What's New Archive

University of Wisconsin is going to host the Farm Succession Coordinator Certification Training this fall here in North Carolina. It will be a 2.5 day training in Shelby, NC, on Nov 7th through 9th. It is the prerequisite training needed to take the Farm Succession Coordinator Certification test. This would be a good training for any land trust staff who help farmers work through succession issues with conservation easements. To register visit this website

The annual event, this year titled “Southern Forests: Ecosystem Services Frame the Future,” brings together the leaders of state forestry agencies from 13 southern states along with the primary federal and private partners with whom we work to conserve southern forests. SGSF provides leadership in sustaining the economic, environmental and social benefits of the South’s forests, which are numerous and varied. 

When: Jun 06, 2022 08:00 AM to Jun 09, 2022 11:30 AM
Where: Greenville, SC
Register: https://southernforests.org/news-events/events-meetings/sgsf-2022-annual-meeting

Secretary Sonny Purdue announced on Nov. 12, 2020, the signup periods for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the CRP Grasslands in 2021. Signup for general CRP will be open from Jan. 4, 2021, to Feb. 12, 2021, and signup for CRP Grasslands runs from March 15, 2021 to April 23, 2021. Both programs are competitive and provide annual rental payments for land devoted to conservation purposes. There will be a free webinar on January 14 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. MST. Register in advance for this meeting After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.  For more information, email Jeff Tranel or call 719-251-0990 

EarthX.org

We are looking for a seasoned and dynamic Conservation Director to expand our protected lands, manage a team of stewardship and conservation staff, develop community and political relationships, and lead the lands committee of our Board of Directors.   Click for full description

SEALED proposals for qualified and experienced firms to provide Purchase of development Rights and Land Conservation Programs will be accepted by the James City County Purchasing Director or a designated representative on October 15, 2019, no later than 2pm local time in the Purchasing Office, 101-F Mounts Bay Road, Suite 300, Williamsburg, VA 23185.

Questions pertaining to this solicitation should be directed to me, via e-mail: linda.hodges@jamescitycountyva.gov no later than September 24, 2019 @ 12:00 P.M.

Solicitation documents are available for download here.

Virginia is making a record amount of money available this year to help farmers implement conservation practices.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced in a press release Tuesday $73 million in funding for the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program. Practices that may be funded through the program include controlling erosion, preserving wetlands and managing nutrients. Northam says the money will help ensure more producers can participate.

State officials say that more than $200 million has been distributed to farmers and landowners since the program began in 1984.

Individuals, partnerships, trusts and other businesses that operate farms in Virginia may qualify. Applications are first-come, first-served.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced today it is seeking public input on its existing national conservation practice standards as part of implementing the 2018 Farm Bill. NRCS offers 150-plus conservation practices to America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to help them meet their business and natural resource needs on their working lands. NRCS is requesting public comments on how to improve conservation practice standards that support programs. The comment period ends April 25, 2019.  Learn More »

The Virginia Environmental Endowment awarded $284,612 to 14 organizations dedicated to protecting and improving the state’s natural resources and environment. When combined with matching funds, the endowment has provided more than $86 million in environmental improvement support since it was founded in 1977. Learn more about the grant recipients.

Come and enjoy the Garden Marketplace, seminars and workshops, plant advice, door prizes, special youth classes and so much more.  Location: Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Interstate 81, Exit 14, One Partnership Circle, Abingdon, VA 24210. Event hours: Friday 9:30am - 6:00pm, Saturday 9:30am - 5:00pm. Learn more here.

The data in it confirms what organizations like The Nature Conservancy have been saying all along — that conserving land on the Eastern Shore pays off in dollars and cents — according to Jill Bieri, director of The Nature Conservancy's Virginia Coast Reserve. About 33 percent of land on Virginia's Eastern Shore is considered to be conserved and 10 percent is in conservation easements, according to the Coastal Zone Management Program. Learn more here.

The James River Association, in partnership with Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation Districts, will be planting 3,000 native tree seedlings at eight farms in Albemarle, Amherst, and Nelson counties this spring with volunteers as part of the James River Tree-Athlon. Read the article here.

That brings the county’s total easements on private land to 104,873 acres, the most for any Virginia jurisdiction. The total represents about one-quarter of Fauquier. Read more here.

The 850-acre farm had the potential to be developed into 46 parcels.  However, thanks to the conservation leadership of Shannon and Katherine Tillman, this conservation easement donation to the Land Trust of Virginia drastically reduces that number to three total parcels, a wonderful contribution to conservation and to the community. Read the article here

Jan. 11 - Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced the fiscal year 2018 farmland preservation grant recipients. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Farmland Preservation has awarded a total of $308,076 to five localities. Localities must use the grants to permanently preserve working farmland within their boundaries through local Purchase of Development Rights programs. Learn more here.

