On October 1st, Brad Carlson begins his 30th year working for the University of Minnesota Extension. The Extension Educator, who works statewide from the Mankato Regional Office, focuses on water quality issues related to agriculture, and more specifically, nitrates.
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The Climate, Water, Equity, and Opportunity Workshop is just six-weeks away! This unique workshop is taking place in downtown Denver, Colorado October 12–13 prior to the First American Land-Grant Consortium Annual Conference. The event will bring together land-grant colleagues from 1862, 1890, and 1994 institutions across the region to discuss how we can better work together to address climate and water-related challenges facing our communities.
Read More...The North Central Region Water Network, The First American Land-Grant Consortium (FALCON), and partners from across the North Central Region are hosting a workshop for 1862, 1890, and 1994 land-grant colleagues working on climate and water-relatedRead More…
The North Central Region Water Network team is headed to Denver, Colorado this October for the Climate, Water, Equity, and Opportunity Workshop October 12-13th. The workshop is a unique opportunity to meet, connect and partner with land-grant colleagues – including colleagues from Tribal Colleges and Historically Black Land-Grant Universities within the North Central Region.
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Some of us measure a career in terms of years. Ron Graber, extension watershed specialist for Kansas State University, uses a whole different yardstick.
“When we start a career, we hope to make a difference,” said Graber. For him, that success is measured in innovative partnerships, successful management strategies, and improved water quality.
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In November 2022, I assumed the role of NDSU Extension Specialist and Program Director for Soil and Water Leadership Development. With the assistance of two Program Coordinators and a team of Extension Specialists, I support and guide 54 distinct Soil Conservation Districts across the state of North Dakota.
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The Soil Health Nexus is excited to debut two new resources on the Soil Health Toolbox. Two Soil Health Nexus members, Francisco Arriaga, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Anna Cates, State Soil Health Specialist at the University of Minnesota, recently published a long-awaited whitepaper exploring the connection between soil health and water quality.
“While there has been a lot of work linking farm management practices with soil health or water quality, few have looked at the connection to both soil and water quality,” notes Cates. “Generally, management systems that lead to better soil health result in decreased risk to water quality, but that is not the case in all conditions or for all management systems. What works in one field for both soil health and water quality might not be the best option for another field. This whitepaper explores those intricacies so educators can better recognize and communicate when the relationship isn’t positively correlated.”
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As of May, 2023, I will have completed one year as Interim Director of the North Central Region Water Network (NCRWN). Also in May, the NCRWN Leadership Team will be meeting in Chicago to do some strategic planning around the future of the Network. I can’t think of a better time to reflect on twenty plus years of multi-state collaborative water programs and the invaluable role the North Central Region Water Network has and continues to play in facilitating regional collaboration.
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A team of Extension personnel across the Midwest, in partnership with the USDA Midwest Climate Hub, aims to increase the adoption of regionally scalable climate-smart agriculture. The project, originally titled “Accelerating the transition to climate-smart strategiesRead More…
While most of us are thinking about Halloween costumes, family gatherings, and dare I say it – holiday shopping – a team of extension professionals in the North Central Region are already looking ahead to nextRead More…