Conservation District
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Snyder County
Conservation District |
Meetings & Workshops
The Snyder County Conservation District traditionally holds an annual banquet in which many individuals, organizations and FFA members are honored for their efforts toward conservation.
The most recent annual banquet was held on Friday, March 12, 2010, at the Christ Community United Methodist Church 3939 Park Road near Selinsgrove.
One farmer, one NRCS employee, one extension educator, one school and FFA members were honored for their efforts.
The 2010 banquet guest speaker was Catherine (Kate) Hastings. Hastings is an associate professor of communications at Susquehanna University. She also serves as an advisor for the student newspaper. During the banquet, she gave a presentation: “The True Isle of Que: How and Why We Turned an Island into a Peninsula.”
Door prizes were given at the end of the event. Donated Norway spruce trees were also given away to the approximately 170 attendees.
For more information, please contact the Conservation District at 570-837-3000.
Since 2001, the Snyder County Conservation District has held a winter meeting for farmers. Conservation topics, as well as other agricultural issues are discussed.
2010 Meeting
The Snyder County Conservation District, along with AgChoice Farm Credit, TeamAg, MS Ag Services, Grass Roots 21 and PACD, sponsored a meeting for farmers on Friday, February 12, 2010. It was held on Christ Community United Methodist Church north of Selinsgrove, PA. Topics included: no-till and cover crop farming, pasture grazing management, upcoming NRCS conservation programs, polytank maintenance & weed and pest control. Ninety people attended the meeting.
Notes about Major Sponsors:
AgChoice Farm Credit, ACA: AgChoice Farm Credit is an agricultural lending institution from 4504 Westbranch Highway, Lewisburg, PA.
TeamAg, Inc.: TeamAg offers crop consulting, nutrient management plan development, engineering and other services in northeastern USA and based in Ephrata, PA.
Valley Ag & Turf: Valley Ag & Turf is a John Deere agricultural, lawn & garden and skid steer dealer, parts and service in Watsontown, Centre Hall, Reedsville and Halifax, PA.
MS Ag Services, LLC: MS Ag Services offers lime, manure, fertilizer and pesticide application for farmers. P. O. Box 415, Selinsgrove, PA. Phone: 570-374-8274.
Additional financial support for the above project has been provided by the PA Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD). PACD is a non-profit organization that supports, enhances, and promotes Pennsylvania’s Conservation Districts and their Programs.
The Snyder County Conservation District held its 4th annual Women in Ag Forum on Saturday, April 10, 2010, at the Shade Mountain Winery.
The forum was designed especially for women to learn about the current issues in agriculture and the environment. Topics discussed this year include the usefulness of rain barrels from Jason Winey, Conservation District Watershed Specialist.
Lynn James from Penn State Cooperative Extension discussed how canning/food preservation methods have changed since your grandmother preserved her peaches. Kathleen Bingman, RN, Evangelical Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation Specialist, gave a presentation on “Heart Health for Women.” Heather Donald spoke about the development of a sustainable local food system in the Central Susquehanna Valley through our support of local family farms, growers and food producers.
Marissa Ewing, SUN Area Dairy Princess also spoke during the meeting. Lunch was served by Emma's Food For Life in Selinsgrove, PA. Each woman received a chair massage from McCann's School of Business & Technology in Sunbury, PA, a completed rain barrel, and either a rain gage or a checkbook cover.
The Conservation District has held eight informal and informational no-till meetings since 2007. Three no-till meetings were held on Monday, March 2, 2009. Click the Conservation Snapshots web page for more details related to meetings.
These meetings serve as a informative, yet informal, way of exchanging ideas on how to start and maintain a permanent no-till system on our farms. Farmers pick the topics. Items discussed over the years were planting attachments and adjustments, pest control, fertility management, manure management and cover crops.
Contact Barry Spangler, Ag. Conservation Technician (570-837-3000, x118), if you want additional information regarding these meetings and no-till in general. The NRCS Middleburg Field Office (570-837-0007, x3) is also a good source of information.
There are no meetings planned for 2010 at this time. However, the Conservation District may have meetings in 2011 due to a high amount of interest.
Water Quality Topics for the Home
Gilberts' Garden Center
Check out our Conservation Snapshots web page in regards to the Gilbert's Garden Center's "Nature Roundup" in Shamokin Dam, PA on Saturday, September 13, 2008. This was the second time the Conservation District had participated in the event with water quality demonstrations for people of all ages.
