1. NRCS Assistance and Sustainable Agricultural Operations
United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Michelle Burke, P.E., Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations
NRCS Assistance and Sustainable Agricultural Operations

2. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Helping People Help the Land
“The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 26, Letter to all State Governors on a Uniform Soil Conservation Law.
“The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 26, 1937
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

3. NRCS offers a diverse array of services and programs that provide practical, voluntary conservation on privately owned land.
The most important thing NRCS has to offer is our planning assistance …..ideas and advice.

4. We help people with all Natural Resources
Soil
Air
Water
Energy
Plants
Animals

5. South Dakota encompasses close to 49 million acres.
Reservation Land Area = 9,207,942 (18.9%)
Federal Land Area = 3,569,880 (7.3%)
State Land Area = 89,900 (.19%)
Remaining privately owned land = 36.1 million acres (73.6%)
* excluding town/city properties, etc.
(70% in lower 48… 1.4 B acres)

6. Most work is done with local partners
Conservation Districts
Wildlife Groups
Commodity Groups
State and Local governments
Universities
many others
Our locally-based NRCS staff works directly with farmers, ranchers, and others to provide technical and financial assistance to implement conservation.
∙ Service ∙ Partnership ∙ Technical Excellence ∙

7. Farm Bill Conservation Programs
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Conservation Stewardship Program
(CSP)
Easements – Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP)
Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
More…

11. EQIP & CSP in South Dakota
Fiscal Year
EQIP
CSP
2013
350,257
964,983
2014
688,024
1,240,316
2015
358,371
2,079,221
2016
346,510
1,638,477
2017
301,425
1,388,304
2,044,586
7,311,301
EQIP & CSP in South Dakota

12. EQIP & CSP in South Dakota

13. Challenges in agriculture

14. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Food for thought…
World population is estimated to be at 9.1 billion by 2050.
To sustain this level of growth, food & fiber production will need to rise by… 70 percent.
And as we consider his words in the context of global resource and population issues, soil management becomes even more important. Because soil is the factory of our food. It always has been, always will be.
As global population rates soar, we are asking that life-giving few inches of soil to sustain more and more of us.
In fact, the United Nations estimates that in the next years, we will need to increase our food production rate by 70 percent – just to keep pace with worldwide demands.
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

15. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Food for thought…
Between , 14 million acres of prime farmland in the U.S. was lost to development.
Throughout the world, we’re losing more of our productive, food-producing land to development every day. In the U.S. between 1982 and 2007, some 14 million acres of prime farmland – more than the total land area of Maryland – was lost to development.
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

16. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Food for thought…
U.S. fertilizer imports
The U.S. continues to import much of its needed fertilizers (anhydrous ammonia, urea and other nitrogen fertilizers).
To increase our nation’s productivity, agriculture is becoming more and more reliant on imported (and in some cases finite) production aids.
The U.S. continues to import much of its needed fertilizers (anhydrous ammonia, urea and other nitrogen fertilizers).
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

17. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Much progress made since the 1930s, but what more can we do considering the challenges…
Now, we can debate the relative impact of some of the trends and issues I’ve mentioned, but it makes sense to begin seeking solutions to address these critical issues.
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

18. Considering that SOIL is the foundation of South Dakota’s agriculture industry:
$25.6 billion economic impact each year
Production agriculture and its value-added industries employ over 115,650 South Dakotans – more than 30% of all jobs.

19. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Healthy Soils = Sustainable land, businesses
By focusing more attention on the health of soil and by educating producers and the public about the positive impact healthy soils can have on productivity and conservation, we can help our Nation’s farmers and ranchers feed the world more profitably and sustainably – now and for generations to come.
Since 2012, NRCS and its partners have helped producers install soil health practices on more than 40 million acres of working ag lands…helping farmers save money and improve their operations efficiency, while at the same time building their resiliency to extreme weather and improving the water quality that leaves the fields.
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

20. Benefits of healthy soils
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Benefits of healthy soils
Improve water quality
Regulate water and reduce flooding
Cycle organic wastes and detoxify noxious chemicals
What happened – or more accurately, didn’t happen – to the healthy soil in Ray’s demonstration translates into a wide range of benefits. In short, healthy soils…
Improve water quality
Regulate water and reduce flooding
Cycle organic wastes and detoxify noxious chemicals
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

21. 1% OM = 16,500 gal/ac.

