How Should USDA Farm Bill Funding Be Allocated? Local Work Group Meeting Announcement

      Knox County and Waldo County Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Belfast field office, will host the annual meeting of the Knox-Waldo Local Work Group (LWG) on December 4th, 2-4pm in Camden.

      Taking into account local resource concerns, Local Work Groups make recommendations to NRCS on how to spend USDA Farm Bill funds for agricultural and forestry conservation practices on private lands.  

      If you are: an agricultural producer; forester, logger or private woodland owner; member of an environmental or watershed organization or land trust; knowledgeable in soil, water, plant, wetland or wildlife sciences; and/or are familiar with agricultural and natural resource concerns in Knox or Waldo counties, we invite you to attend this meeting to help 1) identify and prioritize local conservation concerns; and 2) recommend how local funds for USDA Environmental Quality Incentive Programs (EQIP) will be distributed by NRCS to address resource needs.

      The meeting will begin with an informational session from 1-2pm.  Staff from NRCS and the SWCDs will describe their programs and services and will also explain the Farm Service Agency (FSA) registration process. If you're unfamiliar with these organizations, and the purpose of LWG, you are highly encouraged to arrive at 1pm.  The formal LWG meeting will begin at 2pm and, if you choose not to participate in that funding allocation discussion, feel free to leave at that time.

      If you plan to attend any portion of the meeting, please call or email your local SWCD office to be placed on the contact list and receive important information in advance of the meeting, including location details. 

Knox County: Julie Sells, 207.596.2040, julie@knox-lincoln.org, or

Waldo County: Medea Steinman, 207.218.5311, msteinman@maineconservationdistricts.com