2017 - 09

CTD Newsletter - September 2017

Certification Information

NRCS has provided an easy way to assess and track your progress in their planner certification level criteria. Simply follow the directions HERE including logging into AgLearn, loading the planner certification you desire (Apprentice, Certified, or Master), and start fulfilling the training requirements. AgLearn will track where you are at and help you achieve your goal in the needed timeframe. We thank our partners at NRCS for putting in the effort to make this so accessible for us!

*Aglearn/eauthentication Accounts*

This is a friendly reminder to all of those with Aglearn accounts to remember to log in to your account every 30 days to main access by using your eauthentication User ID and password to get into Aglearn. The CTD recommends setting up a reminder in your Outlook calendar. If you do not take the Information Security Assessment your account will be inactivated, this normally happens around April of each year. If you are locked out of Aglearn, contact the Aglearn helpdesk directly to reactive your account: NRCS.AgLearn@ftw.usda.gov. If your eauthentication account is inactivated or your password does not work you need to contact eauthentication helpdesk directly. Here is more information to help you provided from our Washington NRCS partners:

eAuthentication Password Expiry:

Customer eAuthentication accounts expire. Upon expiration, you will be redirected to set a new password at login. If you have forgotten your password or User ID you can use the self-service recovery features on the USDA eAuthentication web site athttps://www.eauth.usda.gov/MainPages/index.aspx by selecting “Update your account”. Select the Self-Service Password and follow the provided instructions.

If you cannot reset your password, using the self-recovery features, call the eAuth Help Desk at 1-800-457-3642 (Option 1), or send an email to eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov. If your email account has changed call, not email the eauthentication Help Desk. The Help Desk will ask a series of questions to help prove your identity.

• The standard process is to send the password reset information to the email address in your eAuth account. If your email is incorrect, you will need to inform the Help Desk. If it’s wrong, you will notreceive the password reset email. The Help Desk can provide the password over the phone, if they have fully proven your identity, by answering your security questions.

• Once the password is reset. Your will be instructed to go to the USDA eAuthentication web site athttps://www.eauth.usda.gov/MainPages/index.aspx and select “Update your account”.

• Login and update your email and other contact information.

Accounts Disabled Due to Inactivity:

The USDA eAuthentication accounts will be disabled due to lack of activity. An account that is disabled state due to inactivity cannot be used until it is re-enabled. Once an account is disabled, you will have to contact the USDA eAuthentication Help Desk to request your account be re-enabled. You will have to prove you are the account holder by answering certain security questions (i.e., PIN, MMN, etc.). You can call the eAuth Help Desk at 1-800-457-3642 (Option 1), or email them at eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov to request assistance.

WA State Noteworthy News!

Photovoice Event an Inspirational Evening with Decision-makers and Local Farmers

Agriculture Resilience: A Photovoice Exhibition presented a unique opportunity for decision-makers and the public to listen to farmers express their concerns for the future through photography. The event took place on August 14^th at Skip Rock Distillery and was attended by close to 60 participants – the local farmers that participated in the project, their families and neighbors, elected officials including Washington State Representatives June Robinson and Steve Tharinger, reporters, and staff from various agencies and non-profit organizations. This was the farmers’ opportunity to share “why agriculture is important to our community” and “what are the major challenges facing farmers in Snohomish County” through their art exhibit.

Seven Farms participated in this event that came about through a series of four workshops hosted by the Snohomish Conservation District and The Nature Conservancy. At the workshops, the farmers brought photos to the group and discussed issues important to the future of their farms as well as what they saw throughout the farming community. The group decided on a final exhibition of work (be sure this link works) that included three photos from each farmer. The exhibition conveys needs and concerns around the availability of farmland into the future given our increasing population, challenges related to increased flooding, and the uncertainty of climate impacts on drainage, drought, and crops. “We all came to the process with different ideas of what we wanted to say, and while talking, we realized that we wanted to say a lot of the same things,” said Bill Pierce of Soaring Swallow Farm near Arlington (quote from Everett Herald).

“This event was truly inspiring” said Cindy Dittbrenner, Snohomish Conservation District. “The photos were beautiful, the conversation between farmers and decision-makers was eye-opening, and the community that was built around these important issues was inspiring.”

This project is part of an Agriculture Resilience Plan that the Snohomish Conservation District and the local farming community are developing for the County. The goals of the plan are to provide tools that farmers can use to plan for risk, design and implement resilience projects, and protect high priority farmland from being lost to other uses. For more information, contact Cindy Dittbrenner, 425-377-7005, cindy@snohomishcd.org.

National Noteworthy News!

Notes from the Field: Death of a Farm Worker After Exposure to Manure Gas in an Open Air Environment - Wisconsin, August 2016.

On August 15, 2016, at approximately 6:30 a.m., a previously healthy male employee of a Wisconsin beef farm was found dead near the edge of an outdoor 60,400 square foot (1.4 acre) manure storage basin (Figure). The basin was approximately 15 feet (4.6 meters) deep and nearly full. The victim, aged 29 years, was discovered by another worker......read more.

District Highlight: Getting to Know You

District: Walla Walla Conservation District

Description: Mountain flowers, Walla Walla County