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April 2005
In this Connection:
On April 27th, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will celebrate
70 years of conservation achievements. The anniversary’s theme, “A Partner in
Conservation Since 1935,” reflects the agency’s mission—providing leadership in
a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural
resources and environment.
Read more…
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The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced that
selected watersheds in Berkshire County and Essex County are among the 202
watersheds nationwide to be included in the Conservation Security Program (CSP)
in 2005. Farm owners or operators who have land in the selected watersheds may
be eligible to apply for CSP during the sign-up period that runs now through May
27, 2005.
Read more…
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The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in partnership with
the Cape Cod Conservation District and the Barnstable County Commissioners, is
proposing a major water resources restoration project on Cape Cod. A public
meeting to inform area residents about the project and seek public participation
is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18th, 7:00 pm at the Yarmouth Senior Center, 528
Forest Road, South Yarmouth.
Read more…
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Ten dams built by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation
Service between 1962 and 1987 in the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord rivers watershed –
also known as the SuAsCo watershed – are today providing an estimated $1.7
million in annual flood damage reduction benefits in eastern Massachusetts.
Read more…
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Caron Jones, Natural Resource Specialist in the West Wareham, Massachusetts,
field office has been awarded the NRCS Employee Award for the East Region in the
2005 national Earth Team Awards program. Caron was one of six NRCS employees and
24 volunteers from across the country selected to receive an award this year.
Read more…
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More than 300 Bay State high school students from some 45 public and private
schools across the commonwealth are expected to compete in the eighteenth annual
Massachusetts Envirothon on Thursday, May 12th at Essex Agricultural & Technical
High School in Danvers.
Read more…
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Amateur photographers who enjoy capturing local rural scenes, farm animals
and fresh produce are invited to enter the Massachusetts Agriculture Photo
Contest sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Massachusetts Agriculture in the
Classroom, Inc. Winning photos will be featured in the 2006 Massachusetts
Agriculture Calendar.
Read more…
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The 2002 Census of Agriculture indicated a 13.4 percent increase in the
number of farms operated by women since 1997. A total of 237,819 farms were
reported as having a woman as the principal operator in 2002. Women operated
59,383,557 acres of land in 2002, an increase of 16.5 percent from 1997. In
addition, 84 percent of the women principal operators were full owners of the
farms they operated. Nearly all women principal operators, 95.4 percent, own at
least part of the land they operated. In 2002, women rented or leased 2,137
fewer farms and 83,910 less acres of land than in 1997.
Read more
on the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service website…
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To gather the most accurate information on the 2005 crop
situation, USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service will be asking
farmers about their crops in the June Agricultural Survey. The survey collects
acreage information on field corn, potato, oat and barley plantings, as well as
hay acreage intended for harvest. It also measures grain stocks on hand, and
helps to
establish official statistics for the number of farms and land in farms.
"This annual USDA survey is conducted nationwide and provides information
crucial for reliable estimates of crops, farm numbers and farm acreage in New
England. It's important for New England farmers to participate in the survey so
our region is properly represented," says Aubrey Davis, Director of the New
England field office in Concord, New Hampshire. As with all NASS survey work,
individual operator information is kept strictly confidential.
Approximately 800 New England farmers will receive a letter requesting their
assistance in this voluntary study. Interviewers will be asking for their help
from May 28, 2005 through June
13, 2005.
April 27 - 70th
Anniversary of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. For more
information, visit
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/seventiethannv.html
May 12 - Massachusetts
Envirothon at Essex Agricultural and Technical High School. For more
information, visit www.maenvirothon.org.
May 18 –
Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project public meeting, 7:00 pm
at the Yarmouth Senior Center, South Yarmouth. For more information, visit
http://capecodcd.org.
May 27 - Conservation Security
Program sign-up deadline.
June 1 - Massachusetts
Agriculture Calendar Photo Contest deadline.
top
To receive the Massachusetts Conservation Connection by e-mail, to be removed
from the list, or to submit news items, please send an e-mail message to
Diane.Petit@ma.usda.gov.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership
in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain and improve our
natural resources and environment.
NRCS Massachusetts State Office: 451 West Street, Amherst, MA
01002 | 413-253-4350 | fax 413-253-4395 |
www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov
Cecil Currin, State Conservationist
Jeffrey Anliker, Assistant State Conservationist
NRCS field offices are located at USDA Service Centers in
Barnstable, Greenfield, Hadley, Holden, Pittsfield, Westford and West Wareham.
Visit www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov for
addresses and phone numbers.
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