The recent purchase of a Wood Ash Spreader has also proven to be a great success with our local farmers. Just in the short time we have owned it, several local farmers have benefited from the availability of the spreader to get wood ash and lime on their fields to improve soil quality and group yields.
Comments from a few of our farmers that have used it and their pictures:
“I used the ash spreader early in the season. Rain was a disadvantage for me the week that I rented the spreader but I got the job done. I spread 150 ton of ash during the week that I rented it. Previous years I had incorporated the ash with manure and used my manure spreader to distribute the combined product. By using the ash spreader I was able to apply a more consistent layer over a wider area, the small size of the machine also allowed me to get back into some more remote places. Thank you so much for making this available to us. It makes a big difference to a small farm!”
Tichy, West Milan.
“This spreader is so much better to spread the ash with, compared to my manure spreader. You can see the spread pattern as your moving along. But when I would stop and look for the ash you could barely see it. The next day it was raining a little. Then I could see the fine coating on each pass. This is the perfect way to incorporate the ash in the soil. I didn’t take a picture of the field that rainy morning, but I do have a picture before I filled it up.”
McGee, Lancaster
We would like to Thank the NH Charitable Foundation for providing us with Neil & Louise Tillotson Grant Funds to allow us to purchase this much needed piece of equipment for the North Country.
The Coos Country Conservation District hosted a demonstration in Columbia last Wednesday of a 10-foot Great Plains No Till Drill 1006NT, pulled by Scott Deblois so participants could see it in action.
About
No-till farming practices keep the soil structure intact-enabling it to absorb more water and handle heavy rain as well as decreases erosion and supports trillions of microbes in the soil. (Jake Mardin photo)
Farmers interested in learning more about ways to improve the productivity of your soil should visit the NH Soil Health website Producers interested in cover crops should sign up by March 15, you will be put on a contact list to receive updated information about cover crop trials, seed mixes, dates.
No-Till Corn Planter Rentals and Retrofits equipment availability, click here for more information and signup. We’ve Got It Covered! Already using cover crops? This campaign seeks to assist farmers in getting recognition for the good cover cropping already being implemented on farms. These signs are available in your local NRCS, Conservation District or Cooperative Extension Office.
Each year the District holds a Conservation Field Day for the 5th graders from the local valley schools. This Field Day has been occurring for multiple decades with the help from local professionals in NH Fish & Game, UNH Extension, USDA/NRCS, local foresters and farmers, and volunteers.
Students are able to learn about crops and agriculture, safety on the farm, what animals can be raised, the soil horizons, timber harvesting, and what fish/macro invertebrates are found in our streams and rivers. The field day is a true hands on experience for the students!
Here are some of the photos from the Conservation Field Day in May of 2001 that were featured in the Colebrook Chronicle.
Each month, we will be providing Flashbacks of the great work that the Conservation District in Coos County has completed over the years. However for the January Newsletter we wanted to highlight a special event in history!
Soil Conservation in 1937
On February 27, 1937 Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a letter to all state governors urging the passage of state legislation to create a soil conservation district program. The reason for this program was due to the devastating soil erosion conditions from the great Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. Roosevelt’s actions provided land owners with the ability to organize conservation districts as local governmental subdivisions of the state. Forty-five states enacted such laws before the statewide New Hampshire soil conservation district was created in May of 1945. By 1946, and currently each county in NH had its own conservation district.
NH Governor Dale
The picture shown here was taken as Governor Dale signed the bill. Persons in the picture left to right: Alfred L. French, Secretary of NH Farm Bureau Federation; George M. Putnam, President of NH Farm Bureau Federation; Representative Arthur W. McDaniel, Chairman of the legislative soil conservation committee; Governor Charles M. Dale; Representative Roscoe J. Oakes, who introduced the bill in the House; Andrew L. Felker, Commissioner of Agriculture; and Senator Scott Simpson, who sponsored a previous soil conservation bill.
This was a major event in our state’s history! Thank you President Roosevelt for recognizing the need for conservation districts through out the United States!
“I used the ash spreader early in the season. Rain was a disadvantage for me the week that I rented the spreader but I got the job done. I spread 150 ton of ash during the week that I rented it. Previous years I had incorporated the ash with manure and used my manure spreader to distribute the combined product. By using the ash spreader I was able to apply a more consistent layer over a wider area, the small size of the machine also allowed me to get back into some more remote places. Thank you so much for making this available to us. It makes a big difference to a small farm!”
“I used the ash spreader early in the season. Rain was a disadvantage for me the week that I rented the spreader but I got the job done. I spread 150 ton of ash during the week that I rented it. Previous years I had incorporated the ash with manure and used my manure spreader to distribute the combined product. By using the ash spreader I was able to apply a more consistent layer over a wider area, the small size of the machine also allowed me to get back into some more remote places. Thank you so much for making this available to us. It makes a big difference to a small farm!”
Demonstration event
Each year the District holds a Conservation Field Day for the 5th graders from the local valley schools. This Field Day has been occurring for multiple decades with the help from local professionals in NH Fish & Game, UNH Extension, USDA/NRCS, local foresters and farmers, and volunteers.
Flashback!