Initiative Committee: Establishing Nebraska Soil & Water Health Entity
A subcommittee of the Initiative Committee met to lay the foundation for a Nebraska Soil and Water Health entity. Possible names, purpose, and functions were discussed, focusing on education, water quality, soil health, erosion prevention, youth programs, coordination, marketing, funding, and more.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
You are allowed to download the files provided on this website for personal or commercial use, subject to the condition that they are used lawfully. All files are the property of their respective owners.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee On Monday Dec 16th, a subcommittee of the Initiative Committee met at the direction of the full committee to begin the process of laying a foundation for the formation of a Nebraska Soil and Water Health entity. Present at the meeting were Keith Berns, Mike McDonald, Sen Tim Graggert, Alan Moeller, Laura Fields, Kim Davis and Alex Brechbill. Other state entities were reviewed, particularly the New York State Soil Health Roadmap, the Indiana Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative Strategic Plan and the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Possible Names for a Soil/Water Health Group were discussed with the following variations brought forward Nebraska Healthy Soil and Water: Hub Coalition Alliance Initiative
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Purpose and Functions of a Soil/Water Health Group were discussed including: Education Water quality Soil Health Erosion prevention Demonstration sites and farms Youth 4-H FFA Ag in the Classroom Teacher training
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Purpose and Functions of a Soil/Water Health Group were discussed including: Coordination One conservation program delivered by many agencies On the same page but not overlapping Consistent message Common terms and language Larger scale Buy-In Inventory of existing S&W work and programs Identify gaps in existing programming and research
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Purpose and Functions of a Soil/Water Health Group were discussed including: Marketing and Communication (Outreach and Awareness) Web site Social Media Publications Demonstration sites and farms Case studies Economic research studies Media training Outreach to consumers Outreach to absentee landlords
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Purpose and Functions of a Soil/Water Health Group were discussed including: Program Funding for Producers Incentives vs discounts vs rebates Assistance in grant writing Assistance in signing up for ecosystem programs Solicitation of industry sustainability programs
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Purpose and Functions of a Soil/Water Health Group were discussed including: Technical assistance Publicize partner resources Supplemental to other offerings Certification process for industry consultants Policy Development Consultation Engagement Education Research priorities
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Purpose and Functions of a Soil/Water Health Group were discussed including: Leadership development Board members Mentorships SH Champions Media training Evaluation and Measurement Benchmark measurements KPI - Key Performance Indexes - unique to each goal or area Measurement standards Annual evaluation of progress
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Structure and MakeUp of a Soil/Water Health Group: 501C3 YES By-laws will be needed - refer to SD Soil Health Coalition as reference Board of Directors - 9, 11 or 13 members UNL, NARD/NRD, NRCS, State Government, Governor s office, Legislature Dept of Ag, Dept of NR, Dept of EE, Environmental Trust, Conservation group Agribusiness (Suppliers, Banking, Land Management), Farm Groups (Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, Commodity Groups, NE Cattlemen) Producers, Urban representation, Urban Water districts, Foundations Advisory Board (representatives from above)
Initiative Committee Initiative Committee Structure and MakeUp of a Soil/Water Health Group: Local SW learning/support groups or hubs (possibly based on NRD s) (facilitated by Extension?) Membership Producers (low cost but need to have benefits) Would vote for producer members on the BOD Associate or affiliate members (higher cost then producers) Would vote on representatives for Agribusiness and Farm groups
