Arkansas Conservation News -- Spring 2007

Conservation Corner

Kalven L. Trice
State Conservationist

Dear Arkansas NRCS Staff,

April was National Volunteer Recognition Month. I want to thank you for the time and energy you give volunteers and ask you to thank your Earth Team volunteers for the time and dedication they give NRCS. Please read the article in this newsletter about Arkansas’ Earth Team volunteers.

May 7 though 13, 2007 is Public Service Recognition Week, celebrated since 1985. It is a time set aside each year to honor the men and women who serve America as federal, state and local government employees. Throughout the nation and around the world, public employees use the week to educate citizens about the many ways in which government serves the people and how government services make life better for all of us. I know Arkansas NRCS employees improve life for our customers and others through the conservation we put on the ground.

The results from the latest "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government" report show employee satisfaction is driven primarily by three workplace categories: effective leadership, the match between employee skills and the mission of the organization, and work/life balance. Leadership is the category most closely linked to employee satisfaction. Leadership opportunities will abound in coming years as 40 percent of the federal government staff will be eligible to retire. I see tremendous leadership in Arkansas right now by numerous employees taking the responsibility to serve in acting positions. I know the domino effect of one person in an acting position means everyone acquires new tasks. I encourage you to take calculated risks, think creatively, and try new challenges in all segments of your work. It will make you a better leader for the future. After you’ve worked hard, give yourself a break. Good leaders take vacations too.

The "Best Places to Work" report also placed NRCS as the number two agency in USDA proving what I have believed for a long time, NRCS is a great agency with great people! See the report and analysis at http://bestplacestowork.org/.

I look forward to seeing many of you this summer at various gatherings, including the AACD area meetings.
 

Passion for conservation proves productive for farmer

When Felix Smart began farming in 1980, his true passion was conservation. Since then, he has incorporated his conservation goals into his farming practices.

This year, his work was rewarded when two of his four farms qualified for Conservation Security Program payments.

The New Gascony Farm, 1,436 acres south of Althiemer in Jefferson County, ranked at Tier III – the highest level. The Lake Dick Farm, 1,496 acres, qualified as Tier II.

"My dad’s philosophy has always been to leave the ground better than when you started each year," said Jack Smart, who runs the New Gascony Farm.

To do this, their operation relies heavily on no-till farming and minimizing the number of passes required on each field by using multi-use implements. By planting cover crops in the fall they decrease erosion, get the field ready for spring planting and benefit wildlife.

"Implementing conservation practices into your farming operation makes you money," Felix said. "Soon after I began farming, I quit plowing the fields in the fall and left the stubble on the fields to improve my soil."

The Smarts land leveled almost their entire acreage to reduce run off and erosion and conserve water.

"We recirculate almost all the water we use during the growing season," Jack said. "We can flood most of our fields for waterfowl during the winter."

Although they draw a lot of waterfowl into their farm, they only hunt about five percent of the acreage. The remainder of the land is used for waterfowl rest areas.

The conservation work has also benefited other wildlife on the property.

"Last year, we saw the first wild turkeys ever on the farm," Jack said. "The quail have started coming back, and the deer herd is benefiting as well."

Water Fest

Water is our greatest natural resource and educating the next generation on how to protect it is key.

That was the goal of the Backyard Conservation Water Fest held at Lakewood Middle School in North Little Rock April 12 for more than 700 seventh and eighth graders.

The students learned about aquifers, watersheds, wetlands and what they can do to keep the state’s water clean and clear.

Forty-nine presenters from local non-profit organizations; federal, state and local government agencies; and universities instructed the students at 35 stations. Thirty-one additional volunteers also helped make the event a success.

Sponsors supporting Water Fest included NRCS, Pulaski County Conservation District, Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, Tyson Foods, Central Arkansas Water, Target and Waste Management.
 

Agriculture

NRCS supports Arkansas largest industry

In fiscal year 2006, NRCS distributed $36,802,027 into Arkansas’ economy through its Farm Bill programs.

Agriculture is the state’s largest industry—more than $6 billion annually change hands in the agriculture business. It accounts for one forth of the state’s economic activity, and provides one out of every five jobs. Arkansas is home to 47,483 farms and 69,504 farmers, according to the 2002 census report. One American farmer feeds more than 144 people in the U.S. and abroad.

"And it’s not just the farmer who makes our food possible. The entire agriculture industry, all the way to the grocery store, provides vital links in a chain that brings food to millions of people," said Kalven L. Trice, state conservationist.

Arkansas ranks first nationally in rice production, and second in poultry, cotton and catfish harvested, third in turkey production and forth in yellow pine produced.

