Arkansas Conservation News -- Winter 2008

Conservation Corner

Kalven L. Trice
State Conservationist

Dear Arkansas NRCS Staff,

Greetings! As we begin 2008, I want to thank you again for all you do for conservation. I know you have heard me brag about Arkansas and the wonderful work that we do. I am proud of you. Working together with farmers and ranchers, as well as our partners, we have done great things to improve and protect the natural resources here.

We now have an opportunity to celebrate our enthusiasm for conservation across the country with the kick-off of a national campaign entitled, "Conservation—Our Purpose, Our Passion." The campaign will share the stories of our successes with consumers, producers, government and private entities, and others as it highlights the success of projects and the "passion" we all have for what we do.

While we have all chosen or followed our careers for different reasons, I know we have all had those feelings, those moments when we are proud of what we do and feel that "passion" for the path we have chosen. We know farmers and ranchers who feel this way about the land they work and love. This campaign is an opportunity to celebrate that.

Thank you again for being part of the conservation effort in Arkansas. I hope you share your story and your passion with others as we celebrate our conservation purpose with what we do on a daily basis.

Sincerely
 

UAM students get view of NRCS work

The Monticello Field Service Center staff is helping give University of Arkansas, Monticello, students a view of the way NRCS approaches conservation.

James Reynold, Drew County district conservationist, Mark Robinson, soil conservation technician, and Stephanie Priest, Southeast Arkansas RC&D coordinator, gave a presentation on NRCS programs and practices to an Introduction to Wildlife Conservation class at the school.

More than 20 students also toured a 1,518 acre Wetlands Reserve Program site in Drew County.

During the tour, Reynolds, Robinson and Steve Jacks, resource conservationist at the Monticello Technical Service Center, showed students how Wetlands Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Reserve Program practices were used at the site.
 

A river runs through it -- well, almost

by Creston Shrum
Public Affairs

Ground water from the Sparta-Memphis Aquifer in eastern Arkansas, like many aquifers across the country, is being withdrawn at such a rate that the aquifer is in danger of being permanently damaged.

And for one Poinsett County farmer, he isn’t going to wait for that to happen before he tries to fix the water problems he sees down the road.

"We’ll get to a point where there isn’t any groundwater," said David Williams, who has been farming 3,200 acres outside of Harrisburg the past 16 years. "Through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program we put in a reservoir to ensure we have water."

Williams’ system includes a 50-acre reservoir, a tail-water recovery pit and more than 2,300 feet of underground pipe. Ninety-acres of land have also been leveled, according to John Wheeler, Poinsett County district conservationist.

"With the ditch running through our property and the system we have installed, we can catch 3,500 to 4,000 acres of water drainage," said Williams who grows soybeans and rice on the land his father and grandfather began farming in 1948. The Williams’ farm consists of 600 acres.

"Our wells are 180-feet deep and the water level is currently at 150 feet. It can be very costly pumping water that distance. We spend about $2,300 a week pumping per well. With four wells running most of the time from May to August, the bill adds up quickly," he said.

"To pump from the tail-water recovery system to the reservoir then from the reservoir to the fields only costs about $1,000 a season," Williams said. "Also, with well water, we have an issue with salinity and the cold water stunts the plants around the outlet pipe. We don’t have that problem with water from the reservoir."

The work hasn’t only conserved water, saved money and improved water quality. It also provides recreational benefits.

Many evenings, the Williams can be found fishing at the reservoir for the bass, catfish, crappie and bluegill he stocked.

Fargo Agricultural School

Museum preserves, highlights history of AG school

by Pat Hoeffken
Public Affairs

Mrs. Geraldine Purcell Davidson opened the door, and we stepped back into the year 1919 in the Fargo Agricultural Museum. Mrs. Davidson, museum curator, had been a student at the school, and preserving its history is her passion. The museum preserves the rural heritage of Arkansas’ African Americans.

Mrs. Davidson is a small, regal woman with large, graceful gestures. But it was her eyes and voice that captivated us, as she handed us a brochure and began her story.

In 1919, Dr. Floyd Brown established the Fargo Agricultural School, a private residential high school for Black youth. At its peak in the 1940s, the school had nearly 200 students who lived, worked and studied on the 800-acre school and farm.

"My grandmother, Molly Mary Purcell, was at the ground-breaking ceremony on Thanksgiving day 1919, when they began construction on the first school building," she said.

Dr. Brown modeled the school on the Tuskegee Institute, his alma mater. He motivated the students to study, work and improve themselves as he was inspired by his mentor, Booker T. Washington, at Tuskegee.

"‘Work will win’ was our motto," she said in a staccato voice. "We had an outstanding academic and vocational curriculum at a time when little public education was available to African Americans. The cost was $15 a month for room, board, and tuition, but no one was turned away for lack of payment. That’s my picture up there with the Class of 1947," she said.

