We have some exciting news to share here at CTIC. First, I hope you’ll help me welcome two new staff members to the CTIC team. Courtney Schmidt, communications director, and Angie Williams, project director, joined our staff in December.
Courtney comes to us from the Purdue University College of Agriculture where she was stewardship coordinator for the development office. In that role, she interacted with ag industry leaders; wrote articles for the Ag Alumni newsletter, Connections; compiled various publications for the college; and coordinated events and tours of interesting ag sites for the college’s donors. She is originally from Jasper, Ind., but has lived in many places including St. Louis and Denver. Courtney holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Indiana University.
As communications director, Courtney writes and edits CTIC’s quarterly publication, Partners and our e-newsletter, Member Mail, directs outreach efforts for our national projects and ensures that CTIC maintains an information exchange among governmental and non-governmental organizations, agriculture industry, media associations and other ag and conservation groups. She also manages Web site content, develops new informational materials and assists with membership and fundraising efforts. Her experience working with agricultural leaders, together with her energy and enthusiasm for conservation, will be great assets to our organization.
Prior to joining CTIC, Angie Williams worked as a resource conservationist for a Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). She met with private landowners to address their resource concerns and helped implement farm bill programs where appropriate. Angie also has worked for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of State Parks and Reservoirs. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Purdue University.
As project director, Angie is the technical lead on all projects undertaken by the Center. She assures fulfillment of technical responsibilities on projects and is responsible for meeting reporting requirements on all projects. In addition, Angie provides important in-house technical expertise and helps to answer questions from members and partners. Angie is a great addition to the CTIC team, and she brings the right combination of experience and skill to fill the newly created position of project director.
Please join me in welcoming Courtney and Angie to the CTIC family!
In other exciting news, CTIC recently released the results of the national Best Management Practices (BMP) Survey, a partnership effort with The Fertilizer Institute (Member since 2002). The results— which you can read about in this issue and on our Web site —tell us not only how many of our respondents have adopted BMPs but also the reasons farmers have for not adopting BMPs, what kind of assistance they need for BMPs and what information sources they trust and prefer for learning about practices. We’ve heard from many CTIC members and partners who will be using the survey results to inform their programs and outreach with farmers.
This month, we will begin replicating the BMP Survey in selected states to get an even clearer picture about conservation practice adoption. Indiana and Illinois producers will be the first to participate in this second phase of the survey. Working with partners in each state, we’re building a concentrated, targeted effort to reach a majority of farmers and collect their responses. With this data, CTIC and our partners can produce information, programs and other assistance to apply more conservation on the ground.
The BMP Survey is just one of the many ways CTIC helps focus attention on conservation agriculture. Your membership dues allow us to continue funding important programs and studies like the BMP Survey. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, please send it in today. If you’ve been considering membership, now is a great time to join! With your support we can advance our mission of providing reliable, profitable solutions to improve the relationship between agriculture and the environment.