"Frankly, it’s easy to take agriculture for granted in Arkansas. Our food is readily accessible and safe. For this, we’re unbelievably fortunate . . . but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an obligation to recognize how it’s made possible," said Trice said.

More than three million people farm or ranch in the United States. Individuals, family partnerships or corporations operate almost 99 percent of U.S. farms. Over 22 million people are employed in farm or farm-related jobs, including production agriculture, farm inputs, processing and marketing, and wholesale and retail sales.

Agriculture is the nation’s #1 export and vitally important in sustaining a healthy economy. The top five agricultural commodities are cattle and calves, dairy products, broilers, corn, and soybeans. U.S. farmers produce 46 percent of the world’s soybeans, 41 percent of the world’s corn, 20.5 percent of the world’s cotton and 13 percent of the world’s wheat.

Farmers and ranchers are independent business people who provide for their families by growing and producing food and fiber. They use modern production techniques to increase the quality and quantity of the food they produce. Forty-one percent of U.S. total land area is farmland (938.28 million acres). In 1900, the average farm size was 147 acres, compared to 441 acres today.
 

Landowners plant 5.6 million trees through Farm Bill programs

The Natural Resources Conservation Service along with Arkansas landowners planted more than 5.6 million trees on 13,578 acres throughout the state in 2006.

Through the Wetlands Reserve Program, Arkansas farmers are taking marginal land out of production and turning it into wildlife havens while benefiting the environment. They planted more than 1.9 million trees on 6,568 acres in 12 counties.

The most commonly planted trees are nuttall, willow, water and overcup oaks; baldcypress; sweet pecan; persimmon; and green ash.

Other commonly planted trees include: tupelo gum; swamp chestnut oak; mulberry; shagbark hickory; pawpaw; button bush; sycamore; silver maple; bitter pecan; cottonwood; wild plum; and pin, shumard, cherrybark, white, bur and southern red oaks.

Another 3.45 million pine and hardwood trees were planted through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to help control erosion, increase forest diversity and health and enhance wildlife habitat. Landowners also planted 312,872 hardwood trees on 1,306 acres through the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.
 

Outreach efforts recruit new customers

Fayetteville FSC reaches out to beginning, limited resource farmers

by Rhonda Foster
Fayetteville FSC
district conservationist

The Fayetteville NRCS Field Service Center is located in one the fastest growing areas in the Southeast United States, Northwest Arkansas.

The office goes beyond basic outreach techniques in order to ensure all landowners in the area are kept up–to-date on programs and technical services. In addition to reaching landowners who are accustomed to USDA programs, we reach out to the numerous beginning and limited resource farmers. Extra steps are taken to ensure effective understanding and knowledge of our programs and free technical assistance.

Ordinary outreach programs relying on word of mouth and walk-in customers are suitable, but not enough for this booming area.

Included in our collection of outreach methods are mass mailings, flyers for workshops and minority meetings, participating in other agency and organization sponsored events, and most importantly, networking with local minority leaders. Fayetteville NRCS is doing all it can to make sure that no minority community is left without a basic understanding of NRCS and its programs.

In addition to our regular methods of outreach, we have just incorporated several new and innovative means to add to our already flourishing outreach program.

Recently, Richard Gutierrez, soil conservation technician, created an office brochure for dispersal during meetings, field visits and events. The brochure, along with a Farm Bill brochure that was translated into Hmong, will add to the assortment of outreach materials we use to get the word out about what the Fayetteville NRCS has to offer landowners of Washington County.

To ensure landowners with limited English understand what is expected of them during the construction of stacking sheds, Gutierrez also developed a portfolio depicting stages of construction. The photos help landowners understand what phases of construction need to be inspected in order to ensure the building is constructed according to NRCS standards and specifications.

The Fayetteville Field Service Center was happy to host the first outreach meetings targeting Asian and Pacific Islander landowners in Northwest Arkansas.

During this introductory outreach meeting employees explained Farm Bill Program applications and the funding process for USDA programs and services.

During the second meeting, standards and specification details for conservation practices were described. These outreach meetings proved very influential in recruiting new customers for USDA programs.

Fencing workshops are another outreach gathering we sponsor in collaboration with the Washington County Conservation District, Farm Service Agency and the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Fencing workshops draw lots of poultry and cattle farmers who are interested in newer fencing technology.

The Fayetteville office is dedicated to spreading the knowledge of NRCS with all landowners who have a sincere interest in conserving natural resources. As district conservationist, I lead the initiative to inform minority landowners throughout Washington County about the programs we offer.

It is through dedication and hard work that this outreach program will continues to flourish and inform the public about the innovative and efficient programs of NRCS.
 

