By Merry Buford, District Conservationist, Blount County,
Alabama
What
a whirlwind of a year! Blount County has been very busy in 2007. From new
employees, to audits, implementing practices, and everything associated with the
drought, we have made good progress and are pressing on.
We have several new employees in the USDA Service Center office.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) gained three new employees, and NRCS/SWCD has two
new employees. I transferred in as the District Conservationist, and Mark
Butler was hired as the Watershed Coordinator for the Dry Creek Watershed 319
Grant. SWCD District Administrative Coordinator Polly Morris and NRCS Soil
Conservation Technician Jimmy Tucker made it a smooth transition for all.
There was no time to gradually get your feet wet. Any feet
wetting had to be done on the go. The year started off with the audits that were
completed thanks to everyone’s group effort. Status reviews were also completed
at this time to save any backtracking in the future.
While
the audit was going on, the county’s biggest project of the year was underway.
The Closure of Waste Impoundments (360) was taking place on the Faust property.
Mr. Faust had three poultry lagoons that he wanted to close to eliminate any
environmental risk. Several people helped to ensure that this closure went as
smooth as possible. Perry Oakes, Tim Williams, Judy Hill, Tracy Cole, Jody
Burdette, and all of the Blount County staff helped with the closure effort.
After a long couple of months, the lagoon closure was complete, and the Faust
property looks better than ever.
Jimmy Tucker worked very hard with FSA County Executive Director
Dawn Hoagland to visit with all the people in the county that needed water for
livestock. Jimmy also continued to visit all the people in the county that
needed ponds that didn’t fit into the ECP program. Along with ponds, several
practices were implemented through EQIP this year. Several cross fences (382)
were installed before the ground got too hard to drive a post. The cross fencing
proved to be beneficial for forage efficiency through rotational grazing.
Several heavy use areas (561), watering ramps (561), stream crossings (578), and
drystacks (313) were installed this year. Believe it or not, a few people
successfully installed some pasture planting (512) before the drought became too
severe.
With all the success Blount County had in 2007, 2008 looks to be
even better. Thank you to all the people that help make the Blount County
NRCS/SWCD office successful.
About Us
Along
the same time the lagoon closure was going on, we got word from weather
forecasters that there was no end in sight for the drought. Little did we know
how long this drought would continue. FSA started the Emergency Conservation
Measures Program (ECP). ECP is a cost-sharing program that offsets costs
incurred by farmers and ranchers to restore conservation practices damaged by
natural disasters. NRCS provides technical assistance to FSA's ECP applicants.
Back to Top