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Florida

Producers Invited to Learn How 

to Beat Skyrocketing Fuel Costs

By Ann Bowens, Outreach Liaison

As farmers and landowners search for 

ways to cope with high and fluctuating energy 

costs, some farmers are successfully making 

their own fuel from agricultural products 

and byproducts, including vegetable oil 

and oilseed crops that can be grown locally.

 Hosted by West Florida, Three Rivers, and 

Suwannee River Resource Conservation and 

Development Councils; and the Florida Rural 

Opportunity Group; about 40 farmers and 

landowners gathered on September 25, 2008 at 

the University of Florida’s North Florida Research 

and Education Center to learn more about biofuel. 

Piedmont Biofuels, a biodiesel cooperative from 

Pittsboro, North Carolina led the workshop 

 T h e m a i n 

objective of the 

workshop was to 

demystify biodiesel 

p r o d u c t i o n , 

emphasizing methods for producing high 

quality fuel as well as proper safety precautions. 

Farmers had the opportunity to learn about 

how to convert plant matter and restaurant 

waste into a high quality fuel for diesel engines. 

Partial funding for the workshop was made 

possible by the USDA Risk Management Agency 

(RMA) through a cooperative partnership 

agreement with the National Center for 

Appropriate Technology (NCAT) as part of a 

project called “Managing Farm Energy Risks.” 

Three Rivers RC&D has purchased the 

equipment to produce biodiesel and plans are 

underway to take the equipment directly to the 

farms to give farmers a hands-on demonstration 

of just how easy it is to produce biodiesel. Those 

in attendance gave the workshop high marks.

Composting Workshop Attracts 

Crowd

By Corine Burgess, HSWCD

On May 8, 2008, staff from Highlands Soil 

and Water Conservation District (HSWCD) put 

on a Water Conservation/Home Composting 

Workshop. It was well attended and the agenda 

included two presentations, special guest speaker 

Sara May from Okeechobee, sharing of information 

by Earth Team volunteers, refreshments and door 

prizes. Many low-flow shower heads were given 

away and over 50 composting kits were sold. 

This composting workshop was the second 

event hosted by HSWCD. At the November 

event, prepared barrels were sold to attendees 

and staff instructed homeowners how to go 

home and build their own stand. Our 6 Earth 

Team volunteers came up with a better idea 

Continued on page 3 - Composting

Corine Burgess, natural resource specialist, Erin McCarta, lakes 

management assistant, and volunteer Eric Maron demonstrate how to 

put together a composter frame .

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FY 2008 #2 USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service - Florida
Florida NRCS Outreach Update FY 2008 #2 April - September 2

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Giving + Mentoring = Our Future 

By Ken Liudahl, Soil Scientist 

I have lectured at 

many universities and 

community colleges 

here in Southeast 

Florida during my 

career. I truly enjoy 

the teaching interface 

between college students and their desire to expand 

their knowledge and dreams of getting a fun, fulfilling 

job. Recently, I was asked to present a 3 hour lecture 

to a class on the subject of “soils and fertility” at Palm 

Beach Community College in West Palm Beach. During 

this lecture I used a variety of visual tools to get my 

points across. I used satellite images to explain how 

Florida developed morphologically through a marine 

terrace environment, why plant communities exist in 

their present day location, and how hydrology, climate, 

and time is a function of the soil forming process. I 

also discussed common soil parent materials found 

throughout the United States to provide a better 

foundation and understanding of the morphology in 

the region where they grew up or in their travels. I 

introduced them to new technologies, like the web soil 

survey-soil data mart and how to find specific spatial 

and tabular data for a county. I emphasized the impact 

of atmospheric conditions/global change and how 

they relate to urbanization, industrialization, farming, 

and soil quality/health. I also taught them about GIS 

databases, projections, and the science of spatial data. 

Most importantly, how GIS is being used in making 

intelligent science based federal, state, and local land 

use, growth management, and sensitive environmental 

decisions for the betterment of our present and future 

human society and “helping people help the land”.

I always like to interact with the students by asking 

questions, which is my way of getting them involved 

in the discussion. I find by taking the time to talk to 

them and really asking them if there are some things 

on their mind that they do not understand and would 

like to talk about, you give them the opportunity to 

voice issues that they may not know or understand. I 

find that this “open discussion” is the most rewarding 

and beneficial to students. They seem to enjoy the 

chance to ask questions of an old guy like me that 

has worked in the federal government system for so 

long. I also talk about what type of jobs they desire 

when they graduate and give information about 

where the opportunities for these specific types can 

be found and how to apply for all government jobs.

I personally find it very gratifying sharing my 

knowledge with college students and try to make the 3 

hours with them fun and enjoyable for them. I also find 

that the professors are very receptive to any scientist that 

can deliver detailed local and global science knowledge 

and how it pertains to real life situations, local learning 

objectives, and their teaching curriculum without 

making them reinvent the wheel for teaching purposes. 

I would encourage any NRCS staff to get 

involved in any outreach or education programs 

to provide further knowledge to the community 

and greater opportunities for students to achieve 

higher future goals and skills for the utilization of 

creating global thinkers and future society leaders. 

