Web Soil Survey Update Improves Data Delivery, Customer Service

Data on soils on the nation’s 3,265 soil survey areas are now updated and available free online from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

“This update is a major step-forward in meeting the growing demand for NRCS soils data,” said Dave Hoover, NRCS national leader of Soil Business Systems. “Our soil scientists in every state helped us upgrade all our software and databases, improve our spatial data, and put together a complete suite of soil interpretations and other products our customers want.”

This update, the first since the Web Soil Survey went online in 2005, features:

• Soils data for the Continental U.S. that flows seamlessly, without gaps, across county lines and other political boundaries;
• A full complement of national soil survey interpretations that let users analyze interpretations nationally, regionally and in several states at one time;
• The first set of soil survey Major Land Resource Area update projects; and
• A subscription feature that forwards updates for specific soil survey areas directly to customers via email.

The NRCS Web Soil Survey now serves more than 180,000 users a month, attracting a large audience that includes landscape architects, community planners, real estate developers, engineers, as well as researchers in universities. Every day, people in agriculture reference the survey, as do NRCS employees as they help customers with a host of issues and questions, and putting together conservation plans.

In a typical month, users print nearly 100,000 soil surveys and reports on soil properties and interpretations directly from the Web Soil Survey, and download more than 25,000 soil survey reports.

“Starting this year, we will refresh our soils data every October,” said Dave Smith, NRCS acting deputy chief for Soil Science and Assessment. “Our goal is to keep giving our customers even better and more up-to-date tools for assessing their soils, developing conservation plans for their farms, or whatever they need our data for.”

Web Soil Survey customers can click on the “Contact Us” link in Web Soil Survey to get assistance from the Soils Hotline, a state soil scientist or a local NRCS Office.

NRCS encourages everyone interested in soils to subscribe to GovDelivery, a free service.

For assistance with Web Soil Survey or GovDelivery, please send an email.

(By Brad Fisher, Natural Resources Conservation Service)

Midwest Climate Hub to Help Producers, Coordinate Climate-Related Agricultural Research

Producers endure the weather across the Midwest and wonder if it will be too wet to plant, too wet to harvest, too wet to spray, or if the rain will come at the right time to produce a bumper or just an average crop. In all of the presentations I have given on climate and agriculture across the Midwest, during the last year the prevailing question has been about whether the increasing variation in precipitation and temperature we’re experiencing is the “new” normal during the growing season. Producers point to the last four growing seasons as examples of the variation they face each year: 2010 was hot and wet during the grain-filling stage of growth causing the crops to mature more quickly, 2011 was almost normal with some dry periods during the last part of the growing season, 2012 was a drought year, and 2013 experienced two different extremes. In 2013, it was wet in the early growing season, delaying and in some places preventing planting, followed by a dry summer.  Across the Midwest, the early spring rains are increasing erosion from fields. Producers are now asking what they can do to protect their natural resources and the crops that depend on them, and what the next season will be like. If these extremes continue, how do they adapt their farming operations?

And it’s not just the producers taking note: many members of our communities are wondering how these weather extremes are affecting their natural resources. The gardeners in our region are a great example. Gardeners have an awareness of the weather and are often concerned when the spring conditions cause early growth in their flowers, only to be harmed by a late frost. They know that the late frost damage to their fruit tree at home means that what they purchase at the local farmers market has also been affected.  Those who love Michigan cherries felt this pain acutely in 2012.

As we witness these shifts in climate and variability in weather, our questions become more specific: How will rainfall patterns and amounts shift? What temperature extremes are we likely to experience and how frequently? How will the duration and frequency of floods and droughts change? What will happen next year? In the next 5 years? In the next 20?

Fortunately, searching for answers to these tough questions has been my training and my profession for almost 40 years. I received my Ph.D. in agricultural climatology in 1975 from Iowa State and have spent my professional career in California, Texas, and Iowa working on the relationships between agricultural production and the weather and climate. For those who don’t know, agricultural climatology is the study of the interactions between climate and agriculture. The short synopsis of my personal research is to increase the resilience of agriculture to weather and climate extremes through understanding the roles of genetics, the environment and management and how they interact.  The long story is that my research has focused on all aspects of this relationship, from how to improve the efficiency by which crops utilize water, to screening cotton and wheat for tolerance to drought and heat, to trying to understand how yield variations within fields can be reduced by improving how our soils could store more precipitation, to parsing out the changes in weather and climate which cause variations in crop production. In the past eight years, I have the led the efforts on documenting the effects of climate on agricultural systems for the National Climate Assessment and am working on the development of indicators which could be used as signals of climate impacts on agriculture. For a person with my background and training and continued involvement in this area, this is an exciting time to see these efforts emerge which can directly impact agriculture.

Formation of the Midwest Climate Hub provides an opportunity to increase agriculture’s response to climate change and weather variability by coordinating climate-related agricultural research across a diverse array of regional partners. It also provides an opportunity to mold that science into evidence-based tools, educational materials and outreach activities. The Midwest is one of the most extensive and intensive agricultural areas in the world and is fortunate to be in a climate zone with moderate temperatures and a summer rainfall pattern that allows for production of many different annual and perennial crops. However, the Midwest still faces challenges in maintaining agricultural production due to climate change. Our goal in the Midwest Climate Hub is to provide information to support agricultural crop and livestock producers and gardeners as they make decisions around climate and weather to bring us the agricultural products that affect our lives, from the home gardens to the vast corn fields. I look forward to working with you on this challenge.

