Write a comment

INDIANA (July 16, 2024) — In a remarkable achievement for sustainable agriculture, the latest results from the Conservation Tillage Transect survey reveal that 1.7 million acres of farmland are now under living cover across all crops in Indiana. This significant milestone underscores the increasing adoption of cover crops by farmers, driven by their multiple benefits for soil health, water management and overall farm productivity.

“Protecting soil, our most vital natural resource, is top of mind for our Indiana farmers and year after year our farmers are breaking their own conservation records” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Indiana's Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Through the implementation of cover crops and other conservation efforts, farmers are ensuring our land and water resources remain healthy and productive for years to come." 

Overwintering living covers (i.e. - cover crops and small grains, like wheat) are known for their environmental benefits. Cover crops and small grains help increase organic matter in the soil and improve overall soil health by adding living roots to the soil more months of the year. Cover crops also improve water infiltration into the soil, while other covers, like legumes serve as natural fertilizers.

Although the conservation transect does not differentiate between cover crops and small grains, Indiana farmers typically plant fewer than 300,000 acres of small grains annually, so cover crops vastly dominate the 1.7 million estimated acres. Apart from corn and soybeans, cover crops are planted on more acres than any other commodity crop in Indiana. Cover crops are typically planted in the fall after harvest and designed to protect the soil and keep roots in the ground throughout the winter, which improves soil health and helps filter water runoff.

"These results are very encouraging," said Damarys Mortenson, state conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Indiana. "The adoption of cover crops on such a large scale indicates that farmers are recognizing the long-term benefits of these practices for both their land and the environment."

Farmers like Todd Armstrong, who operates a 1,100-acre farm in Washington County, have seen firsthand the advantages of cover crops.

“The water holding capacity and tilth of the ground has just improved so much and my neighbors have even seen that,” said Armstrong. “Neighbors that worked ground every year have stopped and started incorporating cover crops because they’ve seen how good it has worked for us.”

As a result of the cover crops and other overwintering covers planted last year, it is estimated that 1.8 million tons of sediment was prevented from entering Indiana’s waterways, which would fill about 18.4 thousand train freight cars.

The conservation survey also showed that about 69% of row crop acres were not tilled and about 17% had employed reduced tillage over winter, after the 2023 harvest. This early spring survey is not intended to quantify pre-planting tillage.

Despite the clear benefits, there are challenges to the widespread adoption of cover crops, including the initial cost of seeds and the need for additional management skills. However, various federal and state programs offer financial incentives and technical assistance to help farmers incorporate cover crops into their operations. One such initiative that helped contribute to the successful year for cover crops in 2023 was the Cover Crop Premium Discount Program (CCPDP). It is a program that provides a discount on crop insurance for planting cover crops. CCPDP assisted landowners in planting about 19 thousand acres of cover crops in 2023.

The conservation transect is a visual survey of cropland in the state. It was conducted between March and May 2024 by members of the Indiana Conservation Partnership, including the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Purdue Extension, as well as Earth Team volunteers, to show a more complete story of the state’s conservation efforts.

To see the full conservation transect report, click here. 

ABOUT ISDA

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) reports to Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch,  Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. Major responsibilities include advocacy for Indiana agriculture at the local, state and federal level, managing soil conservation programs, promoting economic development and agricultural innovation, serving as a regulatory ombudsman for agricultural businesses, and licensing grain firms throughout the state.

ABOUT NRCS

NRCS is helping private landowners improve the health of their operations while protecting our natural resources for the future. With the mission of “Helping People Help the Land,” NRCS in Indiana provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers and non-industrial forest managers to implement conservation practices to address natural resource concerns on their land related to soil health, water and air quality, and wildlife habitat as well as implement climate-smart agriculture practices.  USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Write a comment

Salem, IN:  Salem Crossing, a member of American Senior Communities (ASC), has been recognized as a 2024 Silver – Achievement in Quality Award recipient by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). The award is the second of three distinctions possible through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program, which recognizes organizations that meet progressively rigorous standards of performance to further improve the lives of residents and staff in long term care.   

