NRCS Receives Appreciation Award from No-Till on the Plains

Salina, Kansas--Josh Lloyd, President, No-Till on the Plains, presented NRCS Acting State Conservationist Astor Boozer with a plaque for NRCS' support and assistance with no-till education at the 12th annual No-Till on the Plains Winter Conference, Salina, Kansas, on January 30, 2008. The conference has evolved into the most respected "continuous no-till" conference and trade show of its type in North America. Over 1,200 farmers and exhibitors were in attendance this year. NRCS is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For nearly 20 years, NRCS has partnered with No-Till on the Plains in educating farmers about how to develop economically and environmentally sound crop production systems through the application of no-till farming. In Kansas, NRCS promoted no-till in numerous ways such as helping establish no-till alliances, demonstrating the rainfall simulator, and providing conservation technical assistance and financial assistance to farmers through farm bill programs to help them move from conventional tillage to a no-till system. The Conservation Technology Information Center 2004 no-till survey lists Kansas no-till acres at 4.2 million.

On the No-Till on the Plains Web site, a history of the organization recognizes its beginning with the following: "In the late 1980s, Bill Richards, then Chief of USDA's Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resources Conservation Service or NRCS) conceived the idea for a coalition to provide education on the methods and benefits of reduced tillage, especially for curbing wind and water erosion and for helping producers comply with the conservation provisions of the '85 U.S. Farm Bill." To read more, go to www.notill.org/mission_purpose.htm.

No-Till on the Plains is a partnership of farmers, agribusinesses, associations, and state and federal agencies that are committed to increasing the adoption of cropping systems that will enhance soil and water quality.