Author: Site Owner

NRCS thanks Steve for sharing his firsthand successes with cover crops. Our goal is to share ideas on how to implement soil health principles and cover crops on your farm. Steve Siverling has seen many benefits on his farm through the use of cover crops including increased soil structure and organic matter, less soil compaction and erosion, improved water holding capacity in the soil, improved quality of crop test weights and protein, less purchased fertilizer inputs, potential grazing during fall and spring, increased wildlife habitat, weed suppression, and breaks in pest cycles. “Steve is an active member of our NRCS farmer network with cover crops in Chippewa County and has done a great job networking with other farmers and helping NRCS advance the soil health movement one farm at a time,” said Tammy Lindsay, Chippewa County District Conservationist.

My name is Steve Siverling, and I plant corn, soybeans and a few small grains on 350 acres in northern Wisconsin.  But what I am growing is soil health; I am a biological farmer.

I began my soil health journey and evolution to a biological farmer 20 years ago when I purchased 80 acres near my farm. The soil pH was low, around 5.5, and there was less than one percent organic matter. I couldn’t make immediate improvements to the land that would allow me to plant a crop that could tolerate those conditions, but I had to try something.

My agronomy consultants talked to me about soil health and building soil structure, and I listened. I added one ton per acre of calcium lime to half the ground, manure to the other half and started a corn-soybean rotation. Behind each corn crop, I chopped the residue and applied manure, both in the fall and spring. Behind the soybeans I planted a cover crop of cereal rye after every harvest.  And after several years of this treatment, I started to notice a change.

When I first added the 80 acres, I still did a lot of moldboard plowing and I noticed that on the new ground, when I dropped the plow into the earth, it was like plowing concrete. After several years of the alternating manure and cover crops, I became aware of how the ground worked during tillage; it became mellower. I began to observe other benefits, particularly from the cover crop. As expected, there were periods of drought that came during growing seasons, but, after implementing cover crops, fields remained greener and yields didn’t drop as much.

About that time, I read an article in a farm paper explaining for every 1 percent more organic matter your soil has, the more water-holding capacity the soil would have.

I’ve also noticed the high quality of the grain that comes off my fields. The food-grade soybeans are at the top of their protein scale with good test weight, which means no deductions from the food-grade premium and the test weight of my corn is in the 54- to 58-pound range allowing me to sell corn at a premium—which adds up fast for a small farmer!

I have learned a lot about cover crops over the years. I learned that rye roots help break the soil and supply air into the ground, supplying food for microorganisms, especially earthworms.

Earthworms navigate the soil, and their waste, or worm castings, are very high in nitrogen. A combination of rye and the slow release of nitrogen, helps crops grow during the season. Cover crops build the organic matter, which results in healthy, productive soils. In return, I grow better quality crops with less inputs, especially purchased fertilizer.

This year, I’m working with a seed company to do an experimental cover crop plot on my farm.

We planted six different cover crop mixtures into rectangle plots with a cereal rye and barley and a forage pea mix around the remainder of the field. The idea is to conduct a yield check on the corn in the fall and see if there is a difference in yield using different cover crop mixes, possibly quantifying the benefits of certain cover crops.

The most recent soil test showed organic matter to be 2.5 percent and the pH was 7.0. I can now grow a beautiful crop of alfalfa!

I am very interested in the various combinations of cover crops. For us farmers in Northern Wisconsin, we are limited in what we can use because of the length of our growing season. Am I going to be able to get a dollars and cents return-on-investment for this? I don’t know, only time will tell; here’s hoping. The 2016 weather and growing season will also impact the results of our crops. What an adventure being a farmer, for sure!

This year America celebrates the 50^th Anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act. Alaska was still celebrating its first decade of statehood when the Preservation Act was passed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. Since then, the act has empowered the U.S. Forest Service to identify and preserve the state’s rich cultural history, including heritage sites that date back to time immemorial.

