Welcome

Submitted by Tokina McHarry, JRSCD Education/Outreach Manager

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The USDA Service Center in Ellendale is open and operations have returned to normal after the federal government shutdown. That means that SCD staff have moved back from the Ol’ Nursery in Oakes to the office in Ellendale. While we had an extremely productive fall at the Ol’ Nursery, we are glad to have access to needed files to complete our tree planning for 2026!

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If you have a scheduled tree plan for 2026, be on the lookout for your tree planting agreement and finalized plan coming in the mail. If any changes need to be made, please let us know asap because tree ordering has started.

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Also, if you had a tree planting completed in 2025, we will be sending out a notice reminding you of the opportunity to order replacements for any dead trees. Take advantage of the reduced rate for replacement trees – it is only valid the first year after planting! You must let us know if you want the replacement trees ordered – they will not be ordered automatically, and we cannot guarantee extra stock availability in the spring.

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Do you have a seeding that needs to be completed in the dormant seeding window? Now is the time to order your seed and get it planted! The ground temperature is in the needed range. As a reminder, the SCD office can order your seed if you would like. It typically gets delivered to Ellendale and we have the grass drills available for rent.

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What does winter bring for our office you may wonder? A lot of planning, programming, and training! SCD staff will be busy planning our annual Ladies Ag event for the spring. We have programming in the local schools. Training includes winter meetings like our annual convention held in Bismarck and the SCD employee statewide training held in March. There are other smaller opportunities around the state that come up throughout the winter and we are always eager to learn for cohorts in other areas. As time allows, we plan activities/lesson plans ahead so they are available to us more readily if a request for programming comes in while we are busy with other tasks. We also do site visits for future tree plantings if the weather cooperates. It seems as if there is never a dull moment!

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Dates to Remember for the James River SCD/Ellendale USDA Service Center:

• December 2-3 – ND Assoc. of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting, Bismarck

• December 10 – SCD Board Meeting, 9 am, USDA Service Center, Ellendale

• December 25 - Christmas Day, office closed

• January 1 – New Year’s Day, office closed

 

For more information contact the James River Soil Conservation District and Ellendale NRCS office at 349-3653, ext. 3. Our field office is in Ellendale at 51 N. 1st Street. Also, remember to visit the James River Soil Conservation District Facebook page and our websites for more information –http://www.jamesriverscd.org/ and http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/nd/home/. The NRCS is an equal opportunity employer, provider and lender.