Summer 2019

bumper crop (noun) in agriculture - A very large crop.

Farmers in Berkeley County have benefitted a great deal by

applying for programs through USDA-NRCS! Between 2018-

2019, (to date), producers in Berkeley County have received

$876,582.00 to assist them with their agricultural operations. Projected funding for

the remainder of 2019 for Berkeley County is $225, 548. Add that together and

the 2 year total for producers in our county is a whopping $1,102,130.00!

OVER ONE MILLION DOLLARS!

Beezie Fleming, Director of District Operations for BSWCD: “Berkeley County’s

District Conservationist, Lori Bataller, is a definite factor in the success of the con-

tract awards Berkeley County applicants have received. Lori works tirelessly

connecting with farmers, looking for ways that their operations

could benefit from the NRCS programs, assisting them

with the application process - and when awarded, walking

them through complying with program standards.”

“We have had a lot of applications this year for a variety of

things...they ranged from people with forestland, cropland

and livestock applications,” said Ms. Bataller.

If you would like to register your farm and apply for EQIP

funding in the 2020 cycle, sign up by November. Call our office for details.

What is NRCS?

NRCS stands for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This agency is the technical

partner for Conservation Districts such as ours. The NRCS is under the umbrella of the

USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and partners with Conservation Districts

and other state agencies to provide technical and financial support to landowners and farmers.

What sort of services can they provide? NRCS provides technical assistance, writes applica-

tions for funding through NRCS programs for landowners and farmers, keeps the public ap-

prised of opportunities of cost –share programs available through theirs and other agencies

and can offer educated solutions for various farming issues.

Lori Bataller

District Conservationist

BSWCD sponsors local student Addison Foster, Cane Bay High School student, re-

ceived a scholarship to The South Carolina Commissioner's School for Agriculture (SCCSA). This program strives to

provide a challenging and enriching college-based curriculum that integrates subject matter from a va-riety of related disciplines with the overall theme of

agriculture and natural resources.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ mission includes educating others on topics of conservation of natural resources. BSWCD seeks to accomplish this mission in a variety of ways. We like to think that we do a great job balancing adult and youth education. In addition to providing local educational opportunities to young and old, we sponsor young people with scholarships for educational activities outside of our local efforts. Below are a few of the ways we met this goal this summer...

BSWCD/berkeleybees sponsors 2 Berkeley County Youth

to Trident Tech’s week-long

“Jr. Beekeeping Camp”

Education is the most powerful tool which you can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela

BSWCD assisted Berkeley County School District in setting up field trips to local farms as part of a summer school curricu-lum teaching “where our food comes from.” below: Annie-Lynn Farms hosted a group of students (pictured observing to-mato plants). right: Hickory Bluff Farms hosted group as well. (pictured Walter Earley teaching and students get-ting a tour riding the wagon!)

Did you know….. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced details of actions the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take to assist farmers in re-sponse to trade damage from unjustified retaliation by foreign nations. These programs will assist agricultur-al producers to meet the costs of disrupted markets.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will administer the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) to provide payments to corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean, and wheat pro-ducers. An announcement about further payments will be made in the coming months, if warranted.

Berkeley County Producers affected: Please contact Teresa McAlhany at the Farm Service Agency for details 843-727-4160 ext. 5075.

More Information

Payments will be made in up to three tranches, with the second and third tranches evaluat-ed as market conditions and trade opportunities dictate. If conditions warrant, the second and third tranches will be made in November and early January.

More information can be found on http://www.farmers.gov/mfp,

Berkeley Soil & Water Conservation District

Board of Commissioners

Diane Edwins, Chairman

Barry H. Jurs, Vice Chairman

Keith Gourdin, Treasurer

Troy Diel

Phillip Habib

Associate

Commissioners

Archie Thompson

Roseann Bishop

Marietta Hicks

Charlie Glover

Lynn Curtis

Staff

Beezie Fleming

Loretta Simmons

Change is the only constant in life - Heraclitus “Charlie had gone to a meeting in Columbia where he had met with some people from the Palmetto Conservation Foundation and they were talking about this sort of unknown type of organization called ‘land trusts.’ He said, ‘I’ve got something I want to talk to you about’..that is the way Charlie started any conversation that was going some-where...and he started talking about what he had learned about land trusts. We talked about an hour, and it immediately became very obvious that we needed one of these!”

“The End of an Era”

Left - Beezie Fleming,

Director of District Opera-

tions for the Berkeley Soil

& Water Conservation Dis-

trict and Adair Rourk with

LBCT take one last picture

from the office that the two

entities shared for many

years. BSWCD wishes

them all the best in their

‘new home!’

Above: Charles Glover and Barry Jurs in

in earlier times working with the

Conservation District. Right: pictured in

BSWCD: The Past the Present and

the Future being interview ed about

starting the Lord Berkeley Conservation

Trust. The Lord Berkeley Conservation

Trust was established in 1992 through

the Berkeley Soil and Water Conserva-

tion District.

See the entire video at

www.berkeleysoilandwater.com

Below: Chris Vaughn is the new Executive

Director of LBCT. He has extensive experience

in conservation and forestry. Chris and Adair

Rourk, Financing and Marketing Director, will

lead the Land Trust from their new location on

Railroad Avenue in Moncks Corner.

