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September 9, 2009
Senator Lincoln Named Senate Agriculture Committee Chair
With the passing of long time health care reform advocate
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), chair of the Senate Committee
on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), senators
will shuffle committee chairmanships. Senator Christopher
Dodd (D-CT) announced today that he will retain his
committee chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Banking.
As the senior senator in line for the HELP committee chair,
his decision opens the way for next in line, Senator Tom
Harkin (D-IA). Senator Harkin relinquished his chairmanship
of the Senate Committee on Agriculture today to assume the HELP Committee chairmanship. Senator Blanche Lincoln
(D-AR), the next highest-ranking Democrat on the committee
that does not currently serve as chair of another committee
was named today the chair of the Agriculture Committee. NACD
appreciates Senator Harkin's work and
looks forward to working with Senator Lincoln in her new
role. Senator Lincoln was raised on a farm in Arkansas and
has been a strong advocate for agriculture during her time
in Congress. She becomes the first female to chair the
Senate Agriculture Committee.
Click here to see NACD President Steve Robinson’s statement congratulating Senator Lincoln on her new post.
NACD Submits RCA Comments
Last week, NACD submitted comments to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) as part of the Soil and Water
Resources Conservation Act (RCA), outlining the
Association’s perspective on the status of natural resource
conservation in the U.S. The comments reinforced NACD’s
support of locally-led conservation through conservation
districts as an effective means of working with a variety
of landowners and program approaches to accomplish
conservation goals. The comments also stressed the need for
increased capacity to deliver technical assistance, the
need for conservation planning, and the need for greater
collaboration between agencies at the federal, state and
local levels.
States or conservation districts that have not yet submitted
comments can still do so. USDA will accept comments through
September 30. More information on submitting RCA comments
can be found on USDA’s website.
Click here to view
NACD’s RCA comments.
Congress Returns to Washington with a Long To-Do List
Congress returns this week with several must-do legislative
items for the Fall. After heated town hall meetings over
the August Recess, heath care negotiations are top of the
agenda and may delay work on climate change and annual
appropriations bills.
Congress has until September 30 to complete 12
appropriations bills and has not yet finalized any of the
bills. Both the House and Senate have approved separate
FY2010 Agriculture Appropriations bills, but must reach
agreement on a single final version this month. NACD
requested increased funding for Conservation Technical
Assistance and separate funding for RC&D Councils. The
Interior Appropriations bill has passed in the House, but
the Senate has not yet approved their bill, slowing action
on potential funding for the U.S. Forest Service and the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With just three weeks
remaining in the fiscal year, Congress must move quickly
to approve, and the President must sign each of these bills
to continue operation of all federal programs. If action is
not completed, Congress may provide temporary extension(s)
of funding for programs as they have done each year for the
past three years.
Climate change legislation is expected to be introduced in
the Senate this month, and the Senate Agriculture Committee
held a hearing today on potential legislation. The
Committee heard from market experts and agricultural
producer groups. The timeline on review of legislation by
the full Senate is likely to slip from the end of September
to later this fall after the health care debate. President
Obama is requesting passage of climate change legislation
before international climate negotiations in Copenhagen
this December.
Additional information on NACD’s appropriations priorities
and recommendation for climate change legislation is
available at http://www.nacdnet.org/policy/.
Conservation Measurement Tool Demonstration This Week
USDA will host an online demonstration of the web-based
version of the Conservation Measurement Tool (CMT) on
Thursday, September 10 from 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
The CMT will be utilized to implement the new Conservation
Stewardship Program (CSP). The CMT is a conservation
planning tool that builds on existing tools and considers
established and potential practices to determine a
stewardship threshold requirement, ranking and payments
under the new CSP. Districts interested in assisting
producers apply for CSP should participate in this
information session on the CMT.
To participate, please call 888-946-6309 for the audio
portion and log on to the demonstration website for the slide portion of the presentation. Following the
session on Thursday afternoon, replays of the presentation
will be posted for 30 days here. Additional information on CSP and current sign-up can be
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.
Oklahoma Celebrates Watershed Rehabilitation Milestone
More than 200 conservation leaders gathered in Ochelata,
Okla. last week to celebrate a milestone in the national
watershed program. The event marked the completion of the
Double Creek Watershed Project, the first USDA-assisted
watershed project in the nation to have every flood control
dam in a watershed rehabilitated.
During the 1940s and ’50s, more than 11,000 flood control
structures were built in 47 states by the USDA-NRCS with
local conservation districts serving as the local sponsors
of the projects in most instances. Many of these structures
have reached their 50-year life span and need rehabilitation
to continue to function properly.
With limited federal resources, conservation districts have
turned to states to assist with the financial needs. In
Oklahoma, the state legislature provided funding to help
local sponsors meet the 35 percent of the project costs. A
USDA survey indicates that more than 2,000 of these
structures are in need of rehabilitation, with the
Oklahoma conservation districts and the Caney Valley
Conservation District leading the way, the endeavor is off
to a good start. For more information, go to http://www.ok.gov/conservation/.
AG CONNECT Expo Offers Opportunities for Districts
NACD and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)
earlier this year announced that NACD is a key sponsor with
AEM in AG CONNECT Expo 2010, the new global Ag trade show
in North America. AG CONNECT Expo 2010 is slated for January
13-15, 2010 at the Orange County Convention Center in
Orlando, Fla.
AG CONNECT Expo has much to offer conservation district
officials and employees. The Expo will feature the latest
innovations, products, services and technology that make
serious conservation possible: machinery and technology to
do the job and thousands of producers who work large acres
and have a powerful personal interest in soil and water
conservation.
Along with global experts, conservation district attendees at
AG CONNECT Expo will be able to participate in vital
education modules that will enhance their work in
conservation: Renewable Fuels Revolutionizing Agriculture;
The Role of Agriculture and Forestry in a Reduced Carbon
Economy; Bioenergy Feedstocks; Types of Tillage: The Pros
and Cons, Focus on Fertilizer; Precision Planting and
Agricultural Policy Outlook. NACD leadership will also
participate in the trade show portion of the Expo.
For more information, see http://www.AGCONNECT.com.
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