22. Soil Health Benefits (continued)
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Soil Health Benefits (continued)
Increase soil carbon and remove CO2
Save energy
Save water and increase drought tolerance
Increase soil carbon and remove CO2
Save energy
Save water and increasing drought tolerance
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

23. Soil Health Benefits (continued)
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Soil Health Benefits (continued)
Improve income sustainability
Improve plant health; and
Increase nutrient rich food production
Improve income sustainability
Improve plant health and increase nutrient-rich food production
Each 1% increase in organic matter can provide up to 30 pounds of more available nitrogen per acre.
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

24. Soil Health Benefits (continued)
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Soil Health Benefits (continued)
Improve wildlife habitat and estuarian food production
Reduce disease and pest problems
Improve wildlife habitat and estuarian food production
AND
Reduce disease and pest problems
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

25. How do we get there?

26. Voices for Soil Health Outreach
Producers listen to other producers first when it comes to adoption of new technology. We created the “Voices for Soil Health” effort which will result in a stronger network of farmer to farmer or rancher to rancher communications for expanding knowledge of soil health and its benefits to their operation and the environment. Earth Team Voices for Soil Health Volunteers are helping us firsthand in advancing the quality and health of SD’s natural resources!

27. Outreach

28. Voices network is now more than 110 producers strong

29. Education

30. Examples
Bill Nelson’s Record Keeping Confirms Value of Soil Health Management Practices
Nelson has doubled his soybean production from 1982 to Nelson farms with a diverse cropping rotation of corn, soybeans, followed by Rye, rather than a continuous corn-on-corn rotation. With this diversity, he has cut chemical costs by as much as 80 percent. Rotating crop types breaks pest and week cycles so the average costs incurred from rotating crops decreased
Total variable costs are 48 percent less (i.e. chemicals, fuel, labor). Machinery operating costs like fuel, oil and repairs, are down 25 percent, followed by labor costs which is down 42 percent (not including the cost of land). In a nutshell, Nelson realizes a net return 16 percent greater due to the overall decrease in input costs.

31. Examples
Nehl's Switch from Tillage to No-till and Cover Crops Nets Profits
Seeing results so quickly was big benefit for Robert Nehl. Other farmers in the area told him it might take five years to see significant results. The first year alone, the soil test recommendations for 100-bushel corn showed a savings of $38.36.

32. Examples Erickson Continues to Succeed
Joel Erickson says that no-till with wetter soils conditions does not hurt their cropping system. In fact, no-till and cover crops help in many ways.
The Ericksons added cover crops in early 2000s to
help their no-till system handle heavy rains. “Our
no-till fields can take, and keep, six inch rains that
run off of tilled fields,” he says. “We’ve been using cover crops behind our wheat crop for a number of years to improve our soil health and to provide fall grazing for our cows.”
Long-term no-till combined with cover crops creates excellent soil structure and improves aggregate stability in the Erickson’s fields.

33. Rainfall infiltration kits
Demonstration
In cooperation with South Dakota Grassland Coalition and SDSU, we developed and distributed about 200 soil infiltration kits (a field assessment tool) to producers, partners, and field office staff.  An infiltration rate is simply how fast water enters the soil and is a key indicator of soil health. 
A healthy soil has a stable structure and continuous pores to the surface allowing rainfall or snowmelt to readily enter these soils. The alternative is for it to runoff carrying nutrients, chemicals, and soil with it.

34. Demonstration
Rainfall Simulator

36. Education & Outreach
Staff
Farmers & Ranchers
Youth

37. Resources Financial assistance
Partnering with SD Soil Health Coalition, commodity groups (SD Corn Growers Association), wildlife groups (Ducks Unlimited) to work on soil health outreach and demonstrations
SD EQIP funding for Soil Health Initiative:
Target area – Year 1
Now statewide
FY’17 - $1.5M dedicated to soil health practices – almost 10% of SD EQIP funds
Soil health practices also funded with General EQIP

38. Sustainable?

39. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
“Take care of the land, and it will take care of you.”
– Hugh Hammond Bennett, known as the “Father of Soil Conservation” and the first Chief of the NRCS.
∙ Soil Health ∙ Erosion Control ∙ Watershed Planning ∙
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association

40. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota
September 11, 2018
Thank You
Michelle Burke, Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations, Brookings, South Dakota
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
(605)
An Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider
Jeff Zimprich Remarks to the Ag Credit Committee of the SD Banker's Association