In honor of the 50^th Anniversary, the 49 Sites in the 49^th State website was developed by the Alaska Region and partners such as the State of Alaska, Native corporations and tribes, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, and others to help state residents and out-of-state visitors explore. The site features many historical sites and treasures such as the Iditarod National Historic Trail, Lost Whaling Ships in the Bering Strait, and M/V Chugach ranger boat, the last of 10 Forest Service ranger boats that once plied the waters of the Tongass and Chugach national forests.

In addition, the Forest Service will also host a series of celebratory events over the next year. A new historic property sign was unveiled at the Three Lakes Shelter on Mitkof Island. The Petersburg Ranger District led interpretive hikes in the surrounding forest for kids and adults following the ceremony. The shelter was originally built in 1938 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a program created in 1933 as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. It is one of 39 Adirondack-style shelters built on the Tongass National Forest between the mid-1930s and the early 1940s.

This month, there will be an open house and plaque unveiling for the Cordova Post Office and Court House, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. At that time, it was reported to be the oldest post office buildings in Alaska still in use as a post office. Currently, the building functions as the office for the Chugach National Forest’s Cordova Ranger District.

By Lindsay Seventko, American Forests

When thinking about our forests, thoughts of rich earth, lush foliage and intriguing wildlife typically come to mind. But, any true forest lover should, at least once, visit a forest that isn’t alive at all — America’s beautiful petrified forests. These preserved antiquities offer fascinating insights into the makeup of forests stretching back millions of years and are often breathtakingly beautiful. Take a peek at some of the petrified forests in the U.S., and be sure to add them to your next sightseeing destinations.

1. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

The fossilized forest of Petrified Forest National Park was formed more than 200 million years ago, before the area was transformed into the more barren conditions of today. Long ago, the forest was quickly buried under the sediment of an old river, depriving the logs of oxygen and stopping the decaying process. As the minerals were absorbed into the trunks, crystals slowly formed into beautiful formations of sparkling quartz, amethyst and jasper. Many of the logs appear to be cleanly sliced into sections, as if done on purpose. But, these cuts were made long before chainsaws, when the Colorado Plateau began lifting nearly 60 million years ago, and the stress cleanly shattered the quartz. The anciently preserved logs, stumps and foliage are a brilliant array of sparkling, rainbow-colored crystals that give a glimpse into how radically different the area looked millennia ago.

Recently, new sections of the park have been opened to exploration, and among them, human-like petroglyphs that point to what some of the oldest forest-dwellers looked like. More recently, Puebloan people used the fossilized wood to make tools and build structures. Some of their old homes (circa 1050-1300) have been excavated and restored, offering a fascinating look into these historic peoples’ lives.

2. Yellowstone National Park,Wyoming

Millions of tourists flock to Yellowstone National Park, typically to witness Old Faithful or test of the hot springs’ temperature firsthand. But, one of the lesser known, yet fascinating, parts of this park are the sections of petrified forest. After a volcanic eruption smothered the living forest about 50 million years ago, the lava and ash instantly stopped the decay process and preserved the upright replicas of the ancient trees, some with up to 1,000 tree rings. The forest also has the ancient fossilized wildlife to match — fossils of dinosaurs and a wooly mammoth can be found at nearby museums!

3. Gilboa Fossil Forest, New York

Miraculously, the appearance of the first forests on earth have been preserved through fossils at Gilboa Fossil Forest. Dating back an astonishing 380 million years to the Devonian Period of transitioning from a marine to a terrestrial world, the fossils depict the developing stage of the earth’s first forests. Now in present-day New York, the fossils show how dramatically different the area is now. For starters, it was 20-degrees south of the equator in a tropical zone, and the forest was made up of trees resembling large, fern-like palms.

From rainbow streaked crystal logs to the fossils of the world’s first trees and insights into some of the earliest humans, these ancient forests deserve a visit. Check out these petrified forests or find one near you, and appreciate the history of how we came to enjoy the

The demand for local food is strong and growing. To meet the growing demand, farmers market managers are becoming creative entrepreneurs who connect rural America to urban and suburban businesses.

