Announcing TACD’s 75th Annual Convention
Please make plans to join TACD, our 95 Soil Conservation Districts and our partners in celebrating 75 years of protecting our states natural resources.
Park Vista by Hilton, Gatlinburg, March 2nd through March 5th, 2019
We will be celebrating with our first District to be authorized in 1940, Sumner County Soil Conservation District, and the 95th District, Lake County Soil Conservation District, authorized in 1959. And, celebrate working together on our mutual goals through our Association’s establishment in 1943.
We will be looking back at our successes, but we will also look to the next 75 years and what our Soil Conservation Districts can do to meet the challenges ahead.
For this special year, we are beginning our convention one day early with the TACD Board of Officers and Directors meeting Saturday afternoon, March 2nd. We will be making reduced price tickets available for a group to attend Dolly Parton’s Stampede on Saturday evening. Our first official convention event is an Inspirational Program on Sunday morning. Be checking back for the full program, events and speakers that will be added over the next month and beyond.
So, make your plans to be with us in Gatlinburg in March. It’s a great place to be so come a couple days early or stay a couple days after to enjoy the Great Smokey Mountains and the surrounding area. The Park Vista will honor the convention room rate of $94 for 3 days before and after our convention. Just call the hotel and they will add those days outside our convention days.
To access the TACD Convention Page on our website, click on the 75th Anniversary symbol to the right and that page will have a link to hotel reservations, our convention registration form and other information. Remember, check back often as we add additional information.
Mark Carroll, NRCS District Conservationist, Dresden, Tennessee and I met with Scotty and Jack Ogg on October 22, 2018. The 
Ogg farm is our Profiles of Soil Health Heroes number 48. Scotty and Jack farm in Weakley County. Orren (OP) Parker, Jack's nephew also farms with them. Scotty and Jack shared that Scotty's grandfather was old-school conservative farmer. He would not try cutting edge technology. Jack told me that his dad would not use fertilizer. Jack, on the other hand, was aggressive and believed that you invest in modern equipment and invest in land. Jack understood stewardship. He began no-till in the 1970s. Scotty added that his dad had invested in bermuda grass waterways and sediment basins to control gully erosion. 
In 2013, Kevin provided soil health leadership for Tennessee NRCS and partners. There were three priorities for Tennessee, Soil Health, Soil Health, Soil Health
. Kevin is responsible for Yours Truly working with TACD as a Soil Health Specialist. At my retirement with NRCS, he asked me to take the position, and he worked with TACD to set up a cooperative agreement to fund my position. With his background, it is not surprising that Kevin practices soil health on his home garden. Kevin has moved 16 times during his 41.5 years. He has always had a garden. He has never tilled a garden. That is a testimony we do not hear very often with home gardeners. As I drive across the state, one area that I still see considerable tillage being practiced is in home gardening. I want to use this news article to say there are ways to improve soil health in gardening. Kevin's way is a way out of many ways to improve soil health. Following the principles of soil health will help gardeners improve soil health. 
