Giving Thanks This Year

​As fall continues to fade away, we're about to turn the corner into the holiday season! Here at the MCSWCD, we have a long list of things to be thankful for this year.

First, we're thankful for our community and the incredible effort being made toward conservation here. This topic is fresh in our minds, as we just finished wrapping up our Soil-Health mini-series to celebrate soil conservation in southern Indiana. Three sessions were delivered to help residents understand their soil, keep it healthy, and use it to grow successfully.  Thank you to everyone who contributed and joined us for the series!

(To make sure you don't miss out on local events, be sure to check our events page (here) regularly!)

We're not the only ones grateful for conservation this year though; the USDA is hosting "No-Till November" again, by popular demand! No-till November is a campaign from the Natural Resource Conservation Service to discourage fall tilling. Instead, you should keep the stubble in your fields. This is great for the soil for many reasons: ​

• No-till improves soil health by not disturbing soil microbiology. Beneficial soil microbes are essential for growing food, fiber, and fuel.
• No-till improves the soil’s water holding capacity and keeps soils in place, preventing harmful runoff and erosion.
• No-till saves time, money (fuel) and wear on equipment. It’s an economically-sound choice.

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Practices like no-till are examples of how America's farmers are on the front lines of soil conservation. Soil health is essential to our health because everything we eat, including that big Thanksgiving Turkey, starts with healthy soil. That's why we should all be thankful for farmers this year!

Finally, we have to give thanks to YOU too! We're grateful to everyone who joined us this month to learn about soil, to everyone who is dedicated to conservation efforts, and to our local supporters as well! ​

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!