Last week, during National Farmers Market Week, I had the pleasure of visiting Crofton Farmers Market in Crofton, Maryland, to recognize state and local efforts to bring fresh foods and economic growth into their community. During my visit, I was given a tour of the market by market managers, Chad Houck and Scott Hariton, who are business partners with a passion for their community.

Throughout my tour, I was amazed by the diversity of products offered, and struck by the evolution of farmers markets over the last few decades. This segment of agriculture is a vibrant growth area that is drawing young people back to rural communities, generating jobs and improving the quality of life in communities.  I saw first-hand how farmers markets are bringing people together and providing Americans with fresh products.

With USDA’s continued support, farmers markets and local food systems have seen tremendous growth. In fact, USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory now lists over 8,600 markets, an increase of almost 98 percent between 2006 and 2016.

One of the most appealing aspects of my visit to the Crofton market was when the managers shared their business background as co-owners of a locally grown salsa business, which is also a vendor at the market. To me, this was a perfect display of how farmers markets have become a critical ingredient in local economies providing jobs and opening up direct farm-to-consumer economic transactions. Industry estimates show U.S. local food sales totaled at least $12 billion in 2014, up from $5 billion in 2008, and experts anticipate that value to hit $20 billion by 2019.

Since the 2008 Farm Bill, the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) has awarded over $58 million through 879 projects to support direct marketing efforts for local food. Recognizing the success of this program, Congress expanded FMPP in the 2014 Farm Bill to include the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) to support the aggregation, distribution, storage, and processing of local food. Last year, LFPP funded 191 projects totaling $12.7 million, and the FMPP funded 183 projects totaling $14.4 million. Since 2009, the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program has funded over 250 farmers markets projects totaling $13.5 million to promote fruits and vegetables.

Additionally, many farmers markets vendors provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits to consumers. In 2015, USDA awarded $8.1 million in grants for projects to enhance the effectiveness of SNAP operations at farmers markets through Farmers Market SNAP Support Grants.  All of this has led to SNAP redemptions of $19.4 million at farmers markets in fiscal year 2015.  Accepting SNAP benefits at farmers markets is a win-win-win situation. It expands the customer base for farmers and markets, gives SNAP recipients access to healthy foods, and encourages the sale of locally-sourced produce.

The robust business growth at farmers markets also bring community benefits. Sixty-four percent of markets that host community events reported an increase in customer growth. This combination of a diverse vendor base and community-focused activities allows farmers markets to become ideal business models.

With partnerships between farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers continuing to grow, the result it obvious: these opportunities help drive job growth in agriculture, increase entrepreneurship in rural communities, expand food access and choice, and most importantly provide communities with a space to come together and enhance the quality of their lives and their futures.

The United Nations’ celebrates International Youth every August and this year’s theme is Youth Leading Sustainability. The international recognition focuses on the leading role of young people in pursuing poverty eradication and achieving sustainable development through sustainable production and consumption. There are roughly 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24, the largest generation of youth in human history. They face never-before-seen shifts in populations, economies, technology, health and the environment. USDA and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture help today’s youth navigate these shifts and develop into healthy adults.

Recognizing the voice of youth is important and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) plays a key role in providing positive youth development through the internationally recognized 4-H program, which empowers youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults.

4-H is managed at the national level by 4-H National Headquarters and implemented through Cooperative Extension System partners at land-grant universities. 4-H engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups and families to enhance their strengths through framed learning experiences on topics such as citizenship, science and healthy living. 4-H programs create sustainable change in their communities and help youth find their voice and build their leadership strengths.

NIFA has administered 4-H for more than a century and that deep experience has helped other nations create similar youth development programs. Examples include the Finnish 4-H program, which is more than 90 years old and the 4-H program in Korea that was founded more than 75 years ago. In another example, Kansas State University Extension worked with the nonprofit Partners of the Americas to help make Paraguay’s 4-H program more accessible and relevant for youth throughout the country.

NIFA’s Division of Youth and 4-H makes these activities possible by connecting land-grant extension 4-H youth development experts with federal agencies, organizations and representatives of other countries to exchange ideas, replicate model programs, build global awareness and implement international positive youth development programs.

