UPCOMING EVENTS

Arkansas Grown School Garden of the Year Contest Open Through September 9
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​School entries are being accepted for the fourth annual Arkansas Grown School Garden of the Year Contest sponsored by the Arkansas Agriculture Department (AAD) and Farm Credit. Entry forms are available at http://www.aad.arkansas.gov/arkansas-school-garden-of-the-year-contest. A new category has been added to the contest this year for schools interested in starting a school garden. Applicants may be any Arkansas school, grades pre-K through 12, that had a school garden open during the 2016-2017 school year, or any schools planning to start a garden in the 2017-2018 school year.

Entries will be judged by a committee amid categories below. All school applicants except those applying for the school garden start up category will be required to provide photos or video documentation of garden activities and progress. The deadline for submissions is September 9, 2017.

Farm Credit is generously providing funding for winners in the following award categories:
Best School Garden Start-Up Proposal - $500
Best Nutrition Education Based Garden - $500
Best Community Collaboration Garden - $500
Best Environmental Education Focused Garden - $500
Overall Winning Arkansas Grown School Garden of the Year - $1,000

“School gardens are important hands-on educational tools that incorporate math and science skills while teaching students about food production, good nutrition, and the importance of agriculture, our state’s largest industry ,” says Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward. I’m pleased we could add a new award category this year to provide schools interested in starting a school garden to compete for the cash awards generously provided by Farm Credit.

“As a farmer-owned cooperative, we are excited to continue our support of teachers and projects that engage Arkansas students in food production and agricultural sustainability. Through these partnerships, we can ensure that the valuable role of Arkansas agriculture remains top-of-mind for the next generation,” said Farm Credit of Western Arkansas President & CEO, Glen Manchester, on behalf of the Farm Credit cooperatives of Arkansas.

The Arkansas Grown program promotes food and products grown in Arkansas by Arkansas producers, and helps make the connection between growers and buyers. Arkansas Grown is a program of the Arkansas Agriculture Department. Find producers, farmer’s markets, and other local fresh food resources at www.arkansasgrown.org.

With approximately $3.2 billion in assets, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, Delta Agricultural Credit Association, Farm Credit Midsouth, Farm Credit of Western Arkansas support rural communities and agriculture across Arkansas with reliable, consistent credit and financial services today and tomorrow. The four Farm Credit associations in Arkansas are owned by the more than 10,800 customers. Through the cooperative structure, customer-owners have a voice and vote in the associations’ governance and share in their cooperatives’ financial success through cooperative returns, which total more than $184 million since 1997.
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Source: http://www.aad.arkansas.gov/arkansas-grown-school-garden-of-the-year-contest-open-through-september-9

Cover Crops Survey

Following is a link to the 2017 Cover Crop Survey, sponsored by USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (SARE), the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).  This survey is aimed at gauging how farmers are using cover crops across the US and also learning from those farmers not using cover crops so we can better understand the information and knowledge gaps. 
 
If you are a farmer, please spend 10-15 minutes and take the survey.  Your input on cover crops and how they are being used on your farm will be invaluable to helping guide cover crop policies and shape how cover crops are promoted to other farmers. If you are not using cover crops, your insight on reasons why will be important so that we can either facilitate research or change promotion strategies to help you get the information you need to make an informed decision on whether or not to use them in the future.
 
If you are not a farmer, please forward the following link to farmers in your network.  The more responses we can get on this survey, the better the information we collect will be, so I encourage you to do what you can to help distribute the link.
 
Please visit www.tinyurl.com/2017coverssurvey to take the survey.


New Flow Meter Cost Share Program
To help the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC) in its mission in implementing strategies developed from the State Water Plan, ANRC, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is offering up to 50% cost share for installation of meters on agricultural wells that pump from the alluvial aquifer in the Grand Prairie and Cache River Critical Groundwater Areas. The program should place approximately 150 meters in East Arkansas over the next three years. Data from the meters will help the farmer irrigate more efficiently and economically while providing better data for water planning.

For more information on the process of this program, please contact Josh Barnhill at 870-236-2446 ext. 3242.

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Help Support Your 
​Conservation District

​For $35.00 you can have one of these beautifully designed, specialty license plates! For each plate bought, the conservation district will receive $20.00. Visit your local revenue office to buy yours today.
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All programs and services of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Greene County Conservation District are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, religion, sex, age, disability, political beliefs and marital or family status.