Montgomery County Soil Conservation District

SCHOLARSHIPS!
As part of the UT/TSU Beginning Farmer Outreach Program, we are pleased to offer scholarships to attend either the Pick TN Conference in Franklin TN or SSAWG Conference in Arkansas in 2020. The scholarship will reimburse you a maximum of $500 to offset the costs of attending the conference. You must register & make your own travel arrangements and then you turn in receipts for reimbursement.

PRIOR APPROVAL IS REQUIRED! PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ARRANGEMENTS AND EXPECT TO BE REIMBURSED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN NOTIFIED OF SELECTION. PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE NOTIFICATION BY December 13th, 2019.

l to r: Richard Davis – Paul McKinney, Treasurer – Johnny Head, Chairman – Mayor Durrett – JD Bumpus, Vice Chair – Cody Greene

September 20, 2019 will mark 75 years since the establishment of the Montgomery County Soil Conservation District. THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICT is one of 95 districts in Tennessee responsible for conservation programs within their counties. The MCSCD was the 23rd District in the State of Tennessee to be chartered on September 20, 1944 by founding board members James G. Childers, Cuyler Dunbar, David Hinton, Banks Batson, and James W. Cross, Jr.

l to r: James G. Childers, Cuyler Dunbar, Banks Batson, James W. Cross, Jr.

Soil erosion control and water quality improvement are the primary concerns of the District. It is the mission of the District to coordinate assistance and develop locally driven solutions to natural resource problems. The District strives to inform owners/operators on ways to reduce erosion and improve water quality through a comprehensive program of technical, financial, and educational resources and making them available to land users of Montgomery County.
More than 14,000 farm plans have been developed for Montgomery County agricultural use including beginning and veteran farmers over the last 75 years. The MCSCD has been involved in agriculture in the classroom, hosted Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4-H events, and sponsors an annual scholarship for students majoring in Ag-related fields. Johnny Head, District Board Chairman emphasized, “It is equally important that we teach tomorrow’s generation how to care and work the land both in agriculture but also in conservation for water quality purposes and good soil use.”
Current board members serving today are Johnny Head, Chairman; JD Bumpus, Vice Chair; Paul McKinney, Treasurer; Richard Davis, Member; Cody Greene, Member.

1st place FFA – Clarksville High FFA
Megan Summer
Logan Thurman
Will Comperry
Nina Cates
*cash and awards sponsored by Farm Bureau

2nd place FFA – Montgomery Central High FFA
Devon Bowles
Jacob Nicholson
Allie Baccus
Emily Greene
*awards sponsored by Nutrien

1st place 4H – Montgomery Central High 4-H
Katie McCall
Datin Pendergrass
Elayna Martinez
Mary Grace Key
*cash and awards sponsored by Farm Bureau

2nd place 4H – Kenwood High
Tyarah Yambo
Oliver Hickman
Elana Adkins
Peggy Hinson
*awards sponsored by Nutrien

INDIVIDUAL HIGHEST SCORES
*cash and awards sponsored by Farm Bureau
1st place – Will Comperry, CHS
2nd place – Devon Bowles, MCHS
3rd place – Megan Summer, CHS

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This year the Cooperative Extension’s Small Farms Expo will be held at the Agricultural Complex at 2904 John A Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN, 37209 on SEPTEMBER 4, 2019!  It will be a host of great topics, tips and information for small farmers!  Conferences, field tours and educational workshops are just a few of the items they will offer.  Go here for a more detailed agenda – Registration is free!  Get connected!

Now is the time to apply for cost-share assistance on cover crops for the FALL 2019 SEASON.  Preliminary site visits to determine eligibility will need to be made, so the applications need to be submitted fairly soon to allow time for scheduling visits.

The applications are funded on a 1^st come, 1^st serve basis and funds are limited, so the early bird will have a better chance in getting the bird seed cost-shared.

The practice standards for cover crops go into more depth about requirements, see below for the guidelines on cover crops.

• Visit office to submit application
• site visits to determine eligibility
• applicant receives notification that application is approved
• cover crop is sown by broadcasting, drilling or flying on between 8/15 & 10/15
• applicant submits invoices for seed, with species & lbs to SCD office
• site visits to certify right seed/place/time
• payment application is generated & applicant receives a check for eligible expenses

Cover crops shall be aerially seeded or drilled into existing residue.
Incentive payments for cover crops shall not exceed 75% of the project cost (including specialized equipment costs). Cooperators sowing cover crops will be eligible to receive $25 per acre for planting two or more species (of their own choosing), or $35 per acre for planting an official NRCS “soil health mix”. They will be paid an incentive of the appropriate rate above or 75% of their total bills, whichever is less. Harvesting, haying or grazing will be allowed on custom-mixed cover crop practices, after April 1st. Acreage sowed with an official NRCS “soil health mix” must follow NRCS specifications as it pertains to harvesting and/or grazing the cover crop. Seeding rates and dates for custom-mixed cover crops can be either that specified in the NRCS Conservation Plan or in accordance with the University of Tennessee Publication PB 378. Seeding rates and dates for official NRCS “soil health mixes” must adhere to NRCS specifications.

If you have any questions, you may contact our office (931.368.0252 x 3) or nancyl.holt@usda.gov – this cost share is available in many counties.  Feel free to share to anyone that might be interested.