Youth in Senegal are benefitting from one of the latest partnering efforts.  Since 2015, youth in that West African nation have grown vegetable seedlings and organized money-raising traditional Senegalese wrestling events in a program—Senegal 4-H—modeled after Virginia Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program.

In all, the 4-H model is sustainably leading youth in about 80 other countries. In 2015, nearly 6.5 million adult volunteers and youth sported the green four-leaf clover as they prepared for college, work, career and life. As iconic as it is, 4-H is not just an American phenomenon, its principles have become deeply entrenched abroad, as well.

NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and extension and seeks to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges.

Think you know a lot about the five food groups? The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion – the group that created MyPlate – just released a set of quizzes on the five food groups. These quizzes, designed to challenge, teach, and even entertain, are intended for anyone who wants to learn about the food groups or wants a refresher – adults and kids alike.

USDA’s food groups have been around for about 75 years. Though the current names of the food groups – fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy – have changed slightly over time, the food groups were key components of MyPyramid (2005), the Food Guide Pyramid (1992), Food Wheel (1984), Hassle-Free Daily Food Guide (1979), Basic Four (1956), and Basic Seven (1940). For more information on the previous food guides, visit A Brief History of USDA Food Guides. Food groups make it easier to learn about nutrition and plan healthy meals. Each food group provides specific nutrients that our bodies need, so instead of trying to track dozens of nutrients, you can just focus on getting the five groups.

Like MyPlate and the ChooseMyPlate.gov website, these new quizzes encourage people to make healthy food and beverage choices from all five food groups.

The quizzes will test your knowledge not just on what foods are in each group (Where do tomatoes go anyway?), but they touch upon nutrition, health, and other benefits of each of the food groups (What beneficial nutrients are in whole grains that aren’t in refined grains?).

For all of us, eating healthy is a journey shaped by many factors, including our stage of life, situations, preferences, access to food, culture, traditions, and the personal decisions we make over time. It’s important to remember that all food and beverage choices count. The ChooseMyPlate.gov website offers ideas and tips to help you improve your health. The new MyPlate quizzes are another tool to use to help move yourself – or others – in the right direction.

To test your knowledge of the five food groups, visit www.choosemyplate.gov/quiz.

National Farmers Market Week is a good example of why I say it’s an exciting time to be in agriculture. More than ever, all segments of the food industry are coming together to provide consumers with foods fresh from the farm, and farmers markets lead the way.

As I visited markets in Alexandria, La., and Greenwood, S.C.—and right here in Washington, D.C.—I saw firsthand the positive impact of farmers markets on the businesses and communities around them.  And, through our 2015 Market Managers Survey results, we know that across the nation farmers markets are helping build businesses and bring communities together.

It’s not too late for you to still celebrate National Farmers Market Week! Visit our National Farmers Market Directory to find a market near you.  The directory is a free resource managed by my agency, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

With a 98 percent increase in farmers markets listed in our directory since 2006, more than 8,600 large and small farmers markets are bringing fresh, local foods to consumers and connecting communities with their farmers. At the same time, communities are discovering that their local farmers market is great place to meet friends, learn a new skill, or learn about local art, music and culture.

During the week, we also asked you to share a photo of your favorite part of the farmers market on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtags #marketfav and #localiscool. Well, from Santa Monica, Calif.; to Harker Heights, Texas; to here in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, you responded!  In fact, more than 500 of you used the hashtags to share your market favorites with more than two million people!

The week has been universally celebrated, with market shoppers, farmers and ranchers, rural and urban communities, kids and adults, local cooperatives and state agriculture departments all sharing their #marketfavs and visiting markets.

I would personally like to recognize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for allowing us to “take over” their Instagram account this week to share our agency’s mission and communicate about the role that America’s farmers and ranchers in safeguarding our national food security.

A big thanks also goes to the Farmers Market Coalition for all their tremendous work strengthening and promoting farmers markets and getting the word out about National Farmers Market Week.

Thank you all for making this week a great success by showing America’s farmers and market managers how much we appreciate them and how much we depend on them to make our communities great.

