Hancock County
Soil & Water Conservation District

HOME About Us SWCD Links Watershed Environmental Ed

1101 W Main St. Ste. N Greenfield, IN 46140  Phone: 317-462-2283 Ext. 3 Fax: 317-462-0769 www.hancockswcd.org

The District works to provide technical, financial, and educational services
to help Hancock County land users conserve soil, water, and related natural resources.


CONGRATULATIONS
2008 River Friendly Farmer Award Winners:
Ray and Lydia Helms,
Tom and Mike Roney
(unable to attend the State Fair Ceremony)

    Ray Helms receiving the 
2008 River Friendly Farmer Award
at the Indiana State Fair on
Farmer's Day August 13, 2008. 
 

In Indiana, a Soil and Water Conservation District is a subdivision of state government responsible for soil and water conservation programs within its boundaries. The purposes of the SWCD is to provide information about soil, water, and related natural resource conservation; identify and prioritize local soil and water resource concerns; and connect land users to sources of educational, technical, and financial assistance to implement conservation practices and technologies.

   Burl Carmichael, SWCD Supervisor 
at the Farmer's Day Parade, 
Indiana State Fair 2008

Our current Board of Supervisors are:
Tom Nigh, Chair, Burl Carmichael, Vice-Chair, Junior Burton, Steve Lewis, Ray Helms
and Associate Supervisors are:
Jim Cherry, John Moran, Alice Bogemann, Tom Roney, Todd Stephenson

In 2004 when the Hancock County Tillage Transect was completed - Hancock County ranked 89th in the State for Corn Percentage of No-Till acres and 73rd in the State for Soybeans Percentage of No-Till acres. 
In 2007 Hancock County Tillage Transect gave us a different picture.

In 2007, we ranked 31st in the State for Corn Percentage and 1st in the State for Soybeans Percentage!!!

The FY 2007 financial summary of obligated contracts for voluntary implementation of conservation practices in Hancock County through 2002 Farm Bill programs attributes to $207,737.72 EQIP and WHIP funds to apply conservation practices which address resource concerns.  Although the technical assistance and conservation planning efforts are more difficult to capture as a monetary format, this summary report documents that the NRCS involvement in the conservation partnership is putting conservation on the land in Hancock County.  The progress summary reported in the NRCS Performance Reporting System (PRS) includes:

3347 acres Conservation Plans written for Cropland
            363 acres Conservation Plans written for grazing land
            129 acres Land Treated for Fish and Wildlife Habitat
            3206 acres Cropland with conservation applied to address soil quality
            3303 acres of land with conservation applied to address water quality

Hopefully, land owners will continue to take advantage of these partnering efforts and stop in at the USDA Greenfield Service Center to discuss the development of a conservation plan for their land that addresses resource concerns and protects all natural resources.  We look forward to the New Farm Bill programs, visit the Indiana NRCS website at: www.in.nrcs.usda.gov/ for more information or visit our office at: USDA Service Center, 1101 W. Main St., Greenfield, IN  46140.  317/462-2283 ext. 3.                              

NRCS Statewide Conservation Accomplishments:
Completed thanks to the close working relationship with partnership employees & agencies

  Wrote conservation plans for over 300,000 acres

  Applied conservation on over 391,000 acres of cropland to improve soil quality

  Applied conservation on over 441,000 acres to improve water quality

  Applied conservation on almost 48,000 acres of grazing and forest land

  Applied almost 69,000 acres of conservation on non-federal land to  improve fish and wildlife habitat quality

  Created, restored or enhanced almost 6,000 acres of wetlands

  Put 49 additional Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans in place

  Applied over 55 new Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans

  7,540 conservation practices applied to the land

Conservation For You!
Indiana NRCS

2008 Upcoming Meeting and Workshop Dates

January 8 11:00 AM Board Meeting
February 12 11:00 AM Board Meeting
March 4 6:00 PM Annual Meeting
March 4 and 5 AG Day Festival
March 11 7:30 PM Board Meeting
April 8 4:00 PM Sugar Creek Meeting
April 12 Burn Day
April  15 7:30 PM Board Meeting
June 12 7:30 PM Board Meeting
July 8 7:30 PM Board Meeting
July 11-18 4:00 to 10:00 PM 4-H Fair Booth
August 12 7:30 PM Board Meeting
September 16 7:30 PM Board Meeting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                      

 


Webmaster: Cindy Newkirk    cindy.newkirk@in.nacdnet.net


"As you drink the water, remember the stream from which it flowed" ~ Charles Dickens

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Last modified: 08/27/08