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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Giving Organic Farmers a Conservation Buffer

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Tuesday, March 1, 2016   

PIERRE, S.D. - Organic farmers in Kentucky and across the nation soon will have a new tool to help their bottom lines while protecting the environment.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to help cover the costs of setting up about 20,000 acres of new conservation buffers specifically for organic farms.

Ferd Hoefner, policy director with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, is praising the USDA for expanding the Conservation Reserve Program to better serve organic farmers.

"It's always difficult to set aside any portion of a farm's cropland to not be producing crops," he says. "And not making money, but it's a good farming practice."

Hoefner says setting up buffers on organic farms can help prevent soil erosion, which also helps keep waterways free of pollutants.

According to the USDA's 2014 Organic Survey there are 107 certified organic farms in Kentucky covering about 7,200 acres. Nationwide, there are more than 14,000 organic farms.

Hoefner is asking organic farmers to consider signing up for the program, because they already are required to set up conservation buffers as part of their organic certification process.

"This is kind of a win-win," he says. "It's something they need to be considering anyway to comply with their organic rule. And here, the Farm Service Agency is saying we've got a tool that can help you."

According to the USDA, the Conservation Reserve Program already has helped prevent about 9 billion tons of soil from being eroded.


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