Bonnie Allely, National 

Volunteer Coordinator 

paid a visit to Florida

in August to talk about 

volunteers. 

During the DC/

L e a d e r s h i p m e e t i n g 

and again at the AFCD 

meeting in Panama City 

Ms. Allely explained the 

Earth Team volunteer 

program and what volunteers can mean to an office.
Florida NRCS Outreach Update FY 2008 #2 April - September 3

Teaching the Beauty of Soil and 

Worms

By Corine Burgess, HSWCD

On August 6, 2008, Jennifer 

Abbey, NRCS soil conservationist, 

and Erin McCarta and 

Corine Burgess of the 

Highlands Soil and Water 

Conservation District, visited 

Cub City Learning Center 

to present two programs to 

VPK and first grade students.

J e n n i f e r s h o w e d 

the soil tunnel, which 

is a prop that allows 

c h i l d r e n t o c r a w l 

through and obser ve the 

different layers of soil and the critters that reside there. 

Corine and Erin have been working on a new 

presentation for some time. They wrote and tried 

out their skit which included Compost Connie and 

Farmer Fran characters (above). The skit shows 

the interaction between the two speaking about 

composting and how it benefits the earth and plants. 

Also incorporated in the educational presentation 

is a segment on worms and vermicomposting.

The children seemed to enjoy the act and also learned 

a lot about composting and worms in the process. It is a lot 

of fun presenting this skit to kids; they get such a kick 

out of it.

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for the second workshop and decided to construct 

composting “kits.” Each kit includes everything that is 

needed to go home and assemble the entire composting 

unit. Thanks to their hard work and diligence, over 60 

composting kits were available for the May workshop.

HSWCD received a grant from the Southwest 

Florida Water Management District and with the funds, 

purchased over 1,000 low-flow shower heads. The first 

part of the workshop included a presentation on water 

conservation followed by a demonstration of the lowflow shower heads that were given away. Staff felt that 

by giving away these water saving devices, the people in 

Highlands County will be conserving lots of water. To date, 

we have given away over 1,000 low-flow shower heads.

The second part of the workshop was all about 

home composting. The practice of composting 

not only allows homeowners to have lush, green 

plants, but it reduces the amount of waste in the 

household. Composting helps the environment in 

so many ways and it is the best soil additive around. 

After the workshop, attendees who wanted to 

purchase a kit lined up in their vehicles and our 

volunteers loaded them up. Over 50 kits were sold 

and we at HSWCD are so excited that so many folks 

in Highlands County will be composting in the future. 

Continued - Composting

Engineer Recruiting Presentation

By Jason Strenth, Ag Engineer 

On September 16, 2008, I gave a presentation 

to Dr. Richard Schultz’s Irrigation and Drainage 

Engineering class at the University of Florida. The topic 

of the presentation was “Engineering in NRCS.” The 

audience consisted of eleven students, all of whom are 

within a year of graduating with a Bachelor of Science 

degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. 

The presentation served as a recruitment tool for 

NRCS, but also showed the students the types of 

engineering projects they may be involved 

in after graduation. Students gave positive 

feedback about the presentation and I felt this 

was an excellent method of recruiting for NRCS.
Florida West Coast RC&D Partners 

with Latino Community

By Laura Morton, RC&D Coordinator

The Florida West Coast RC&D Council is developing 

an apprenticeship program in organic agriculture, in 

partnership with the Latino Community Network of 

Manatee County. The program will be launching in 2009.

The demand for local organic food is increasing at 

an enormous rate, and far outpaces supply. Local organic 

farms have waiting lists for membership, and all local 

farmer’s markets are in need of local growers. There 

are many people that have small tracts of land and an 

interest in using land productively or working on a farm, 

but there are very few people with the skills to operate 

a small farm on their own. The trends have generated 

much interest; however, the current farmworker 

community has not been tapped for future small farm 

operators or owners. This apprenticeship program could 

provide an avenue for entrepreneurial development 

and job creation in a historically underserved and 

socially-disadvantaged population. The initial two years 

of the program will be piloted in Manatee County at 

Geraldson Community Farm and Gamble Creek Farm.

The program will include recruitment of current or 

former farmworkers that have a desire and the capabilities 

to run their own small farm after 2-3 years of training 

at one of the RC&D operated farms. Competitive 

wages will be paid during the apprenticeships, along 

with assistance in developing growing, language, 

and business skills customized for each participant.

The programs and service offered through 

t h e L at i n o C om mu n it y Ne t wor k p ar t n e rs 

will be critical to the success of this program.

For more information on Outreach, contact :

Ann Bowens, Outreach Liaison

P.O. Box 141510

Gainesville, FL 32614

352-338-9516

ann.bowens@fl.usda.gov

Update Editor:

Gail Hendricks

Public Affairs Staff

352-338-9560

gail.hendricks@fl.usda.gov

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in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national 

origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, 

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individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not 

all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities 

who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s 

TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint 

of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 

795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

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