BSWCD is very pleased

to have Loretta Simmons

back in our office serving

as our Administrative

Assistant.

Commissioner Troy Diel is administered his Oath of Office as BSWCD Chairman Diane Edwins looks on. Tyler Brown, Programs Coordinator for Conservation Districts, SCDNR, administered the oath. We were pleased to have Mr. Brown and DNR Administrative Assistant Deanne Myrick join us for this occasion during our July Board meeting. Commissioner Troy Diel was recently re-appointed to the Berkeley Conservation District by the SC DNR Board. Commissioner Diel has served on the Berkeley Board since 2007. Thank you for your service!

What is a District Commissioner?

State law created conservation districts to provide grass roots leadership for devel-oping and implementing conservation activities. Conservation districts are subdivi-sions of state government. Each Conservation District has 5 commissioners author-ized by the Districts Law. Conservation districts are unique; no other agency has the responsibility that districts have. If conservation activities are to take place within a district, the district should initiate them. Other government agencies and groups may assist in these efforts, but the responsibility rests, by law, with the conservation district. DISTRICT PURPOSES: 1) To be responsible to the citizens of the district in matters involving resource conservation 2)To promote the wise and responsible use of natural resources. 3)To develop and implement programs to protect and con-serve soil, water, farmland, wood land, wildlife, energy, and riparian and wetland re-sources. - from the Commissioners Handbook

Happenings from the Board and Staff of BSWCD Berkeley Soil and Water Conservation

District Chairman Diane Edwins will be

attending the National Association of

Conservation Districts SouthEast Region

meeting in Gatlinburg this summer.

NACD regions meetings give conserva-

tion district leaders, members and part-

ners a time and place to discuss their

most pressing concerns and

share their most valueable

insights.

berkeleybees

Thank you for the wonderful presentation you did for us on the "Life of Honey Bees". The children were excited and ready to learn, some parents saw it as a picture perfect moment. No matter what we all got something out of it. I hope you will be ready to do this when next I call upon you. Regards, Florence A. Lewis-Coker Library-Moncks Corner: Senior Branch Librarian

a local group for anyone interested in beekeeping

All ages and experience levels welcome!

Meetings held 3rd Tuesday each month 6:30 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church

berkeleybees has continued to hold monthly meetings this summer. We appreciate all of our “regulars” and also welcome any, and all, “new-bees!” Summertime can be a critical time in the beekeeping year with varroa mites and other pests on the increase while bee populations start to decrease as fall approaches. We devoted 2 months to discussing diseases and pests...knowledge is key to success in keeping honey bees! Other speakers/topics this summer included a representative from the USDA on legal labeling and bottling of honey and Berkeley County Mosquito Abatement on mosquito spraying. This year our honey tasting and contest (August meeting) will be a “members-only” competition; next year in 2020 we will return to our region-wide invite to participate and judge our region’s “best local honey.”

New application process for requests for assistance with projects.

On a limited basis, BSWCD partners with groups on projects and programs that help us meet our mission goals.

Starting with fiscal year 2019-2020, BSWCD will be accepting requests for local project as-sistance through a formal application process. Any requests will be submitted through a standardized application form. Requests for each fiscal year should be filed no later than November 1. Awards will be announced Feb. 1 and funds will be distributed thereafter, no later than June 30. Applications will be available on our website or from office by Oct. 1

BERKELEY BLUEWAYS POCKET-GUIDE BOOKS

(Pictured left) Scott Lynch, Managing Director of BLAZE, LLC shows off the new pocket guide he created for the Berkeley Blueways Paddling Trails. Detailed, user-friendly information

packs this guide waiting on you to take it on a paddling adventure! Covers info for all skill levels!

DISCOVER WHAT AWAITS YOU IN YOUR OWN “BACKYARD”! For Sale: $14.99 Stop by our office for your copy!

Our website: www.berkeleyblueways.com

FERAL HOG TRAPPING PROGRAM

Don’t forget that BSWCD and Berkeley County

Farm Bureau have a feral hog trapping program

available for Berkeley County residents! APHIS

(USDA) provides a professional trapper to set up

and monitor the equipment and trap your hogs.

Equipment is provided by the Conservation

District and Farm Bureau. There is no cost to the

landowner; donations towards the program are

accepted but not required. Call our office to find

out more information!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE FARM EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE

TO YOU FOR RENT THROUGH OUR OFFICE?

Some of our local producers have expressed an interest in having farm equipment available for rent. BSWCD is polling our county farmers to determine this need in

our county. Roughly half of the conservation districts in the state have some sort of farming equipment available for rent; particularly in demand are no-till drills. If you

would like to take advantage of renting District owned equipment, please call our office and let us know this information - AND the type of equipment you would find

most useful to your operation. As our board considers this service to the county, your voice makes a

difference!

223 East Main Street, Ste. B MoncksCorner, SC 29461

BSWCD is always looking for new affiliates who would like to

support our organization and its programs!

You may join at any time. Contribution levels/

membership applications can be found on our

webpage or contact our office staff!

Contact us: (843) 719-4146

Email: info@berkeleysoilandwater.com

Webpage: www.berkeleysoilandwater.com

Facebook: Berkeley Conservation District

Location: 223 East Main Street, Ste. B; Moncks Corner