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In early January, we had the pleasure of attending the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD) annual conference with the theme Rooted in Conservation: Growing Forward. They hosted an inaugural Clean Water Indiana (CWI) Breakfast at the Statehouse to thank legislators for their historic investment in conservation in 2023, showcase statewide conservation efforts, and facilitate conversations between legislators and local conservation staff and supervisors. Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch spoke of the importance of local leaders, SWCDs and conservation partners in getting conservation on the ground. A huge thank you to the local Urban Soil Health Working Group PHISH and Lisa McPhee at the Morgan County SWCD for planting and bringing cover crop root tubes that were displayed on the floor of the statehouse.

Northwest

From Food to Flowers: Everything Local Conference – Marian Rodriguez-Soto presented results from Brassica Bolting Trial conducted at the Pinney Purdue Ag Center in collaboration with Liz Maynard and Rebecca Koetz to Illinois growers, networked with Illinois extension specialists, and attended educational sessions. 

Southwest

Partnering with District 6 Market in Vigo County to put on an educational series over the next year and beyond. They are excited to be able to use USH as a resource for more technical information.  We will use soil health demos and highlight specific topics such as companion planting, cover crops, pollinators, mulching and others.  

Have acquired a set of root tubes for a cover crop display. Will be available to use at USH events!

Southeast

Megan will partner with two farmers over three years via a recently-awarded SARE grant entitled “Solving the Compost Conundrum: Utilizing Microbial Inoculation to Increase Soil Fertility and Health on Small Farms, 2024-2026"

The "Keep It Growing: Season Extension Workshop" continues with its fifth session this past January. Anyone in the Southeast interested in joining the next sessions can contact Megan directly mayers@urbansoilhealth.org and session info here: https://www.urbansoilhealth.org/events.  

Working Group Highlights

All

Six new Local Urban Soil Health Working Groups started up in 2023, and were acknowledged with Certificates of Appreciation at the IASWCD Annual Conference. They include Allen County's Healthy Soils Collaborative, the Soil Guardians of DeKalb-Steuben, Parke-Vermillion Soil Health Alliance, Let's Dig (Dubois County), SOILS (Wayne County), SOIL (Clark County), Hanover Compost Cooperative (Jefferson County), Bartholomew Conservation, and groups in Scott and Shelby Counties.   

It was a lot of fun to see all these people show up to learn about soil health

Madison Co is starting a working group! Their partners are enthusiastic and they have their kickoff meeting scheduled. They are excited to focus more on soil health education, site visits, and technical assistance to their county.    

Southwest

Parke/Vigo/Vermillion SH Alliance met in January to start planning their year. They will host a Garden Program on March 6. More planning and information to come but topics to be covered are Organic Agriculture and Requirements, beneficial insects, and Regenerative Agriculture on Small Scale Plots. 

Johnson County will be having its first meeting and starting those first steps to becoming a working group.  

Let's Dig- Dubois County is one of the newest working groups in the SW. They have completed site visit training and soil sampling with the USH Specialist and have begun doing that work on their own. They hope to bring in local high school students to be a part of their group and provide them with hands on experience and learning opportunities.  

Southeast

Hanover Compost Collaborative kicked off their compost project with a two part hands-on workshop series Part 1: "Move That Pile: Transitioning and Aerated Static Compost Pile into a Windrow" and Part 2: "Windrow Compost Health"

Feb. 13 and 14 - Midwest Cover Crop Council Annual Meeting & Conference

Indianapolis, IN. Register online.

Feb. 20 - Urban Updates

Monthly virtual call - 9 - 10:30am Eastern

Topic: Nutrient Management Calculator  

Feb. 22 - 24 - Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference

LaCrosse, WI

Whether you’re certified organic, using organic practices on your regenerative farm, or considering the switch to organic, you’ll find the people, partners, and skill-building opportunities to help your farm business thrive. More info.

Feb. 22 - Ag Women 2024 Engage Conference

Fort Wayne, IN

The Purdue Women in Agriculture Team is excited to offer this annual event designed to educate and uplift women involved in any aspect of the agricultural industry. Through pre-conference workshops, a keynote speaker, and breakout presentations, attendees will learn how to better manage risk, enhance their farms and agribusiness operations, and network with other ag women throughout Indiana. Register.

