ATHENS, GA, October 1, 2024 — State Conservationist Terrance O. Rudolph of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces a Fiscal Year 2025 statewide federal assistance opportunity for agricultural and forest producers, through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This sign-up that concludes on November 15, 2024, will utilize 2018 Farm Bill and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding.
On June 25th, the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District’s Taylor Sinquefield and Abby Bodiford spoke to 134 4-H members about the importance of soil health in relation to water conservation at the 17th annual 4-H2O event.
Federal, state and local stakeholders convened on March 27 to address the growing issue of, and innovative solutions to address, feral swine in Georgia. The event was hosted by the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District (the District) and held at the Jones Center at Ichauway in Newton, Georgia.
Next feature in our Meet our Team series is Abby Davis. Abby has been with the District since 2014. In October of 2019, Abby transitioned from her role as a Conservation Technician to the District’s first ever Education Coordinator to manage the District’s many growing education and outreach programs, such as Destination Ag, Tisk/Task, our annual education grants, and Wildlife Shows.
On March 3, the wildlife team and their critter entourage captivated students at Calhoun County Elementary in Calhoun County and Lake Park Elementary in Dougherty County. Grady County students at Eastside Elementary and students from Spring Creek Charter Academy in Decatur County enjoyed the fascinating presentation on March 4.
The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District (Flint River SWCD) is pleased to announce the 2020 Stewardship Poster Contest theme: “Where Would We BEE Without Pollinators”. Pollinators are critical to agriculture and healthy ecosystems, but have shown signs of decline in recent years. This year’s poster contest encourages students to explore the importance of pollinators and pollinator habitats to our environment and food systems.
The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District has a lot of new faces, and a few you may recognize. We’ll be taking the next few weeks to introduce and re-introduce you to our wonderful team, share more about their role at the District, and a bit about each of them. First up in our Meet our Team series is Vanessa Merriweather.
On November 21, it was announced that the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District was awarded $1.5 million for a three year project in the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program in the Albany project area. The Albany project area includes parts of Calhoun, Baker, Terrell, and Dougherty Counties.
A new project in partnership between the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the University of Georgia will develop innovative new tools to optimize irrigation water management for pecan production in southwest Georgia and provide outreach to pecan producers in the region.
This year, the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District is recognized for its leadership toward more sustainable agriculture in the heart of Georgia’s breadbasket. The District is responsible for bringing millions of dollars in private and public funds to improve irrigation efficiency impacting some 13 million acres of cropland in the area.
The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District will award up to $2,000 available in grant funds through an Agricultural & Environmental Education Grant for K-12 schools located within the District’s counties. The purpose of the grant is to promote conservation education in local schools and provide additional resources for an educator to teach students about agriculture and/or natural resources in a creative way.
Governor Brian Kemp has declared July 2019 as Smart Irrigation Month in Georgia. Smart Irrigation Month serves as the showcase month to promote the social, economic, and environmental benefits of and farmers’ commitment to the adoption of efficient irrigation technologies, and leading-edge products and services in agriculture, landscape, and turf irrigation.
At the recent monthly meeting of the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District in Colquitt, the Board of Supervisors voted to hire Perri Campis as the District’s Project Director. Campis will provide direct support to the District’s Executive Director in project development, implementation, and management.
The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has recently partnered with the Seminole County FFA Chapter and Young Farmer group to provide an affordable no-till grain drill for rent to local farmers. The purpose of this rental program is to encourage and assist farmers in the implementation of a no-till crop production system and the planting of cover crops. The FFA and Young Farmers will maintain the drill and provide service and technical assistance to participating farmers.
USDA featured the new Irrigator Pro smartphone app - and all of the partners who made its development possible - on the farmers.gov website.
On April 4th the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with ABAC’s Destination Ag Team, presented a dynamic education program to second graders from Dougherty County’s Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. This program exposes students to various aspects and careers in agriculture and natural resources, while meeting Georgia’s education standards. The event took place at Chehaw park, where students and teachers enjoyed the opportunity to learn from the Destination Ag Team, Farmer Fredo of Flint River Fresh, and Chehaw Park.
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