For more on National Farmers Market Week, check out the Farm to Table Talk podcast with Administrator Starmer.

Find out the latest in forest news in this week’s Forest Digest!

• India’s forests are worth $1.7 trillion, more than the GDP of Russia or Canada — Qz.com
  India evaluated the net present value of its forest land in order to compare it to the benefits of converting forests into other uses. The massive valuation of $1.7 trillion will be used to properly adjust fees for developing forested land.
• Rising avocado prices fuelling illegal deforestation in Mexico — The Guardian
  High demand and a premium price on avocados has encouraged Mexican farmers to thin out pine forests in order to plant avocado trees, which may cause drought and a decline in Monarch butterfly populations.
• Getting New Yorkers Into the City’s Wilderness. All 10,000 Acres of It — The New York Times
  Nearly 10,000 acres of New York City’s public parks are forests maintained as if they were wild — without any playgrounds or urban amenities. A new guide to these areas offers ways to escape the urban bustle without leaving the city.
• Extinction Closing in on Hundreds of Species in Dwindling Asian Forests, Duke Study Finds — National Geographic
  A new study on Southeast Asia’s forests reveals that 40 percent of the species are at a higher risk of extinction, more than previously estimated. Protecting their habitat will require international collaboration, as many of the endangered species’ habitats cross national borders.

We are entering a new era of information openness and transparency.  Open data has the potential to spur economic innovation and social transformation.   Focusing just on economic impacts, in 2013, for example, the consulting firm McKinsey estimated the possible global value of open data to be over $3 trillion per year.  A study commissioned by Omidyar Network has likewise calculated that open data could result in an extra $13 trillion over five years in the output of G20 nations.

These impacts illustrate why it is important that we encourage people of every age to invest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.  For example, the White House initiative on Equal Futures Partnership, aims to open more doors to high-quality education and high-paying career opportunities for women and girls in the STEM disciplines, fields in which they are currently underrepresented. To support this effort, Federal science and technology agencies, private corporations, and academic institutions are taking steps to collect better data on women and girls in STEM fields, expand STEM mentoring opportunities, encourage research-driven teaching practices, and increase access to online STEM-skill training.

USDA supports this effort through its participation in the STEMConnector Million Women Mentor program and hosting the USDA Open Data STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Agriculture and Math) Summer Camp (which began its second year July 11^th).

It’s an exciting time to be exploring the ways new datasets, new techniques, and new scientists could be deployed to “make the world a better place.” We have to build with the end in mind. When we tap into the social issue expertise that already exists in many mission-driven organizations like USDA, there is a powerful opportunity to create solutions to make real change. On June 14-15, I was able to participate in the White House Summit on The United State of Women.  This summit, convened by the White House, focused on six pillar topics: economic empowerment, health and wellness, educational opportunity, violence against women, entrepreneurship and innovation and leadership and civic engagement. This forum provided an opportunity for members of the Council for Women and Girls to talk about the data collected on these topics over the past seven and a half years from federal, state/local and corporate information.

The data gathered enabled the presenters to share the outcomes for: 1) Violence Against Women (how we can better prevent it on campus and at home, in the U.S, and abroad and inform law enforcement); 2) Health and Wellness (looking at health coverage and costs, preventative care, pregnancy, etc.); 3) Economic Empowerment (discussing equal pay and paid leave, as well as childcare and diversity); 4) Entrepreneurship and Innovation (supporting female entrepreneurs with access to capital and increasing markets); 5) Access to STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) and Educational Opportunity (covering education for girls and women particularly in STEM, from early childhood to college); 6) Leadership and Civic Engagement (furthering women’s roles in corporations, academia, the media and the public sector).

