NACD 2016 Conservation Leadership Forum and Tour

DoubleTree by Hilton – Bloomington | Minneapolis, Minnesota

Friday, July 15
7:00 AM-5:00 PM / Executive Board Meeting / Vista 2202
4:00 PM- 6:00 PM / Registration / Bloomington Foyer
Saturday, July 16
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM / Registration / Bloomington Foyer
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM / Soil Health Champion Coffee / Atrium 8
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM / Board of Directors Meeting / Veranda Ballroom
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM / Soil Health Breakout Session: The benefits of using ridge till and cover crops
Featuring Dr. Joe Magner, University of Minnesota research professor / Atrium 8
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM / CSP– Building Better Outcomes – A review of changes being made to improve this popular conservation program
Featuring Mark Rose, director of NRCS’ Financial Assistance Programs Division / Atrium 8
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM / Lunch (on your own)
2:00 PM - 3:45 PM / Session: Minnesota’s prioritized, targeted and measurable conservation delivery model
Featuring MASWCD Executive Director LeAnn Buck, Minn. NACD Board Alternate and Blue Earth SWCD Supervisor Emily Javens, and Minn. Board of Water and Soil Resources Assistant Director for Regional Operations Doug Thomas
/ Atrium 8
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM / Committee Meetings
Communications / Bloomington
District Operations/Member Services / Edina
Natural Resource / Atrium 6
Legislative / Atrium 1
Stewardship and Education / Atrium 7
3:15 PM - 3:45 PM / Break / Bloomington Foyer
3:45 PM - 5:00 PM / Region Meetings
Pacific Region Meeting / Atrium 3
Northeast Region Meeting / Bloomington
Southeast Region Meeting / Atrium 7
North Central Region Meeting / Atrium 1
Southwest Region Meeting / Atrium 2
Northern Plains Region Meeting / Edina
South Central Region Meeting / Atrium 6
Sunday, July 17
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM / Registration / Bloomington Foyer
8:00 AM - 11:00 AM / Board of Directors Meeting / Veranda Ballroom
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM / The key to effective organizations? That’s leadership.
Featuring Kim Boyce, retired University of Minnesota Extension educatorand professor
/ Veranda Ballroom
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM / Lunch (on your own)
1:00 PM - 5:30 PM / The Future of Conservation Forum / Veranda Ballroom
Welcome from Senator Amy Klobuchar (invited)
Keynote from Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith (invited)
Keynote from NRCS Chief Jason Weller (invited)
Industry leaders discuss the meaning of ‘sustainability’
FeaturingCHS, Land O’Lakes, and GNP Company
BREAK
Primer on Rural Water Quality Solutions
FeaturingDavid Mulla, professor and endowed chair
University of Minnesota’s Department of Soil, Water & Climate
What’s with the Resource Stewardship Evaluation tool?
Featuring NACD’s Bill Berry, NRCS’ Aaron Lauster, and NASCA’s Mike Brown
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM / Soil Health Social / Garden Court
Monday, July 18
7:00 AM - 6:30 PM / Conservation Tour - Please bring closed-toed shoes, bug spray, and any medications needed; restrooms will be available and water will be provided / North Entrance
Tuesday, July 19
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM / National Conservation Planning Partnership / Bloomington
NACD THANKS OUR MEETING SPONSORS

7:00 AM / Begin boarding buses / North Entrance
7:30 AM / Buses depart from DoubleTree
Conservation Tour
Please bring closed-toed shoes, bug spray, and any medications needed; restrooms will be available and water will be provided
Regal Creek Stabilization Project – Wright County
The newly completed Regal Creek Stabilization Project showcases the integration of stream bank buffers and storm water management practices across natural areas and steep slopes.
Plant Materials Evaluation Site – Becker, Minn.
Established through a partnership between NRCS, the University of Minnesota, and four local SWCDs, the Plant Materials Evaluation Site is home to state-of-the-art research in woody vegetation, pasture grass and cover crops.
At this stop, plan to hear how improved plant materials are being used to increase tree species diversity and improve resilience in urban forests vulnerable to invasive pests and climate change.
Great Blue Heron Supper Club – Cold Spring, Minn.
Lunch 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Mill Creek Dairy – St. Cloud, Minn.
Mill Creek Dairy is owned and operated by brothers Tom and Ed Gregory, along with Tom’s wife Donna and son Nick. This tour stop will feature a host of conservation practices, including feedlot upgrades, irrigation water management, cover crops, contour strips, terraces, farmstead windbreaks, and grassed waterways.
The Gregory operation also boasts pollinator habitat, planted in partnership with General Mills, and in 2015 was certified through the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program.
The Forever Green Initiative – St. Paul, Minn.
The Forever Green Initiative – a University of Minnesota and USDA Agriculture Research Service program – is working to develop new winter annual and perennial crops that allow for water quality improvements and water quality management, while also helping to bolster the rural and agricultural economy with high-value, commercially marketable food, feed, and fuel products.
Learn how this dynamic initiative led by researchers, farmers, food product developers and entrepreneurs from all aspects of the agricultural supply chain are developing and promoting the use of these new sustainable crops during this site visit.
6:30 PM / Buses Return to Bloomington DoubleTree
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM / Minn. Assoc. SWCD Board Meeting / Atrium 7