Welcome to the
"Promoting Soil and Water Conservation in Henry County since 1951"
Photo from Ky Lake Chapter Quail Forever
Congratulations to Brittney Viers-Scott for being chosen as the 2019 Kentucky Lake chapter's Conservationist of the Year. Brittney has a bachelor's degree and a master's dagree in wildlife science and has worked in the conservation field for many years in both Kentucky and Tennessee. During the last six years in West Tennessee, she has assisted nearly 1,000 landowners, provided guidance on more than 300 Farm Bill contracts and positively impacted more that 10,000 acres with her conservation efforts. Brittney has woked diligently to preserve bobwhite quail and dwindling pollinator species through Farm Bill programs such as EQIP and CRP. She recently accepted a position with the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative based at Austin Peay State University, in a partnership with NRCS and Quail Forever, to bring back the rare and declining native grasslands that historically blanketed much of the southeastern United States. We are proud of Brittney and her unwavering passion for conservation.
The Paris Field Office was honored to have our Tennessee State Conservationist, Mr. Sheldon Hightower, along with our Area Conservationist, Mr. Curt McDaniel, visit with us on April 24th. After a welcome and brief discussion with our staff, Board Chairman, Don Norwood, and Vice-Chairman, Kevin Bomar, Mr. Hightower and Mr. McDaniel were taken on a tour of Henry County. The first stop on the tour was at the Inman Middle School Greenhouse. We were welcomed by IMS teahers and FFA sponsor, Carrie Jones and Allen Ashlock. The greenhouse was constructed through an educational grant funded by the Henry County Soil Conservation District and the Henry County Farm Bureau. The greenhouse will be used by the IMS students and the school's new FFA chapter. The second stop on the tour was at Moss Dairy Farms. Mr. Hightower and Mr. McDaniel met with the Moss's at their dairy farm and was shown several practices implemented through our EQIP program. The tour also traveled by several local fields currently enrolled in our EQIP program for soil health and they were able to view the cover crop in the fields. We would like to thank Mr. Hightower and Mr. McDaniel for taking the time to visit Henry County and see conservation at work!
The NRCS staff was invited to give presentations at the Earth Day Celebrations at two of our local elementary schools. Ron Harrison, Ryan Winchester, and Jason Scott demonstrated the rainfall simulator while explaining to students the importance of erosion control. The students were also excited to be visited by our very own Sammy Soil. We are always honored by the opportunity to talk to our local students about the importance of conservation and teach them how they can help protect the environment.
Hugh Hammond Bennett is sometimes called the Father of Soil Conservation. He was instrumental in the creation of the Soil Conservation Service (now NRCS) during the Dust Bowl days of the 1930's. Learn more about him here:
