Orleans County NRCD
Programs and Services Meet the Board and Staff
Conservation Equipment Rental Program
Check out our 2019 District Highlights Newsletter
Orleans County nrcd hosts the nek tri district meeting
The three Northeast Kingdom Conservation Districts had our Tri District annual meeting on August 19th in Westmore with 7 board members, 4 NRCS staff, 4 NRCD staff and 2 partners present. Our annual Tri District meeting is intended to bring all the board members together as a NRCC supervisory union to update each other on our work, interface with partners on relevant topics and visit with each other. This year, we heard updates from District Managers on each districts work, Jeff Sanders from UVM NWCS told us about his work with farms to interseed cover crops between rows of an established corn sileage cash crop as part of a NRCS CIG grant and Ben Copans, VTDEC Basin Planner, gave us an update on the VT Clean Water Service provider funding model for meeting phosphorus reduction targets.
After our presentations we all headed over to the Farm at Wheeler Mountain which is owned and operated by Orleans County NRCD board member, Joanna Lidback. She gave us a farm tour highlighting all the great conservation work they have completed with assistance from OCNRCD staff including technical and financial support through the USDA NRCS Memphremagog RCPP program.
How much is your manure worth?
ARE YOU CONSIDERING SELLING YOUR SOLID MANURE TO AREA GARDENERS OR JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO PUT A VALUE ON THE MANURE PRODUCED BY YOUR HERD? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE VALUE OF PROPER NMP PLANNING AND UTILIZATION OF MANURE.
Check out the factsheet! Feel free to give us a call or write us a note if you have any questions or want help figuring out the value for your manure.
Water Quality Reports and Resources
Conservation Matters Videos
During the winter of 2019 Newport movie theater showed two videos from the Faces of Vermont Agriculture series to 8252 people! The videos highlighted two Orleans County Farmers and is part of a collection of eight short video profiles that highlight outstanding stewards of the land who live and farm in the Green Mountain State.
Required Agricultural Practices (RAP) QUIZ
The goal of the RAP Online Quiz is to provide an accessible, informative tool for livestock farmers of all size operations and to raise awareness of the RAPs and water quality improvement practices available to Vermont farmers.
What to Know Before Growing Hemp
On April 19th, 2019, the we hosted a workshop at the American Legion in Newport that covered the basics of growing hemp, as well as the state regulations for the 2019 growing season. Please note, the rules related to growing hemp in Vermont have since changed, but the agronomic information presented at this workshop is certainly still applicable! For more information about growing hemp in 2020, check out the Vermont Hemp Program website. And check out the recording of the 2019 workshop below, courtesy of NEK TV!
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The Orleans County Natural Resource Conservation District (OCNRCD) was established in 1946 as a non-regulatory organization led by local landowners. We strive to protect natural resources by seeking solutions to local environmental concerns and providing resources to address them.
Our current focus is to support Orleans County communities and landowners in their efforts to improve water quality issues. Our extensive partnerships with state, federal and local organizations enable us to coordinate resources locally to support conservation land use practices.
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Mission Statement
Protect and enhance the waters of Orleans County by providing leadership, education and services for implementation of sound land stewardship practices in order to improve the quality of all of the county’s waters.
Contact us at:
59 Waterfront Plaza
Newport, VT 05855
(802) 334-6090 x 7008
sarah.damsell@vt.nacdnet.net
emily.finnegan@vt.nacdnet.net
Upcoming Workshops:
The Science of Water Quality: A Workshop For Farm Employees
Date & Time TBD
Location TBD
Ecosystem Services through an Artists’ Eye
Opening reception TBD
MAC Center for the Arts, 158 Main St. Newport
Manure Injection Field Day
Date & Time TBD
Location TBD
Conservation Success Story!
Orleans County NRCD and Memphremagog Watershed Association highlight local farmers in Newport, VT who reduced their nonpoint source pollution. With help from NRCS, the McCormicks installed best management practices that reduced phosphorous runoff in the Strawberry Acres tributary by 50%!
“I don’t think people realize the effect that these projects can have on the environment.”
“We are getting more milk and better quality since we completed all this work”, this is their third year of getting a quality milk award. Overall, the project “has brought us closer together as a family.”