Welcome!
Foster County Soil Conservation District is here to promote soil, water, and resource conservation by offering technical, financial, informational, and educational assistance and opportunities to the people of Foster County.
Check out our programs and services. Get in touch with us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or if you are interested in participating in any of our programs.
SCD Hiring for Summer 2022
Tractor Driver, part-time seasonal. Duties will include custom planting of grass/cover crop with the district's no-till drill and tractor. The work schedule will be sporadic and is based on when and how many producers sign up for the service. Preferred applicant will have experience driving a tractor and small farm equipment and some basic mechanical skills The applicant must be able to work independently and coordinate with SCD staff and landowners to schedule times and dates for plantings.
Summer Tree-Planting Crew. Duties will include handplanting trees, mechanical tree planting, weed barrier application, tree shelter installation, and weeding of tree rows. Majority of work will be outdoors. Work will begin in late April or May and can extend into the end of July, depending on workload and ground conditions. Starting pay is at least $15 per hour with incentives for workers who stay the entire summer term. The work week is usually Monday through Friday with occasional weekends as needed.
For more information or to get an application, contact the SCD office (see contact page), call 701-652-2551 ext. 123, or e-mail easton.brown@nd.nacdnet.net.
SCD Office During Covid-19
The SCD will continue to work during social distancing. Some staff are manning the NRCS and SCD office building each day, and others will be teleworking. Visitors are currently allowed with masks and distancing. We can also be contacted by telephone or email and will continue with planning activiites and field visits as usual.
Not the Dirty Thirties, Spring of 2017!!
Photo: Storm Tracker Weather
Photo: Bev Nessler
These photos were taken spring of 2017, showing that soil erosion is still a threat to our farmland. These sights have been repeated more than once since then. See the "News and Information" page for photos from the dust storm of March 29-30, 2021. Part of eastern North Dakota have lost over half of their topsoil since 1964.
"Most of what we call topsoil today is a mixture of the remains of the original higher organic matter topsoil mixed through tillage with some subsurface horizon. Loss of soil in millions of acres can be measured in feet over the past 120 years. Most lost soil...is going high into the air, and only a small amount lands in a roadside ditch." (Dave Franzen, NDSU) For more information, see the video "The History of Soil Erosion in North Dakota" on YouTube.
There are things we can do to prevent sights like this. Windbreaks that help decrease wind erosion are being removed and not replaced. There are other practices as well that promote soil health and will also help decrease erosion, such as keeping the soil covered with vegetation or residue, minimizing soil disturbance, and keeping live roots in the soil for as long as possible with practices like cover crops.