Male students worked on the school farm and produced 90 percent of the food consumed at the school. They also constructed the campus buildings. Female students learned home economics, needlepoint, sewing and food preservation.

The student’s community service included resurfacing dirt roads with gravel and stringing electrical and telephone wires to neighboring communities. "We learned to work with our hands, our heads and our hearts," she said.

In 1935, they built a gymnasium and developed state championship sports teams and choral groups that traveled the state.

"Dr. Brown was a man of great dignity who taught students to care for themselves and others," she said.

He changed hundreds of lives through education and community improvements.

To tour the museum, contact the Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation at (870) 734-1140. The museum is located on Dr. Floyd Brown Drive in Fargo, four miles north of Brinkley on Highway 49.
 

Energy efficiency

by Lori Barker
Ozark Foothills RC&D

Tom and Margaret Vanemburg of Desha, Ark., who own and operate six broiler houses, are the first landowners in Arkansas to receive a 9006 Energy Efficiency grant/loan.

The Vanemburgs received a $51,780 grant/loan from the Rural Development Administration Energy Efficiency 9006 Loan and Grant Program to finance energy efficiency improvements in the six poultry houses.

The Ozark Foothills Resource Conservation and Development Council held an outreach meeting to promote the Rural Development 9006 Program in April. After the meeting, the Vanemburg’s came to the council for help with their application.

This grant/loan will provide funds to assist the Vanemburg’s with improvements to their chicken houses, includinf purchasing and installing lighting with dimmer controls, roll seal doors for the front of the houses, seal off back doors, tunnel doors for the cool cells and a completed energy audit on all six houses. The new equipment will increase their energy efficiency and decrease their electricity cost by $4,584 per year.

The Vanemburgs are also looking into changing from a propane heating unit to a corn-burning, forced air furnace as the primary heating method. The corn furnaces are a new heating source used by a few other poultry operators in north Arkansas, Missouri and Iowa. By using the renewable heat source, they could see a savings of 9,462 gallons of propane per year, equaling 866.7 million Btu.

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency loan and grant program was established under Section 9006 of the 2002 Farm Bill. It provides loan guarantees and grants to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for the purchase and installation of renewable energy systems or for energy efficiency improvements.

The application period began Oct. 1, 2007, for new loans and but the notice to apply for the grants may not be out until spring.

Editor’s Note: For questions about applying, contact Lori Barker at (870) 523-8986, ext. 4, or lori.barker@ar.usda.gov or contact the local Rural Development office.
 

Conference highlights energy saving ideas for farmers

Landowners, vendors and government employees met in September to see what energy saving and alternative heating sources are available for installation on poultry and grain farms.

The conference also discussed USDA and state programs available to assist with funding the improvements.

More than 70 people attended the Energy Conservation Opportunities on the Farm Conference. The program was hosted by Arkansas’ seven Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) councils, the Arkansas Association of Resource Conservation and Development Council (AARC&D), the National Association of Resource Conservation and Development (NARC&D) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The RC&D councils were approached by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) and the AARC&D to promote and organize outreach efforts for the RDA 9006 program and other energy programs.

"The 9006 program had not been a success for Arkansas since it began a few years back and the RDA knew the councils had a great working relationships with rural Arkansas landowners," said Lori Barker, Ozark Foothills RC&D coordinator.

"A primary objective of the conference was to help attendees develop a comprehensive and factual understanding of energy conservation opportunities," said Barker. "The farmers said the conference gave them so many ideas to save energy and funding sources for the practices."

The challenge for farmers and small business owners is getting started and knowing what the first steps toward energy conservation are in their business.

"There is a lot of sound and factual information regarding energy conservation and equipment available to achieve savings," Barker said.

"Landowners often see energy conservation as a ‘great idea, but think they can’t afford or manage to get those items installed," she said.
 

by Pat Hoeffken
Public Affairs

District Secretary Sandy White has been the NRCS Earth Team area volunteer coordinator for the south area for almost six years. Sandy balances part-time work as the Ouachita County Conservation District secretary in the Camden Field Service Center, college where she is pursuing a degree in environmental science, with home and volunteering. She also participates in several volunteer management training events.

Sandy is committed to the Earth Team Volunteer Program. She is energetic, friendly, and embraces new ideas. "The Earth Team Volunteer Program really helps NRCS personnel in the field," said Sandy, "I enjoy seeing the satisfaction volunteers get from what they do. I hear volunteers say, ‘I really enjoyed this and I want to do it again.’"

During the last 10 years, volunteering for government has been one of the fastest growing areas of volunteer involvement. "I would like to show the offices that don’t use volunteers the benefits of utilizing volunteers," said Sandy. Volunteers in her county work primarily at forestry contests, river cleanup, and testing local water bodies with water quality monitoring kits. Camden Field Service Center volunteers know Sandy will get out in the dirt and work along side them.