For more information, visit www.usda.gov/climatechange and http://www.usda.gov/oce/climate_change/regional_hubs.htm.

(By Jerry L. Hatfield, Midwest Regional Climate Hub Leader, Agricultural Research Service)

Starting a Farm from the Ground Up Workshop

Are you thinking about getting into farming or starting your own farm? Ever wondered what it takes to build your next urban or rural homestead and what opportunities may be available to help you accomplish your goal? This workshop will discuss the nuts and bolts of starting a farm including topics of land acquisition, infrastructure needs, and some successful strategies for putting the rubber to the road.

The workshop will be held at Masters Community Church 2548 S. 42^nd Street, Kansas City, KS 66106 on February 24^th from 4‐7 pm. 

Agenda

4:00‐4:30 pm - Basic infrastructure needs for growing fruits and vegetables for market, Cary Rivard, KSU Extension Specialist

4:30‐5:00 pm - Accessing Land: Some examples of ways growers are finding space to grow, Laura Christensen, Blue Door Farm

5:00‐5:30 pm - Resources available to growers for starting a market farm, Marlin Bates, Douglas County Horticulture Extension Agent

5:45‐6:15 pm - Financing a small and/or urban farm, Molly Fusselman, KSU Urban Foods Systems MS Student

6:15‐7:00 pm - Farm Tour, Cultivate KC, Gibbs Road Farm, 4223 Gibbs Road, Kansas City, KS, 66106.

This workshop is being brought to you by the Growing Growers program. Cost to attend this workshop is $15. To register mail payment by February 21^st to Growing Growers, 35230 W. 135th St., Olathe, KS 66061 (Walk‐ins are welcome).  If you have questions, or for further information, contact Cary Rivard. 

Green Hills Farm Project Winter Seminar

The Green Hills Farm Project (a grass-based farmers group) is hosting a seminar on Soil Health, Soil Organisms, Cover Crops, and Grazing featuring Molly Haviland and Doug Peterson on Saturday, February 22^nd from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Linneus Community Center in Linneus, MO.

Topics to be covered include:

- Microherding the Soil Food Web - Establishing and Maintaining the Soil Food Web

- Identifying the Soil Food Web - What your local Missouri soil biology looks like

Molly received her BS in Sustainable Living with a focus in soil ecology from Maharishi University of Management.  She has been under the mentorship of soil microbiologist Dr. Elaine Ingham since 2011.  Molly is the director of The Living Soil Compost Lab in Fairfield, Iowa.  This lab specializes in developing hand turned aerobic thermal compost, aerobic compost tea and extract.  They do treatments, consultations, workshops, individual training as well as qualitative soil analysis. 

Molly will be accepting soil samples to take back to the lab for analysis.  A biological test will cost $30.  You will need to be sure to collect the samples the day of or the day before the seminar and place them in a paper bag or cardboard box.  Use a core sampler to get 3-4 inches below the soil surface.  You will normally receive results and photos of your sample 5 days after submitting the sample(s).

Doug Peterson, NRCS Soil Health Conservationist, will be covering some basic soil health trends and topics relative to Missouri.

There will be an extensive question and answer session in the afternoon. If there is anything you want to know about soil health or soil biology here is your chance to get those questions answered.

Cost is $10 for individuals and $20 per family.  Bring a covered dish to share for lunch.

For more information call 660-425-4894 or email.

Aquaponics 101 Workshop

Lincoln University's Innovative Small Farmers Outreach Program in collaboration with Kansas City Aquaponics is offering a workshop on Aquaponics 101 on Saturday, March 1^st from 2-4 pm at Drumm Farm, 3210 Lee's Summit Road, Independence, Missouri 64055.

Have you wanted to learn about growing fish and plants together in an aquaponic system?  If so, then, come learn about the aquaponics:

- Different aquaponic methods, filtration, and water flow

- Basic parts and supplies

- Filters

- Water Pumps

- Oxygen pumps, stones, etc.

- Tanks

- What it takes to maintain an aquaponic system

- Water quality-testing, corrective measures

- Best fish to use and stocking rate

- Plant production

We will demonstrate building a beginners system using 2-50 gallon HDPE drums and discuss the cost and potential returns.

This system is expandable and will get you started learning about the balance between raising plants and fish together.

Cost is $5 per person.  To register contact Jim Pierce at 660-232-1096.

For questions contact Jim Person or Eric Person who are workshop partners with Kansas City Aquaponics, Kansas City, MO.

 

 

Poultry 101 Meeting Offered for Beginning Poultry Owners

Beginning poultry owners have the opportunity to learn more about what it takes to successfully raise poultry at an upcoming workshop in Maryville.

University of Missouri Extension will be offering a Poultry 101 program on Wednesday, February 19 at the Northwest Technical School in Maryville.

The basics to be covered include choosing types and breeds of poultry that are right for you, housing and equipment needed to get started, common issues, potential opportunities, and more.

The program will run from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Cost to attend is $10 for adults and $5 for youth 17 years and under. Registrations are required.

To register, contact the Northwest Technical School at 660-582-8311 or visit their website at http://www.nts.maryville.k12.mo.us/adult-education.html. For more information on the program, contact the Atchison County MU Extension Center at 660-744-6231.