Attention: August Board Meeting Date Change!

The next regular board meeting of the Piedmont Soil and Water Conservation District Directors is scheduled for MONDAY, August 22, 2011 at 11 am in the conference room of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Building located on 100 Dominion Drive in Farmville, Virginia.  This is not our usual meeting date, so be advised.  The meetings are open to the public. We hope to see you there.

Conservation Award Nominations Due 8-18-11

If you know of someone who  is participating in natural resource conservation at a level that deserves recognition, and who resides in Amelia, Nottoway or Prince Edward Counties, then consider nominating them for one of our Conservation Awards.  The Piedmont SWCD 2010-2011 Conservation Award nomination form is available here 2010-2011Nomination form and is due to the office by August 18, 2011.  If you have trouble locating or completing the forms, don’t hesitate calling the office at 434.392-3782 ext 131 or contact us by email from this site.

Summer Forage Tour

The upcoming Southern Piedmont Summer Forage Tour is scheduled for  July 21^st from 2 – 7 PM at Dungeness Farm in Goochland, VA.  There is no cost if you preregister by July 14^th, otherwise $10 at the door.  To preregister, contact Margaret Kenny at 434-292-5331.  Tour will feature the following topics: Breeding soundness exam and demo., Role of cattle associations in value added marketing, Summer annuals for high quality summer grazing, BMR forage sorghum as an alternative to corn for silage, Watering systems and rotational stocking, Eastern gamagrass for summer grazing, Crabgrass for summer forage and conservation and Protecting surface water with grass buffer strips.   Visit www.vaforages.org for more info.

Meeting approved for CATEGORY 90  PRIVATE PESTICIDE APPLICATOR AND BEEF QUALITY ASSURANCE RECERTIFICATION

VSU’s Meat Goat Expo 2011

Virginia State University invites you to attend their Meat Goat Expo For Small Scale Farms in Virginia on September 16, 2011 at VSU Randolf Farm from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm.  Paid registration of $10.00 per person includes a hot breakfast and lunch featuring local goat meat products.  To register contact Mark Klingman at mjklingman@vsu.edu

Over 55 Attend Waverly Farm Tour

Over 55 students from Chesterfield, Nottoway and Amelia High Schools participated in the Piedmont SWCD’s tour of Waverly Farm in Nottoway County on April 11, 2011.      The students cycled through four different stations manned by natural resources professionals.  Students were especially enthusiastic about  seeing lamas and goats, participating in on-site conservation planning, and sharing lunch by the Waverly Farm pond. Waverly Farm owners and managers Patti and Stuart Rosenberg (right) are pictured here with the Conservation Friendly Farmer sign they were presented by Charlie Wootton (left) in the Fall of 2010 for the completion of many conservation practices on their farm.

District Directors Up for Re-election

An election of directors for the Piedmont SWCD will be held in the general election on November 8, 2011.  The Piedmont SWCD encompasses the counties of Amelia, Nottoway and Prince Edward.  Candidates for elected directors must reside within the boundaries of these three counties.  Two directors will be elected to represent all citizens within each county.

Persons who wish to file the requisite nominating petition, statement of qualification, and declaration of candidacy with the general registrar must do so by August 23, 2011.  For details visit www.sbe.virginia.gov.

Nottoway Envirothon Team Goes to State

Congratulations to Nottoway High School’s FFA Envirothon Team who will represent the Piedmont District in the State Envirothon on May 22-23 at Camp Hanover in Mechanicsville, Virginia.  At the Area V competition on April 14th the team won first place overall, and first place in the wildlife and special topics oral presentation categories.  This year’s special topic was “Saltwater and Freshwater Estuaries.”  Team members from left to right – J.J. Fitzgerald & Nolan Powell (alternates), Mitch Wallace, Maggie Shepherd, Michael Bingham, Ashton Paul and Casey Lewis.

Poster Contest Winners Announced

Hannah Roldan of Prince Edward County was the grand winner of the 2011 Piedmont SWCD poster contest.  Hannah is a student in Ms. Joy Utzinger’s art class in Prince Edward County Primary School.  The nine year old artist received a gift certificate for $25.00.  Ms. Emily Gresham, Education Curator at the Longwood Center for Visual Arts (LCVA) in Farmville, VA judged the contest.  Hannah’s poster  will be display at the LCVA during the month of June.

Director Honored

Wilkie Chaffin presented Larkin Moyer the Virginia Association of Conservation District’s 15 years of service pin at the  Board of Directors meeting on April 26, 2011.  Mr. Moyer was recognized for his valuable service to the Piedmont Soil and Water Conservation District at the 72nd Virginia Association of Conservation Districts’ Annual Meeting held on December 5-7  in Roanoke, Virginia.  Mr. Moyer represents Amelia County citizens and actively participates in District affairs.  He currently serves as Chairman of the Board.  A dairy farmer for nearly forty years, Moyer earned a B.S. degree in Dairy Science at Virginia Tech.  Moyer’s grandfather, Charles Moyer, was on the Piedmont District’s board when it first formed and served as chairman for many years.

Chairman, Michael Russell, was recognized for his 15 years of service on the Robert E. Lee Soil & Water Conservation District Board at the 72nd Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation District’s  Annual Meeting held on Dec. 5-7 2010 in Roanoke, VA.

Get Set, GO!

On the morning of March 23rd,  District Manager Deanna Fehrer gave the signal for the four teams competiting at the Local Envirothon to begin the first of five tests of their environmental understanding.  The Local Envirothon competition, held at beautiful Twin Lakes State Park Cedar Crest Conference Center,  determines which team will represent the Piedmont SWCD at the Area V competition.