District Conservationist Doug Hunter and the Camden Field Service Center received the Earth Team Field Service Center of the Year award in 2006. "We have really worked hard to get volunteers," said Hunter.

Sandy rewards volunteer contributions by saying ‘thank you,’ giving a hand shake, a smile, lunch and presenting items of appreciation and awards. "It’s important. It shows appreciation for what they did. Everyone loves to feel needed," Sandy says with a shy, warm smile. She provides the motivational pay back that keeps Earth Team volunteers coming back to help NRCS.

On weekends, Sandy enjoys riding her registered quarter horses that she keeps on her 30-acre pasture. During show season, she competes in riding contests and has won several awards at horse shows.

If you want something done, ask a busy person. "Being an area volunteer coordinator has been a ‘growing’ experience, and I have learned to be open to new ideas. I feel involved and a part of the whole national Earth Team program," said Sandy, "and I’ve learned to be a better public speaker."

She was honored for her volunteer management contributions during the NRCS, South Area Employee Appreciation Day ceremony in November.

2007 Retirements

• David Austin - 33 years
  Retirement date: Jan. 3, 2008
  Last position: Soil conservation technician, Star City
  First position: Engineering aid, Pine Bluff

• Mike Benton - 33 years
  Retirement date: Dec. 30, 2007
  Last position: Soil conservationist, Benton
  First position: Soil conservationist, Ash Flat

• James Caudle - 36 years
  Retirement date: Jan. 3, 2008
  Last position: Supervisory soil conservationist, State Office
  First position: Agronomist, Las Cruces, NM

• Howard Coleman - 33 years
  Retirement date: Jan. 3, 2008
  Last position: Soil conservation technician, Fort Smith
  First position: Surveying aid, West Helena

• Mickey Evans - 37 years
  Retirement date: Nov. 3, 2007
  Last position: Soil conservationist, Russellville
  First position: Soil conservationist, Forrest City

• Jim Ferguson - 42 years
  Retirement date: Jan. 3, 2008
  Last position: Civil engineer, Searcy
  First position: Agricultural engineer, Fort Smith

• James Harness - 34 years
  Retirement date: Aug. 4, 2007
  Last position: Civil engineering technician, Lonoke
  First position: Soil conservation aid, Little Rock

• Sid Lowrance - 31 years
  Retirement date: Jan. 3, 2008
  Last position: Soil conservationist, Searcy
  First position: Soil conservation aid, Salem

• Merle Metcalf - 41 years
  Retirement date: Jan. 3, 2008
  Last position: Soil conservationist, Mena
  First position: Soil conservation aid, Waldron

• Tommy Neeley - 36 years
  Retirement date: Jan. 3, 2008
  Last position: Program analyst, State Office
  First position: Air traffic controller

• Ronald Rice - 32 years
  Retirement date: March 3, 2007
  Last position: Soil conservation technician, Batesville
  First position: Engineering aid, Walnut Ridge

• Jimmy Rietzke - 32 years
  Retirement date: June 3, 2007
  Last position: Civil engineer, State Office
  First position: Surveying aid, Russellville

• Jerry Robertson - 36 years
  Retirement date: Jan. 3, 2008
  Last position: Soil conservation technician, Clarksville
  First position: Soil conservation aid, Paris

• Mozell Williams - 30 years
  Retirement date: July 3, 2007
  Last position: Soil conservationist, Marion
  First position: Soil scientist, Arkadelphia

NRCS National Volunteer Coordinator of the Year

Arkansas Forester of the Year

Calendar

February

14 -- PCMS/Voyager Card Training for Northwest Area, Fort Smith
18 -- Presidents Day Holiday
19 -- Program Managers Meeting, State Office
20-21 -- Management Team Meeting, State Office
21 -- Wildlife Training for Foresters, Arkadelphia
25 -- Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference, Wyndham Riverfront Hilton, North Little Rock
26 -- PCMS/Voyager Card Training for Northwest Area, Harrison
28 -- PCMS/Voyager Card Training, State Office

March

2-5 -- Southwest States RC&D Conference, St. Louis
12 -- Women’s History Program, Brown’s Country Kitchen, Benton
13 -- PCMS/Voyager Card Make Up Training, State Office
17-18 -- North Arkansas Forest Landowners Training Conference, University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville
17-21 -- Management Team Strategic Planning Session, Fayetteville

April

8 -- Working with Limited Resource Pasture Landowners
15 -- University of Arkansas Forestry/Livestock Field Day, Batesville
15 -- Program Managers Meeting, State Office
16-17 -- Management Team Meeting, State Office
 

Comings & Goings

• Jane Lowry is the new soil conservation technician at Fort Smith
• Derinda Smith is the new soil conservationist at Walnut Ridge
• Mary Wheeler is the new district conservationist in Helena
  

< Back to Newsletters