Feb. 23 - Coffee and Planting for Pollinators

Virtual from Allen Co SWCD

https://allenswcd.org/coffee-and/  

Feb. 24 - Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training

Virtual

The PSA Grower Training Course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement. Learn more

Feb. 29 & March 1 - Indiana Small Farm Conference

Hendricks County Fairgrounds, Danville

The Indiana Small Farm Conference serves as the annual educational and farmer-to-farmer networking event for the Indiana small and diversified farm community. This conference includes keynote presentations, a trade show, and opportunities for urban farmers to meet, network, and learn. For more information or to register.

March 5, 6, & 7 - Elkhart County Pay Dirt 2024

Goshen, IN

Land users, contractors, engineers, surveyors, excavators, erosion control inspectors, and more. Three day event; attend one or all three days. Learn more or purchase tickets.

March 19 - Indiana Grown Symposium

Hendricks County Fairgrounds

Registration is required for this event, continental breakfast and lunch are included in registration fee. You can register here. Registration is currently open! Any questions please contact Indiana Grown: indianagrown@isda.in.gov

March 19 - Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training

Goshen, IN

The PSA Grower Training Course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement. Register online.

March 20 - Soil-Con

Syracuse, IN  

Soil-Con is designed as a working meeting to provide a roadmap for collaborative exploration into the connections within soil health, the soil food web, and ecological risk of pest management strategies and developing long-term solutions for regenerative food systems. More info.

March 22 Coffee and Interpreting a Soil Test

virtual from Allen Co SWCD

https://allenswcd.org/coffee-and/  

March 23 Allen County Garden Symposium

Fort Wayne, IN

This year’s theme is sustainability, and features 5 knowledgeable speakers who will discuss a variety of skills to use in our own gardens and landscapes.  Register.

NACD Urban and Community Conservation Grants  

The FY 2024 application period for the UAC grants is now open, with an application deadline of 11:59 p.m. PT, April 1, 2024. Only conservation districts, as defined by state statute and tribes, are eligible to apply for these grants. More info.

Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) - Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant (RFSI) Grant Program. The purpose of this program is to improve food supply resilience in the middle of the food chain through increasing distribution, aggregation, storage capacity, market expansion and facility updates/expansions.  

• Who's eligible? Indiana businesses, producers, and organizations/institutions that work in the middle of the food chain sector, defined as “from the farm gate to end point retail” or the processing and aggregation/distribution sector of the food chain.  

• Grants range from $10,000-$100,000 for specialty equipment and $100,000- $3M for infrastructure. Applications will be due to ISDA on March 8, 2024 by 12:00 pm (noon) EST.

Indiana NRCS is still accepting applications for the second round of Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) funding through March 15. CSP is a financial assistance program for producers who are already established conservation stewards and who want to add more conservation benefits on their land, such as improved water and soil quality, climate-smart agricultural practices and enhanced wildlife habitat.

• There are new opportunities for small-scale, diversified producers to participate in CSP. Contact USH or NRCS directly for more information about Indiana NRCS and other technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/indiana or contact your district conservationist at Farmers.gov/service-locator.  

USDA Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry 2024 Challenge Cost Share Grant Program. Application deadline: Feb. 29, 2024.  

EPA’s Community Change Grants Program announced $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds for environmental and climate justice activities. Technical assistance for grant preparation is available. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with initial award selections beginning in March 2024. The final application deadline is Nov. 21, 2024.  

Federal Funding Tip: Applicants for federal grant and cooperative agreement opportunities may require an active Sam.gov and Grants.gov registration to apply. Register in these systems now so you are ready when the opportunities are open.

Best Practices for the Sustainable Urban Farm - SARE

A new publication from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) outlines strategies that urban farmers use to tackle the unique opportunities and challenges associated with urban production.

Tarping in the Northeast: A Guide for Small Farms

"This is a practical guide to understanding how tarps work and how they can be applied in different applications on the farm. It summarizes results from research trials and highlights farmer experiences across multiple states in the Northeast region. It combines the details of tarp logistics and management alongside the science of the practice to support farmers interested in learning more about tarping and how to implement it to improve soil and weed management on their farm."

Leaf mold compost reduces waste, improves soil and microbial properties, and increases tomato productivity

Article published with research by Purdue University professors and using leaf mold compost produced by Perkins' Good Earth Farm.

Check out Xerces Society's Organic Site Prep Guide for wildflower establishment methods that might work for you.

The new USDA Local and Regional Food Systems Resource Guide from the Agricultural Marketing Service provides a comprehensive view of USDA programs that support local and regional food systems.

EPA Launches New Composting Webpages and Community Composting Videos

Urban Updates is a monthly call hosted by the Urban Soil Health Program on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. In 2024 we have changed our format to focus on rotating technical topics.

 *You do NOT need to register to attend this meeting*
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81909196128
 
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