The Daviess County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) hosted a Southern Indiana Grazing Conference in 2010. It was established to work with underserved livestock/grazers producers. Last year, the District had approximately 165 participants attend. This year attendance nearly doubled.
Funding through the Clean Water Indiana (CWI) program enabled the District to provide top notch speakers to show participants two important points: why better managed pastures improve water quality and still allow how to producers to make a profit by maintaining adequate pastures.
Through additional CWI funding, the Daviess County SWCD has partnered with neighboring Knox and Pike County SWCDs to hire a part-time technical employee who will work in the tri-county area to assist with water quality concerns.
Throughout the year, the Daviess County SWCD offers a variety of educational classroom presentations for area schools, scout troops, 4-H groups, civic and other groups. In 2010, the District's Education Coordinator gave 146 classroom presentations, reaching over 3,000 students, grades K-12.
The District's 14th annual Fourth Grade Farm Fair welcomed over 350 students, and 35 teachers and chaperones. This annual all-day event features 17 learning stations with hands-on activities and live animals. Local and area experts volunteer their time to teach about livestock, crops, environmental issues and conservation.
2011 marks the eighth year for the District's MOU with the City of Washington's Stormwater Department to assist with education and outreach for MS4 compliance. One activity includes rain barrel sales this past fall and spring. Twenty-seven rain barrels were sold, with this year's sale to be held soon. Another activity just completed is the Bench for Caps program. The District and the City of Washington partnered with Green Tree Plastics to offer local elementary schools a chance to receive a six-foot recycled plastic playground bench. Six schools participated by each collecting over 250 pounds of plastic caps and lids to be recycled into a bench.
The Daviess County SWCD provides a no-till drill and post-driver for rent to the public. In 2010, a new Truax drill was purchased through CWI funds. In 2010, the new drill covered 420 acres. It is a self-contained unit, which allows large and small producers to use it with ease. In 2010, the post driver hammered 1,642 posts!
The District also offers technical assistance to livestock producers for all of their IDEM permitting and animal waste needs. The animal waste specialist assists with acquisitions of new permits, termination of old ones, maintenance of current ones, and offers guidance in construction of waste storage facilities.
Funds also will be pursued to establish a watershed management plan in the Veale/Hawkins Watershed to allow the District to pursue additional opportunities to improve soil and water quality in the watershed.
All of this and more is being promoted on the District's newly developed Web site: http://daviesscoswcd.org/.