Future funding for successful Chesapeake Bay conservation programs are set to be slashed at the state and federal level under proposed budgets for the new year. Learn more here.

Stuart, Virginia: The population is growing, and forests are shrinking. The commonwealth has a plan to try to stave off the destruction of forests which happens alongside the spread of development: Conservation easements. Read more here.

The Northern Fauquier Community Park, Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Master A free “Composting and Water Conservation Basics” workshop will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2 at Marshall Schoolhouse 18 east of Marshall. Learn more and register here.

September 8, 2017 – Virginia farmers and forest landowners can now apply for assistance to protect the health and productivity of their land under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Learn more here.

August 19, 4-8 pm, Windy Knoll Farm, Nokesville, VA - Come one, come all to a "FRESH FROM THE FARM" fundraising FARM TO TABLE dinner, sponsored by the Prince William Environmental Excellence Foundation. Learn more here.

First-generation farmer Robert Mills began his life as a man of the land in eighth grade agricultural class — two weeks in, he knew just what he wanted to do with his life.

He was recently awarded the 2017 Virginia Farmer of the Year for his work on his Callands farm, Briar View Farm. Read on here.

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va (WHSV) — Senator Emmett Hanger and local agriculture leaders showcased farmers' conservation efforts in the Shenandoah Valley to celebrate Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week on June 8. Read the article from WHSV.

The Green Bow Foundation is offering conservation classes every month throughout the rest of the year. The classes will be held from 6-7 p.m. at the Fauquier Fairgrounds. There is a $5 fee per class per student. Additional fees may apply based on the event. The first class is on April 12. Learn more here.

Only 72 Rappahannock County acres were placed under conservation easement in 2016, albeit the total conserved land in the county now stands at a none-too-shabby 32,417 acres.

Comparably, 523 acres in Culpeper County were put in conservation last year (18,600 total acres), 1,262 acres were added in Fauquier County (a whopping 102,332 total acres), and another 844 new acres in Madison County (15,761 total acres). Read more here.

Virginia farmers and forest landowners can apply for assistance to protect the health and productivity of their land under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service administers. Landowners should sign up by Feb. 17 to be eligible for 2017 funding.

Read more here.

Starting Feb. 1, 2017, the Northern Piedmont Beginning Farmer program will be offering two different Beginning Farmer courses. The Fauquier Education Farm also will partner with the Piedmont Environmental Council to offer a pair of workshops on land acquisition in March. Learn more here.

RICHMOND, Va. (NEWSPLEX) -- The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation recognized ten farms across the Commonwealth for their conservation practices. Read more here.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is adding 11 new projects to Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW), the agency’s targeted, science-based effort to help producers restore and protect habitat for declining species on farms, ranches and working forests.

Richmond, VA, November 16, 2016 – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is now making $644,000 available for Virginia property owners interested in controlling non-native, invasive plants in their woodland and adjacent pastureland. Learn more here.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is making $874,000 available to farmers in 21 Virginia localities who are interested in improving Chesapeake Bay water quality by installing livestock exclusion and forestry practices in targeted rivers and streams. Read the article here.

Over $6 million in grants from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (VLCF) is going to shield 7,037 acres of at-risk land from development, including two major projects in Rockingham and Augusta County. Read on here.

If you are a forester, private landowner, or state/federal agency habitat manager, then you will want to learn the results of a project assessing "Desired Ecological States Provided by Open Pine in Managed Forests," sponsored by the Gulf Coastal Plains & Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative.  Why?  Because existing data was incorporated into HabPlan harvest scheduling software to simulate a variety of management options across 50 years.  The results identify options for providing open pine wildlife habitat conditions in managed forests across the region as well as biodiversity responses to those management options. The Society of American Foresters has pre-approved this webinar for one Continuing Forestry Education credit hour.

Register Here »

Communities across Virginia are taking steps to reverse the impacts of past development and redesign new development in ways that will protect water quality.

Read on here.

Brought to you by the American Farmland Trust, the Warrenton "Women and Land" workshops are designed to help women landowners achieve their conservation objectives. Learn more and register here.

Aug. 4, 2016: Governor McAuliffe today discussed Virginia’s $61 million investment in agricultural best management practices at the annual Virginia Ag Expo, sponsored by the Virginia Grain Producers Association and Virginia Soybean Association in collaboration with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service.