Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District
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  • Home
  • About
    • About >
      • Staff & Supervisors >
        • Supervisor- Nominee Info Sheets
    • Donate/Affiliate Membership
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Newsletter >
      • News articles
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Strategic Plan
    • Contractor List
  • Programs & Services
    • Ag Stewardship/INfield Advantage >
      • Agriculture Resources
    • Drainage
    • Financial Assistance/Cost Share Programs
    • Invasive Species >
      • Invasive Trade In Program
      • Hamilton County Invasives Partnership
    • Map Resources
    • Native Plant Sale
    • Native Tree Sale
    • Rain Barrel Info & Sales >
      • Noblesville Rain Barrel Program
    • Rule 5 Submission
    • Soil Is Alive: Soil Health Trailer
    • Soil Maps & Surveys
    • Soil Testing
    • Stony Creek Feasibility Study
    • Photo Contest
    • Well Capping
    • Well Water Testing
    • Report a Polluter
    • Tool Loan Program
    • Video Resources
  • Urban Conservation
    • Backyard Conservation
    • Conservation Playhouse
    • Urban Agriculture >
      • Donate Your Vegetables
      • Garden Resources
    • Creating and Maintaining a Prairie
    • Restoring HOA Native Landscapes
    • Stormwater Landscape Maintenance Training
    • Rain Garden Info
    • Seed pack
    • Tree Info
    • Where to buy native plants & seed
  • Events
    • Workshops & Events
    • Rain on Main
    • Sustainability Workshop
    • Past events & recordings
  • Online Store

Central Regional Envirothon
​

Each year Envirothon has a new yearly Current Issue question. Listed below are the past links form previous competitions. This information will not be tested in the 2020 Envirothon competition but can be used to compliment the current curriculum. 
  • 2018: Pasture Management
  • 2019: Ag & Environment
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2018 Current Issue Resources- Pasture Management: Balancing Agriculture, Conservation and Wildlife

​NRCS- IN Grazing and Foraging Website
Download the following documents for references
  • Growth Curves For selected Foraging Species,
  • Pasture Condition Score Sheet,
  • ​Beef Management Practices for Coping w/ short forage...
  • Best Management Practices in Droughty Pasture
NRCS
Cool Season Grasses
​Warm Season Grasses

​Guide to Pasture Condition Scoring
Guide

​Indiana Conservation Partnership
ICP

Management-Intensive Grazing in Indiana

Guide

Purdue Extension
Search: FNR-4-W, FNR-88, FNR-218
Purdue Extension

Grazing Management and Soil Health (USDA)
​
Grazing Management
2018 Current Issue Learning Objectives: 
​

1. Describe grazing and forage management practices, and explain how these practices are important to a sustainable agriculture economy, healthy water quality and healthy wildlife populations.
2. Identify common grass and legume species and describe their importance in grazing systems.
3. Identify common pasture weed species and their effects on pasture health and on animal health.
4. Understand conservation practices and their effects on soil health of pastures.
5. Understand how the growth curves of forages affect forage availability and pasture rotations throughout a typical year.
6. Understand how to evaluate pastures with the Pasture Condition Score Sheet and the value in doing these assessments.
7. Describe the pros and cons of grazing woodlands.
8. Understand the grazing behavior of different species and their impact on pasture systems.
9. Understand the importance of fences and water in the layout and management of an effective grazing system.
10. Understand why pasture land is important to Indiana’s agricultural industry. 
11. Describe ways to balance livestock production with wildlife and water quality concerns. 12. Know the definition of stocking rates and how to calculate them. 

​Agriculture and the Environment: Knowledge and Technology to Feed the World

​Investigating the Environmental Effects of Agriculture Practices on Natural Resources 
Effects of Agriculture

​Soil Erosion and WEPP Technology
Soil Erosion WEPP

​NRSC Soil Health Management
NRCS Soils Management

​Positive Effects of Agriculture on the Environment 
Positive Agriculture Effects

​Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms
Definitions and terms

4R Principles
4R Principles

​What is Integrated Pest Management?
Integrated pest Management

GMO sustainability advantage?
Glyphosate spurs no-till farming, preserving soil carbon
GMO's

The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States
impact of GmOs

Precision Agriculture: 
A step towards a more sustainable agriculture
Precision Agriculture
2019 Current Issue Objectives

​1. Describe how agriculture has changed the natural ecosystems of the earth including wildlife habitat, soil biology, surface and ground waters, and biodiversity.
2. Explain how farming practices have changed over the last 50 years to reduce the loss of soil organic matter and soil microorganisms including no-till, conservation tillage and the use of cover crops.
3. Describe the positive impacts that sustainable agriculture has on the environment such as carbon sequestration.
4. Explain the methods that farmers use to control pests in crops and how they affect the environment including pesticides, crop rotation, GMO’s and IPM.
5. Explain how fertilizer runoff causes pollution and how producers manage fertilizer applications to minimize leaching and runoff using the practice of 4-R.
6. Define Genetically Modified Organism and explain how GMO’s have the capability to reduce pesticide usage.
7. Explain how herbicide tolerant crops allow farmers to practice no-till farming more efficiently.
8. Explain the risks of GMO crops to the environment including herbicide resistant weeds and Bt resistant insects.
9. Define Precision Agriculture and describe the important components of PA including auto guidance, GIS mapping, and application control (variable rate technology).
​10. Describe how Precision Agriculture allows producers to minimize environmental impact while maximizing yields.
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soil.water@hamiltoncounty.in.gov
317.773.2181
1717 Pleasant St. Suite 100
Noblesville, IN 46060
Established in 1968
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