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Conservation Clip List is a weekly collection of articles distributed by NACD that provides our members and partners with the latest news in what's driving conservation. If you have a relevant submission, please contact your NACD Communications Team.


2018 Farm Bill-Soil Health via Agri-Pulse

(Opinion) Turning again to the next farm bill, I want to focus on soil health. We need to be asking, “Do we need to change agricultural policy or research emphasis or programs to address soil health more effectively?”

Research: California Years Away From Making Drought Recovery via ABC News

It could take California four years to recover from the most severe drought on record, even if the next several winters bring above-normal snowfall to the Sierra Nevada, researchers said Tuesday.

Voluntary conservation practices have big impact via Feedstuffs

Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have published a new study that demonstrates that agricultural conservation practices in the Upper Mississippi River watershed can reduce nitrogen inputs to area streams and rivers by as much as 34%.

Check for earthworms: They can tell the health of a soil via Farm and Dairy

The soil in a farmer’s fields isn’t going to get better by itself… He made it clear that the soil found in farm fields is not going to improve unless farmers take steps to stop the loss of topsoil and bring earthworms back to the ground.

Mission Resource Conservation District offers priceless conservation plan via The Fallrook/Bonsall Village News

If you own a piece of property larger than half an acre, and you’re having trouble with erosion, water conservation, weeds, or pest animals such as squirrels and gophers, the Mission Resource Conservation District (MRCD) has a deal for you.

Cover Crops Build Soil via Successful Farming at Agriculture.com

Cow-calf producer and no-till farmer Lance Gartner [of] Glen Ullin, North Dakota, grows full-season cover crops to build soil health and to provide early-winter grazing for cows.

Grant to address flood control dams via Morning Ag Clips

Texas is home to more than 2,000 flood control dams, many of which were severely damaged by the extreme rainfall events of May 2015 and October 2015. In November of 2015, four organizations from the state of Texas wrote a letter to the entire Texas congressional delegation expressing the need for assistance in repairing the dams that were damaged.

USDA Scientists and Beekeepers Swap Colonies to Better Bees via USDA Agricultural Research Service

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Bee Research Laboratory and Geezer Ridge Farm apiary have begun an unusual partnership that may help honey bees take another step up the survival ladder.

Sonoma Creek watershed conservation grants ease vineyard erosion via The Press Democrat

Replacing three culverts on his 28-acre Sonoma Valley hillside vineyard won’t boost the yield or increase the price of his merlot, sauvignon blanc and zinfandel grapes, John MacLeod said. “It’s hard for me as a farmer to spend money fixing this,” he said. But with a grant from the Santa Rosa-based Sonoma Resource Conservation District footing 75 percent of a $26,000 conservation project to reduce erosion on his land, MacLeod is quick to acknowledge the nonfinancial benefit. “It makes us better stewards of the land,” he said, standing amid the 20,000 vines planted since MacLeod’s family bought the ranch along Sonoma Creek in 1974. 

Debate in Oklahoma sharpens on state question about agriculture via The Oklahoman

Opponents of State Question 777 have raised concerns the ballot measure could strip away the ability to pass new legislation to protect the state's water from agricultural pollutants like animal waste and fertilizer.

A drop in the pond: Joseph Robertson shrugs off federal pollution charges on faith his landscaping isn’t hurting anyone via Montana Standard

Joseph Robertson moved into an old camper down by his ponds about a month and a half ago. Robertson can't be in their home because he can't be around the firearms there, a condition of his release following a conviction in April on federal charges he polluted waters of the United States. His sentencing is July 20. "I'm facing 15 years and three-quarters of a million in fines," the 77-year-old said recently on his property, supporting himself with a hand on one of the plentiful aspen that canopy the land, a work boot resting on a downed fir. "What they're doing to me, the feds, they shouldn't have the ability to."

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