to the parents about agricultural production practices farmers are using to help protect and improve water quality of the river. We use this opportunity to talk about no-till planting and precision farming technology being used by farmers to reduce soil erosion and accurately apply fertilizer and other crop inputs. The folks in attendance, for the most part, have no current connection with farming, and at best remember going to their grandparent's farm when they were growing up.

I like to ask visitors to the equipment display what they think the equipment they are looking at costs. For example, when I ask what they think the combine costs many respond with a guess of about $100,000 and I tell them $450,000 including the grain head. They are shocked at the costs and the amount of money farmers have invested just in equipment.  I think it very important for those of us engaged in agriculture make efforts to educate our urban and city neighbors on the many aspects of agriculture including the conservation efforts Hoosier farms use in their day to day operations.