This year's NACD Spring Fly-In was a great success! More than 100 soil and water conservation district supervisors, employees and state association representatives were in Washington to meet face-to-face with their local representatives and to promote the shared values of conservation districts across the nation. "Now is an important time for conservation districts to make their voices heard," said NACD President Lee McDaniel. "Conservation has already gone through sequestration and cuts in a Farm Bill where the ink is barely dry. With upcoming budget decisions looming it is more important than ever to let Congress know the value of conservation in their local communities."
Members spent the day visiting hundreds of legislators to share their priorities on behalf of NACD on a number of issues including: FY 2016 appropriations and budget, Farm Bill implementation, a concurrent resolution recognizing locally-led conservation and soil health as well as state-specific issues.
The fly-in wrapped up with a Congressional reception on Capitol Hill where members go the opportunity to network with legislators, Congressional staff, members of the media, and partner organizations and agencies.
Congressmen Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Ralph Abraham (R-LA), both of which are members of the House Agriculture Committee, attended the evening's event and spoke about the important work of conservation districts and locally-led conservation.
NACD would like to thank the reception sponsors for a successful event: CHS, U.S. Sugar Corporation, the International Certified Crop Adviser program, the Society for Range Management, U.S. Cattlemen's Association and the National Conservation District Employees Association.