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.
Tampa Free Press: Lawmakers Launch Bipartisan Push To Help Family Forests Bounce Back After Disasters
By Mike Jenkins
04/29/2026
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington introduced a new bill this week aimed at giving family-owned forests a faster way to recover after being hit by natural disasters. Known as the Save America’s Family Forests Act, the legislation seeks to overhaul current tax rules that supporters say make it too expensive and too slow for landowners to replant trees after hurricanes, wildfires, or floods.
Morning AgClips: Farm Bill Passes House: Ag Organizations Weigh In
04/30/2026
The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, otherwise known as the 2026 Farm Bill, was passed in the House of Representatives on April 30th, 2026, with a vote of 224-200. The bill now heads to the Senate, where policy disagreements are likely to draw out the lawmaking process.
USDA: USDA Announces Actions to Better Serve States, Nutrition Program Recipients, and the American Taxpayer
04/30/2026
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services mission area announced its intention to introduce the Food and Nutrition Administration. This shift will include a reorganization and relocation, all to move program leadership and staff from Washington, D.C. to hub and program compliance locations across the U.S.
EPA: EPA Gulf of America Division Announces Grants to Advance Innovative, Farmer-Led Conservation on Working Lands
05/05/2026
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Gulf of America Division announced up to $50 million in new grant funding to improve water quality, habitat, resilience, and environmental education by demonstrating innovative practices on America’s working lands. The Farmer-to-Farmer grant program provides targeted support to farmer-led and farm-focused organizations operating within the Gulf of America watershed, encompassing EPA Regions 3 through 8.
Brownfield Ag News: Fordyce: Consolidating USDA systems strengthens ag data privacy, security
By Kellan Heavican
05/06/2026
The USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation says the agency is addressing concerns about ag data security in the One Farmer One File initiative. Richard Fordyce says merging dozens of separate farm programs into a single network can be done safely.
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National Association of State Conservation Agencies: How Louisiana built a coastal vegetation restoration model other states can adapt
Louisiana | South Central Region
04/23/2026
Along Louisiana’s coast, restoration often begins with a local conversation at a feed store, a coffee shop, or on the marsh itself. Since 1988, that practical starting point has defined Louisiana’s Coastal Vegetative Planting Program, a partnership among conservation districts, state agencies, federal technical partners and private landowners designed to stabilize eroding shorelines through native marsh planting in a state that has lost about 2,000 square miles of coastal wetlands during the past century.
Morning AgClips: $240M Dedicated to Support On-farm Environmental Protection Projects
New York | Northeast Region
04/23/2026
These best management practice systems are made possible through the State’s strong partnerships with the 58 County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), which are recognized as local leaders in conservation and are working to address environmental concerns and conserve New York State’s natural resources. Since 2021, the State has invested more than $75 million in the SWCDs, who work with New York’s farmers to plan for and implement CRF and AgNPS projects on the farm that help producers meet their business goals while conserving the state’s natural resources.
AP: Solar ranch in Tennessee aims to prove grazing cattle under the panels is a farmland win-win
By Tammy Webber and Joshua A. Bickel | Christianna, TN | Southeast Region
04/30/2026
Silicon Ranch, which owns the 40-acre farm in Christiana, outside of Nashville, believes cattle-grazing is the next frontier in so-called agrivoltaics, which mostly has involved growing crops or grazing sheep beneath the panels. The solar company debuted the project this week and will spend the next year working to demonstrate to farmers that much larger cattle also can thrive at solar sites.
The Fence Post: NRCS’s decade-long work is today’s miracle for Colorado’s White Hawk Trail
By Jocelyn Benjamin | Colorado | Southwest Region
05/06/2026
The only thing that stood between a lightning strike and a community disaster was an old forest restoration project. Well over a decade ago, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Colorado partnered with the Jefferson Conservation District on the Pine Country Lane forest restoration project to help private landowners plan and implement forest and noxious weed management to restore ecosystems and mitigate wildfire hazards.
Basin Business Journal: Maximum irrigation efficiency, like all farming, is a balancing act
By Cheryl Schweizer | Othello, WA | Pacific Region
05/06/2026
Farmers have always looked for ways to make their operation more efficient, including in their water use. After all, water costs money. Dinah Rouleau, conservation director for on-farm and urban programs with the Columbia Basin Conservation District, said farmers have a lot to think about when planning and setting up an irrigation system. And that’s only one factor in farm operation.
Lake County Leader: “Aggg-ricu-lll-ture”: Fourth graders learn where food comes from
By Berl Tiskus | Mission Valley, MT | Northern Plains Region
05/07/2026
Fourth graders from around the Mission Valley field tripped to Buddy and Bridgett Cheff’s place south of Ronan last Wednesday and Thursday to see agriculture in action and to learn more about where their food comes from. Put on by the Western Montana Stockmen’s Association, Lake County Conservation District, Northwest Farm Bureau and Natural Resources and Conservation Service, the annual Fourth Grade Ag Days aims to expose the 367 kids who attended to the many facets of agriculture.