Rain Barrel Workshops
Our Watershed Specialist, Jason Winey, gave a rain barrels presentation at Gilbert's Garden Center on May 30, 2009. Thirteen attended.
Eleven other rain barrel workshops were held at our office in May, July and September 2009. The meetings and barrels were funded in part by various grants.
More information can be found in our Conservation Snapshots and Household Conservation web pages.
Rain Gardens
Also in May 2009, Jason Winey gave a presentation on rain gardens on two occasions. He talked to participants at the Penn Creek Adult Resource Center on May 6, 2009, and at the Beaver Springs Adult Resource Center on May 14, 2009.
Rain gardens intercept runoff and infiltrate stormwater to recharge our aquifers and protect our streams. Sediment and nutrient runoff are given time to be taken in and used by plants instead of polluting our streams. Rain gardens also look attractive and provide habitat and feed for birds as well.
Contact Jason Winey, Watershed Specialist, at 570-837-3000, x112 for more information or go to our Household Conservation web page.
The Conservation District also has hosted field days, spoke during agricultural and civic group meetings and had displays at the Beaver Community Fair. We also have publications related to many conservation topics. Some of them can be found in our Newsletters & Publications web page.
Tree Farm Field Day
Snyder County Conservation District Grounds (formerly Selinsgrove Center Farm)
Selinsgrove, PA, Sunday, May 23, 2010, 1:30 p.m.
Please join the Central Susquehanna Woodland Owners Association (CSWOA) and the Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) for a Tree Farm Field Day event at the former Selinsgrove Center Farm grounds located near Selinsgrove, Snyder County. (This property is now managed by the SCCD.) It will take place on Sunday, May 23, 2010, starting at 1:30 p.m.
This field day is sponsored by the PA Tree Farm Committee with the aim of bringing together woodland owners association members and tree farmers to encourage more sustainable forestry practices, which can be extended to future generations. The Field Day event will introduce the audience to the American Tree Farm System’s missions and present the benefits woodland landowners can gain by enrolling their property in the program.
After the brief Tree Farm presentation, we will walk on a trail system that navigates through the many unique areas this Tree Farm/Stewardship Property has to offer. Just a few highlighted areas we plan to visit are: tree planting projects, deer exclosure, stream bank stabilization, wetland mitigation areas, and much, much more. The trail system is well groomed and is on a level surface making navigation very simple. This event will be rain or shine event, so please dress appropriately!
For additional information, contact PA Bureau of Forestry's Service Forester John Portzline at 570-922-3344 or jportzline@state.pa.us.
Hope to see you there.
Directions to the Snyder County Conservation District Grounds:
Note: The property is the same location where the Middlecreek Valley Antique Association holds their annual antique tractor/farm machinery show. The Grounds are just west of the Snyder County Prison which is located at 600 Old Colony Road, Selinsgrove, PA 17870. Look for the CSWOA signs.
From Selinsgrove: Drive West out of Selinsgrove on Route 522. Travel 1.8 miles. Turn Right onto Salem Road. Travel 1.1 miles. Turn right on Old Colony Road. Travel 1/2 mile to Grounds on Left.
From Middleburg: Drive East out of Middleburg on Route 522. Travel 8.6 miles. Turn Left onto Salem Road. Travel 1.1 miles. Turn right on Old Colony Road. Travel 1/2 mile to Grounds on Left.
Editor’s Note: Much of this information was supplied by the CSWOA’s May 2010 Newsletter.
No-Till & Manure Field Day
A field day was held on the Mac & Melody Farm, 1051 Dundore Road, Port Trevorton, PA, on Wednesday, September 30, 2009. Approximately 80 people attended.
Topics demonstrated or discussed during the Field Day:
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Equipment Displays & Field Demonstrations
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How to Make No-Till Work & Protecting the Water
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Manure Spreader Calibration
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A Working Poultry Manure Burner
Miscellaneous
Although not a SCCD sponsored meeting, the Conservation District was the site for a manure hauler/manure broker meeting on February 18, 2010. Thirty people attended the meeting to hear Robb Meinen, Penn State Senior Extension Associate, discuss current manure regulations and other related topics.
If your group wishes to have a the Conservation District speak about water quality, soil erosion prevention, etc., please contact the Conservation District at 570-837-3000.
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{Snyder County Conservation District}
Conservation through Education
Snyder County Conservation District
10541 Route 522
Middleburg, PA 17842
Phone: 570-837-3000
FAX: 570-837-7300
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Content Last Modified on 5/6/2010 10:17:23 AM
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