• The Arkansas Civil Rights Advisory Committee (CRAC) serves as an advisory body to the state conservationist.
• Makes recommendations to the state conservationist regarding policies, practices and procedures as they affect equal opportunity and civil rights.
• Identifies emerging Equal Opportunity Program areas needing the state conservationist’s attention.
• Assists the state conservationist in the development of an Affirmative Employment Program and Outreach Plan for Arkansas.
• Provides assistance to the state conservationist in assessing the progress being made on action items in the Affirmative Employment Program.
• Serves as a sounding board for concerns and problems presented by NRCS employees.
• Makes recommendations to the state conservationist regarding ways to address employee concerns and problems.
• Provides information to NRCS personnel about the Equal Opportunity Program, Affirmative Employment Program action items and issues being addressed by the committee.
• Directs employees needing equal opportunity information or assistance to the proper official. Uses by-laws developed by past committees and approved by the state conservationist to guide the committee.
• Accepts award nominations from employees for employees who have performed extra civil rights related activities that enhance the awareness of civil rights in the everyday work life.

What the Committee Does Not Do:

• Assume the role of the state conservationist.
• Establish Equal Opportunity policies, programs, or procedures.
• Involve itself in specific cases of the EEO complaint process or the grievance system.
• Serve as a rubber stamp for existing personnel procedures and systems.
• Select Special Emphasis Program managers or committee members.

Poster Reminder:

Do you have the required civil rights posters prominently displayed in your office? Visit, http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/required_posters.htm, to find out.
 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service held an open house Feb. 6 at the state capitol to celebrate the completion of having a digital soil survey for every county in Arkansas.

Soil surveys are used daily by state and federal government agencies, appraisers, assessors, builders, farmers, foresters, and many others for land use planning, crop determinations and construction site suitability.

In 1995, the Arkansas legislature allocated funds to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (previously known as the Arkansas Soil and Water Commission) to digitize the soil surveys of the Mississippi River Delta for 26 counties in Eastern Arkansas.

The project was a cooperative venture between the Department of Agronomy at the University of Arkansas (now Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Department), the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and NRCS.

By the end of fiscal year 2003, soil surveys of 68 counties in Arkansas were digitized with the support of the Arkansas legislators and state and federal agencies.

In 2006, the digitization of every county of Arkansas was completed. Now soil survey users have access to electronic soil information for the conservation of Arkansas natural resources.

The digital soil surveys are on line at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/.
 

by Chief Arlen L. Lancaster

National Volunteer Week began more than three decades ago through an executive order establishing an annual celebration of volunteering.

Since then, every president of the United States, as well as many governors, mayors, and other elected officials has signed a proclamation promoting National Volunteer Week.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has been utilizing the assistance of volunteers since 1982. Our Earth Team was formally organized in 1985 in response to the workload increases of the Farm Bill legislation passed that year. As we look ahead to the 2007 Farm Bill, we want to encourage you to remember and recognize our volunteers.

These valuable partners will assist us in helping people help the land and, as potential employees, provide us with an opportunity to promote NRCS as the "Employer of Choice."

The 2007 theme is "Earth Team Volunteers – Caring Is Always In Season" and was celebrated April 15-21. This is a great opportunity to thank our volunteers, as well as our volunteer coordinators, who provide this service as a collateral duty.

During 2006, Earth Team Volunteers helped in areas such as field work, data collection, resource survey and analysis, planning assistance, contract and project support, monitoring and evaluation of Wetlands Reserve Program habitat characteristics, conservation engineering assistance, administrative support, and conservation education. Last year, approximately 45,000 volunteers donated an estimated 996,000 hours – equivalent to $17 million worth of service to our agency.

We believe that our volunteers will continue to be an integral part of the conservation team. We encourage you to take this opportunity to thank our Earth Team members and our staff who support this effort.

If you have questions, please contact Pat Hoeffken, Arkansas Earth Team coordinator, at (501) 301-3167.
 

Arkansas Earth Team - Fiscal Year 2006

Arkansas set a state record in fiscal year 2006 with a total of 2,919 volunteers who worked 15,311 volunteer hours. According to the latest figures from the National FY ‘06 Earth Team annual status report, Arkansas ranks seventh in the nation in the number of volunteers and seventeenth in volunteer hours. The total hours Earth Team volunteers contributed in Arkansas this fiscal year are valued at $276,210.44 according to the $18.04 per hour value assigned by the Independent Sector in Washington D.C. The Earth Team numbers soared when the database developers included Arkansas’ group volunteer statistics, as shown below.

• Total Number Volunteers: 2,929
• Total Number of Volunteer Hours: 15,311
• Value of Volunteer Time in Fiscal Year: $276,210.44
• Staff Years Equivalent: 7.4 staff years
   

Did You Know?