One of the speakers was Mikaila Ulmer, Founder and CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade. This articulate 11 year old said that when she was four years old she was stung not once, but twice by bees in one week.  Because this experience left her extremely fearful of bees, she decided to overcome her distress by doing research and gathered data on bees.  Mikaila was able to use USDA pollinator data that USDA has made available to the public through data.gov as well as on the USDA pollinator webpage.  It was during her research when Mikaila learned that it was possible for bees to become extinct.  For Mikaila, her enterprise is an environmental and social mission. She donates a portion of the profits from the sale of her lemonade to local and international organizations that are trying to save the honey bees. Honey bees pollinate more than $15 billion of crops each year, which is about one-third of American food groups, including cherries and apples.

We look forward to learning about more projects, such as Mikaila’s, that use open data in the future, a future that includes using data to solve problems and create opportunities.

This National Farmers Market Week, we celebrate a growing national trend that exemplifies the power of partnership in achieving common goals. Across the country, sponsors of USDA’s Summer Meals Programs are joining forces with their local farmers markets, realizing a multitude of shared benefits.  These partnerships increase access to the local seasonal bounty the summer months have to offer and help keep kids and their families nourished and active while school is out. Check out how three communities are taking full advantage of all that farmers markets during the summer months!

Winooski Farmers Market, Winooski, VT

As part of an effort to continue farm to school programming year-round, VT FEED is working with summer sponsors to serve local foods, offer food and nutrition education, and increase access to healthy foods for kids and their families during the summertime. Part of this effort includes piloting two summer meals sites at farmers markets in Winooski and St. Johnsbury.

They offer:

• Locally sourced meals – Colorful plates served up by the Winooski School Department feature a variety of local produce, with a recent lunch featuring local zucchini, summer squash, cilantro, scallions, kale, and strawberries.
• Weekend access – The markets are in full swing and serving up free summer meals on weekend days during the summer, when access to food and nutrition programs can be particularly difficult.
• Benefits for the whole family – Both markets also accept SNAP/EBT, with purchases matched dollar for dollar up to $10 through Crop Cash, so benefits can be spent at the market on fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs to help families continue healthy eating habits at home.

Brooklyn Park Farmers Market, Brooklyn Park, MD

Maryland is no stranger to the trend of farmers markets serving as summer sites, with four farmers markets offering summer meals to kids and teens. But one program is flipping the model and bringing the market to the meal program! Every Monday from June 20 – August 15, the Brooklyn Park Farmers Market was held just outside of Brooklyn Park Middle School, a summer meals site in Anne Arundel County.  At the market, Shlagel Farms – a major source of local produce for the county’s farm to school programs – offered fresh, locally grown produce that could be purchased with cash, SNAP/EBT, and WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program benefits. The market became a hub of fresh, seasonal, local foods and healthy activities for the whole family: right on school grounds. This partnership also fosters:

• Menu alignment– A recent summer lunch included local cucumbers, peaches, and blueberries- the same items available for purchase at the market!
• Complementary activities – In partnership with the local Parks & Recreation department, the market also offers fun nutrition and wellness-focused activities.  The local library holds story time, and gives free books to children to encourage reading throughout the summer months.

The Mulberry Farmers Market, Macon, GA

Macon, Georgia’s Mulberry Farmers Market is a year-round farmers market in its seventh year of operation and its very first serving as a summer meals site.  The Bibb County School District, the Mulberry Farmers Market, and a local nonprofit organization combined forces to do what each does best!  Key ingredients to their success include:

• A kick-off event – Dozens of children attended the market’s summer meals kick-off, which helped raise awareness about the market and its summer meals program. Kids enjoyed a delicious salad featuring local greens and vegetables, cheese, and apple slices, along with fun and free activities that kept them moving all day long.
• Engaging with producers – The site organized a scavenger hunt with the farmers market vendors, which led to some great conversations between kids and farmers!

These programs, and many more around the country, are showcasing the important role that farmers markets can play as hubs for healthy foods, activities, and community engagement during the summer months.  Interested in learning more about bringing the farm to summer meals sites? Check out USDA’s Farm to Summer website, and our Farmers Market and Summer Meals Program fact sheet for an overview of the partnerships that can take place between farmers markets and summer meals. To find out more about summer meals sites in your area, visit the Summer Site Finder.  Or to get involved yourself, consider becoming a site sponsor or helping raise awareness in your area.