Jackson County SWCD Success Story
A public official’s tour was held on three different farms in March 2015 in order to showcase a wide variety of resource concerns, and conservation practices. Public Officials were given the opportunity to tour a livestock operation owned by a mother/daughter team who strive to focus on many different aspects of conservation. These ladies were in attendance that night to answer questions or comments from the officials. Another tour stop focused on controlling erosion on a farm owned in part by two sisters.
The District Conservationist spoke at each stop in order to explain what resource concerns were observed during the planning process, the different conservation practices that were implemented in each location, and how these conservation practices addressed or improved the identified resource concerns. She also answered technical questions posed by the public officials based on what they observed at each tour stop. Twenty-four people were in attendance at the tour, and many offered comments at the conclusion that they now understood in more detail the correlation between the installed practices and the resource concerns – including the tour bus driver.
Due to the engaging questions and encouraging feedback the board decided to host a Public Official’s tour annually.
Above photo: Shasta Woodard, NRCS District Conservationist, discusses the planning and implementation of roof runoff systems during the 2016 Jackson County SWCD Public Officials Tour. Left to Right: Brian Thompson, County Councilman, Jim Lucas, US House Representative, Ann Kellar, farm landowner, Mary Elisabeth Kellar, farm landowner, Richard Beckhort, Purdue Extension, Leon Pottschmidt, County Councilman, Charlie Fox, Jackson County SWCD Board President, Melissa Acton, representative for Todd Young – US Senate, Dave Wiesehan, private landowner, Laura Fribley, ISDA District Support Specialist, Grant VonDielingen, Jackson County SWCD Board Supervisor, Milton Otte (back to camera), farm operator, Denver Hackman, Jackson County SWCD Board Supervisor, Shasta Woodard, NRCS District Conservationist, and Jeanna Eppley, Jackson County SWCD Board Associate Supervisor.