Outstanding alumnus

Dr. Greg Phillips, dean of Agriculture, Engineering, and Math & Sciences at Arkansas State University, presented the Outstanding Alumnus Award for 2007 to Bob Young at the Agriculture Council’s Honors Banquet April 12.

Young is the RC&D coordinator for the East Arkansas Resource Conservation and Development program in Jonesboro. He received the award for his dedication to his profession and his leadership in the area of agriculture.

He was commended for his professional accomplishments by faculty, staff and administrative heads of the university including Dr. Robert Potts, chancellor of ASU, Jonesboro.

During his acceptance speech, Young said ASU and the College of Agriculture prepared him well for his career in conservation and community development. He said working with ASU in a collaborative effort on joint projects has given him a great sense of satisfaction.
 

"Good Steward"

NRCS Arkansas issued its inaugural "Good Steward" award at the annual University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Science Fair Exposition Feb. 22.

The recipient of the 2007 "Good Steward" award was Dewanna Jenkins from Pine Bluff High School for her experiment "That Chlorine." Jenkin’s experiment focused on how the capacity of water filters to remove chlorine diminish significantly with only slight increases in chlorine levels.

More than 200 students from area high schools and junior high schools competed in categories such as; earth, space, mathematics, medicine, physics, biology, engineering, environmental and computer science.

The "Good Steward" award was conceived as a platform to recognize a high school student whose experiment was in line with the goals of NRCS.
 

Top contractor

Axioo Construction Co., of Mulberry, Ark., was selected as NRCS Small Business Contractor of the Year for their work on the Point Remove project.

Axioo preformed a variety of heavy construction work for NRCS through six contracts over a six year period. The work consisted of multiple disciplines in the following areas:

• Concrete - difficulty of construction ranged from simple flat work to very difficult structural work in extremely wet conditions.

• Earthfill, compacted - more than 100,000 cubic yards of processed fill was placed with 99 percent of it meeting compaction on first placement.

• Excavation - The project involved excavation below ground water level in very sandy soils and heavy clays as the project area was spread over a 20-square-mile area. They installed multiple well point systems in areas to depths of up to 34 feet below ground level (20 feet below the water table).

• Water Control Structure - Axioo installed five major water control structures. Two involved sheet piling, concrete, sand drain fill, non-woven geotextile, excavation, compacted earthfill and concrete. The two structures were installed in major drainage areas and one had several 100 square miles of drainage.

• Pump Systems - Axioo installed 16 pump systems ranging in size from 60 hp to 317 hp that are capable of lifting 75,000 gallons of water per minute 35 feet. The water is distributed to 20,000 acres of land.

• Wetlands - The company installed numerous pipes, levees and bridges to create and better utilize more than 6,000 acres of wetlands and moist soil units throughout the construction area.

The nomination is being sent to USDA for consideration in their competition.
 

Visiting Schools?

If you are an NRCS employee who regularly responds to requests for school presentation here is an opportunity: The Environmental Education Curriculum, Project Learning Tree will be taught in June in Conway.

The class is targeted towards soil conservationists and technicians. Get your supervisor’s approval to attend and contact Molly Voeller at (501) 301-3133 for more information.

Asian/Pacific American Heritage

During May, we celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month to honor the accomplishments and commitment of Asian Pacific Americans.

Throughout the decades, the principles and cherished traditions of Asian Pacific Americans have infused our way of life, and their diligence and determination have helped build and sustain our nation. For more information regarding the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, contact Rhonda Foster, multicultural emphasis program manager, at (479) 442-4160, Ext. 3 or e-mail at rhonda.foster@ar.usda.gov.
 

Calendar

May

3 -- Northeast Area All Employees Meeting, Village Creek State Park
8 -- South Area All Employees Meeting
16-17 -- Management Team Meeting
22-24 -- Arkansas Rural Development Conference, Hot Springs
28 -- Memorial Day Holiday Observed
 

June

13-14 -- Management Team Meeting
27 -- West Central Area Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts Meeting, College of the Ozarks, Clarksville
 

July

4 -- Independence Day
18-19 -- Management Team Meeting
 

Comings & Goings

• Reed Cripps is the new assistant state conservationist for field operations in the Northeast area in Jonesboro.
• Sandy O’Brien, human resources specialist at the state office, is transferring to rural development.
• George Rheinhardt is the new forester in the state office.
• Ruby Smith is the new secretary at the state office.
• Erica Westbrook, resource conservationist in the state office, transferred to South Carolina NRCS.
• Tammy Willis, district conservationist at the Wynne Field Service Center, is transferring to Ohio NRCS.

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