They say time flies when you’re having fun and it sure has flown lately. It’s been a couple of months since our May Conservation Update and we’ve been busy helping people help the land and enjoying our work while we accomplish our mission. We welcomed our student interns in May and are doing everything we can to develop lasting relationships and connections with the students who (we hope) will in turn become well-trained, dedicated NRCS staff in the future. In addition to working to strengthen NRCS LA internally, we also attended the State of the Coast Conference and LA Farm Bureau Convention last month to promote our programs publicly. These types of events allow us to interact with current and future NRCS customers and we’d love to see YOU sometime. Check out our announcements and reminders later in this newsletter or, better yet, follow us on social media to stay in touch with us.  

And now that Summer is here in Louisiana, along with the prolonged dry spell and high temperatures we had in many parts of the State, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs well if we didn’t mention USDA’s Climate Smart initiative. It offers voluntary programs and services to help you build soil health, sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance productivity and commodity marketability, and mitigate the impacts of climate change while building resilience to strengthen your operation. We’ve included some information about Climate Smart programs and opportunities below. Contact your local NRCS office and let’s talk about how we can help address your resource concerns.  

Have a great month!

Last month, we welcomed our summer interns as they begin a summer of education and experience that they're likely never to forget. These students come from as far as Puerto Rico and have varied talents and interests. They have one thing in common, though. They all have a desire to help NRCS in Helping People Help the Land. Over the course of a few summers during their college careers, our interns get the opportunity to learn about our work and gain experience that will prepare them for careers with us as soil conservationists, biologists, and engineers, just to name a few. We're hoping they decide to join us full-time after graduation. If you or a friend or family member is interested in working with us, see more information on our Pathways program and our employment opportunities. 

Come Meet with Us

(Virtually):

We’re inviting urban producers, innovative producers, and other stakeholders to virtually attend a public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on August 1 from 3-6pm. Learn more and register: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/07/06/urban-producers-public-invited-attend-august-meeting-federal