Conservation Clips is a weekly collection of articles distributed by NACD that provides our members and partners with the latest news in what’s driving conservation. These articles are not indicative of NACD policy and are the opinions of their authors, unless otherwise noted. If you have a relevant submission or need assistance accessing articles, please contact the NACD Communications Team.
NACD: NACD Comments on DOI National Environmental Policy Act Revisions
08/04/2025
NACD looks forward to working with the DOI and all stakeholders to ensure that any changes support effective conservation while ensuring working lands continue to work for our nation’s producers and land stewards. NACD appreciates the efforts of the executive agencies to streamline what has become an onerous NEPA process and create consistency by combining and relying on categorical exclusions across the executive agencies.
NACD Blog: Monroe SWCD Connects Forests, Water, and Community
08/04/2025
The Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District (MCSWCD) serves a landscape that stretches from the Lake Ontario shoreline south through the Genesee River Basin. Based in Rochester, New York, MCSWCD works across urban and rural settings, partnering with landowners and producers, municipalities, and community partners to implement conservation practices that protect soil and improve water quality. In 2024, forestry continued to play an integral role across their programs, from floodplain restoration to invasive species response.
Cover Crop Strategies: A Meeting of the Minds — Conservation Ag Style
By Mackane Vogel
07/31/2025
This week I had the privilege to attend the National Association of Conservation Districts Annual Summer Meeting hosted right here in Milwaukee, WI at the Pfister Hotel. The event moves around from city to city each year but with our home court as the location for this year, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get together with like-minded conservation ag-focused folks and see what the week had in store.
USDA: USDA Opens Public Comment Period on Department Reorganization Plan
08/01/2025
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced today the opening of a 30-day public comment period for stakeholders to provide feedback on the Department’s reorganization plan, as outlined in the Secretary’s memorandum (PDF, 2.6 MB) issued on July 24, 2025.
Successful Farming: ‘Every Day My List Gets Bigger’: How Pat Swanson Plans to Improve Crop Insurance at the USDA
By Andrew Huneke and Lydia Johnson
08/02/2025
On Newsmakers this week, Risk Management Agency Administrator Pat Swanson discussed her plans to lead the agency and how her background serving on the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation has prepared her for the role.
Brownfield AgNews: Secretary Rollins on USDA’s reorganization plans
By Erin Anderson
08/05/2025
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says the reorganization of the USDA will help provide necessary resources for America’s farmers and ranchers. “This was always President Trump’s big vision of getting rid of the bureaucracy and working to put resources really where they are needed the most,” she says. “To the people that were serving where needed, especially in our world, for farmers and ranchers.” She tells Brownfield the relocation plans are already in motion.
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Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Districts: NRCS Chief Aubrey Bettencourt Visits Alabama, Tours Farms Showcasing Irrigation Success
Alabama | South Central Region
Aubrey Bettencourt, Chief of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), recently toured farms in Madison and Lawrence Counties to see firsthand the success of the Alabama Irrigation Initiative. The tour, which included stops at 2M Farms in New Hope, Letson Brothers Farm in Hillsboro, Martin Farm in Courtland, and Spruell Farms in Mt. Hope, highlighted how partnerships and innovative practices are transforming agriculture in the state.
Farm Progress: Millers are conservation champions in challenging terrain
By Jennifer Kiel | Ohio | North Central Region
08/01/2025
Water availability has presented a particular challenge in this rugged landscape. Yet despite these natural limitations, Brad and his wife, Jane, have transformed potential obstacles into opportunities with more than four decades of dedicated stewardship on Hope Ridge Farm. Through careful adaptation and innovative practices, the Millers have fine-tuned their cattle operation into a thriving enterprise where conservation principles don’t merely coexist with profitability — they drive it.
Daily Press: Marketplace garden aims to help pollinators
By R.R. Branstorm | Escanaba, MI | North Central Region
08/04/2025
Although the initial idea was to put in a garden at Center Court that would foster an environment beneficial to pollinators, Woerpel and Glenn Vande Water of the Delta Conservation District walked down to the marketplace and both agreed the gardens there, which have boundary walls and are irrigated, would be a good place to start.
Rural Messenger: Uncharted Territory: First Wetland Reserve Easement in Kansas
Labette County, KS | Northern Plains Region
08/05/2025
In 1994, Max and Eweleen Good became pioneers in wetland conservation in Kansas, making history as the first landowners to voluntarily participate in a USDA Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) in the state. At the time, the concept of wetland restoration was new, and the Goods had little to guide them. Nevertheless, they saw it as an opportunity to return their land to a more natural state, help restore wildlife habitat, and contribute to the larger conservation effort.