Salem Crossing joins 13 other ASC communities in receiving Silver status this year. There are also 14 other ASC locations who have previously achieved and continue to maintain AHCA/NCAL Silver status. ASC communities currently account for 60% of all Indiana Silver recipients.   

CEO Steve Van Camp said, “Achieving Silver status makes all of us at ASC incredibly proud of the teams at each of this year’s recipient communities. Reaching this level and maintaining it takes hard work and a strong focus on continuous quality care, all day, every day. It requires a united effort from each staff member and cannot be accomplished without dedication to teamwork and adherence to our core values.”  

The National Quality Award Program has three progressive levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. At the Silver level, recipients previously met criteria for the Bronze award and can now move on to the final and most prestigious level of the program, the Gold – Excellence in Quality Award. Trained examiners review each application to determine if the communities have met the demands of the criteria.    

The National Quality Awards will be presented during Delivering Solutions 24, the AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo, October 6-9, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. ​   

Write a comment

If you are applying for jobs online, do your research before accepting an interview or employment offer. Job scammers have gotten very sophisticated, convincingly claiming to represent real employers, requiring interviews, and even providing phony offer letters. These cunning new twists on traditional job scams have increased in BBB's Scam Tracker. In fact, according to BBB's latest Scam Tracker Risk Report, employment scams were identified as the number one riskiest scam for people ages 18-44 in 2023.

How the scam works   
You apply for a job online through a reputable, third-party job-seeking site, or you see a posting for a remote job on social media and message the poster. A few days or weeks later, you get a text message or email asking if you are still interested in the position or a similar one at the same company. Since you made your contact information available to your potential employer when applying, the message doesn't strike you as unusual.

If you reply to the message, the scammer will invite you to interview for the job. However, this is when red flags start to appear. Instead of a traditional interview over the phone or on a video call, the "employer" asks you to download a messaging app to conduct the interview over text messaging.

For example, one person told BBB Scam Tracker about their experience with a job scam: "I saw someone post on Facebook about a work from home opportunity with [company name redacted]. I expressed interest and she messaged me telling me to download the signal messenger app, and then I would have a text interview...they asked me some interview questions then proceeded to tell me I was a perfect fit for the job and asked for personal information...At this point, I felt like the entire situation was [a] scam."

After a few questions, you're offered the position on the spot, with great pay and benefits. Your new "employer" may even send you a convincing offer letter. Before or after you receive your "job offer," the phony employer may also ask you to complete a form with your personal and banking information, claiming they need it for direct deposit. In other cases, the scammer may ask you to set up a home office, either with your funds or money they’ll send you in a fake check.

How to avoid job scams
Research the person who contacted you. If you suspect the person contacting you could be a scammer, look them up. A quick online search should reveal if they work for the company they claim to represent. If you're still not sure after doing some research, find the company's contact information on their official website (check the URL) and reach out to them directly to ask if they are indeed hiring for the position you're applying for.

Do more research on the company. You may have done this before you applied for the position. Still, if you get a surprise offer to interview, it's worth doing more research to learn more about their hiring process, home office requirements, salaries, and benefits packages. If these don't align with your offer, you could be dealing with a scammer.

Guard your personal and banking information. Never give sensitive information to anyone you aren't sure you can trust. Be especially wary if someone pressures you to divulge your information saying the job offer will only last if you fill out all the forms.

Watch out for overpayment scams. Many job scams involve sending fake checks with extra funds. Scammers ask their victims to deposit the check and send back the excess amount, hoping they'll do so before they realize the check was fake and has bounced. Legitimate companies will only send you money after you've done work for them, so be wary of jobs that involve receiving and returning the money.

Don't get fooled by reshipping scams. If you're on the hunt for a remote position, you may come across a job at a "shipping" or "logistics" business that asks you to receive packages, inspect them for damages, and then ship the items back out to other addresses. These jobs promise easy money but are cons and help scammers move potentially illegally obtained goods. In most cases, you won't get paid.

Don't fall for jobs that seem too good to be true. They probably are. If you are offered a job - without a formal interview - that has excellent pay and benefits, it's likely a scam.
 
If you spot a scam, report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker to help others avoid falling victim to similar tactics.