Agricultural News
NRCS Chief Terry Cosby on Innovative Approaches and Technologies for Conservation
Mon, 13 Dec 2021 18:31:58 CST
Bearing witness to the effects of unsustainable agricultural practices, like the Dust Bowl, American farmers and ranchers have a strong understanding of the importance of environmental stewardship. Through exponential technological growth and a need to feed more people on planet earth with significantly less land to do it on, agricultural production today must be strategic.
Through the Conservation Innovation Grant program at the United States Department of Agriculture, $15 million has been awarded to agricultural producers to mitigate the effects of climate change and increase the resilience of their operations. Today, Terry Cosby, chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service at the USDA, spoke with Ron Hays, director of Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, about opportunities specific to Oklahoma.
"One of the (projects) is using satellite technology to detect where cedar (trees) are so we can get these invasive (species) out," Cosby said. "All of the information we gain through these projects we can apply across the country. Who else is better to help us with this than the folks who are actually on the land?"
Cosby is talking about the Enhanced Satellite Imagery Analysis Providing for Invasive Species Control in the Chickasaw Nation project. Many of the projects within this announcement will focus on providing conservation benefits for historically undeserved producers. The satellite imagery will improve accuracy of applying prescribed burns to cedar groves.
Another project set to take place in Oklahoma is the Social Science to Drive Brush Management in the High Plains project. By identifying adoption barriers and addressing current perceptions on brush management Playa Lakes Joint Venture will improve management efforts of shrub encroachment on grasslands.
The last project, one that Cosby said he is personally interested to follow, is set to take place in Oklahoma is Increasing the Pace and Scale of Adoption of Prescribed Grazing through Virtual Fence Technology. Oklahoma State University will increase producer adoption of virtual fencing through the development of standards and specifications for the technology to achieve water quality, wildlife and other conservation objectives.
"These projects are so important because it gives us an opportunity to test some of this (technology) and see how it is going to work," Cosby said. "I am a farm boy - we always had horses and cattle and they did not pay attention to a fence that was there, let alone a virtual fence so I am going to pay close attention to this (particular) project."
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear Ron Hays and Terry Cosby talk about USDA NRCS $15 million in grant funding that that supports the development of new tools, approaches, practices and technologies to further natural resource conservation on private lands.
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