Kansas Farmers Helping Kansas Soil...
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CONSERVATION SCHOLARSHIP
The Haskell County Conservation District holds an annual conservation scholarship for the graduating high school seniors in Haskell County, Kansas to assist them with their upcoming college finances.
Application
qualifications are as follows:
·
A graduating high school senior or the equivalent of a graduating
high school senior that resides in Haskell County, Kansas or is educated
(public school, religious school, home schooled, or other) in Haskell
County, Kansas.
·
Submit a Haskell County Conservation District scholarship
application and write a 500 word essay on Conservation.
·
Submit the application and essay to the district office on or
before the due date.
After the due date, the district manager reviews all the applications and sends a copy of the essay to each board member. The district manager assigns each application a reference number (Sublette I, Sublette II, Satanta I, Satanta II, etc.). The copy of the essay sent to each board member has no name only the reference number.
The reference number
is determined as follows:
·
The county is divided into half. East of Highway 83 is the
Sublette Scholarship Area and west of Highway 83 is the Satanta
Scholarship Area.
·
If the graduating senior or equivalent is graduating from one of
the area public schools, their scholarship area is the location of their
school.
·
If the graduating senior or equivalent resides in Haskell County,
but receives their education outside of Haskell County, the location of
their residence is the scholarship area.
·
If the graduating senior or equivalent is being educated
in Haskell County, but resides outside of Haskell County, the location
of their place of education is the location of the scholarship area.
The district manager contacts each board member and registers one vote for Satanta area and one vote for Sublette area. After all board members have voted the district manager contacts each board member and informs them of the decision, the name of the winners and the names of each applicant. The district manager contacts all applicants and if needed their place of education. Payment of the scholarship is awarded to the winners after the district manager receives proof of enrollment into the college or educational facility of their choosing.
11 Tips For No-Tilling CRP Ground
By Darrell Bruggink
The first impulse of many growers may be to plow under Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) ground when converting it back into cropland. While there is a dense network of fibrous material beneath the soil surface, what really gets the attention of producers is the “low-flying jungle” in plain view, says John Baker.
However, no-tilling into sod can be easy, the no-till researcher from New Zealand maintains. In working with the Cross Slot no-tillage system developed in his homeland, Baker says the original intent of the machine's design was to find a way to successfully seed into sod.
“Sadly, the problem of physically handling the biomass often compromises the issue of making the best use of it,” Baker told attendees at the 16th annual National No-Tillage Conference in Cincinnati.
There are two main considerations when no-tilling crops directly into CRP, Baker says. You need to:
1. Cope with the jungle of grasses, weeds, legumes and possible pests without either blocking the machine or destroying all the good biological things that have happened to the soil while in CRP the past decade.
2. Create a biological environment that favors and protects the newly sown crop and harnesses the wonderful biological assets that 10 years of nonproduction will have so carefully created and nurtured.
Baker has outlined a number of principles for successfully no-tilling into sod, but it all begins with one thing not to do.
“The worst possible thing that can be done to CRP is to till it,” he says.
Here are Baker's suggestions for effectively no-tilling into CRP residue.
1. Kill It. When sprayed with an effective herbicide, CRP should behave like, and be treated as if it is, a heavy crop residue. Because untouched CRP land will not have been cut, residue handling by machinery should be easier than when dealing with cut and lying cereal residues.
2. Harvest Helps. Where a cut of silage is allowable before CRP land is cropped again, residue handling will be greatly simplified, especially for non-disc-type openers. You may be able to spray long grasses with glyphosate and harvest them 3 or 4 days later prior to drilling a new crop. However, this can test your confidence with the glyphosate translocating to the grass roots, since removal of the leafy material will disguise any die-back for a period.
3. Control Weeds. This involves accurate identification of the species present and possibly blending two or more herbicides. For that reason, knowledge of herbicide compatibility is important.
4. Avoid Cereals. Sowing a cereal as the first crop after CRP is not preferred, although it can be done. Keep in mind that many pests of grasses have flourished for 10-plus years under CRP, and they are often pests of cereals, too. Make sure you identify these pests carefully before sowing a cereal crop.
5. Watch For Pests. Slugs and rodents thrive within dense sod and don't care what they eat. They may not have been a problem in CRP, but could easily become an issue.
6. Add Nitrogen. Decomposing CRP biomass will likely lock up large quantities of soil nitrogen after spraying. This will lead to poor initial growth of any crop and even plant yellowing. Add nitrogen when seeding, but only if it can be safely banded separately from the seed. Also, avoid broadcasting fertilizer since results are usually disappointing.
7. Select Openers Carefully. Most disc-type openers do not double-shoot seed and fertilizer effectively and are likely to hairpin in heavy residue. Therefore, no-tillage opener choices are limited, which is why many people reluctantly revert to tillage with CRP ground.
8. Horizontal Slots Best. Baker says it's best to avoid vertical slots when drilling into sod. Horizontal slots, such as found on the Cross Slot openers, fulfill the requirements of double-shooting and residue handling without compromising either function. Horizontal slots hinge up the two soil flaps on either side of the slot.
9. Wait To Drill. All openers will perform better if you increase the interval between spraying and seeding. Waiting allows the soil to become increasingly crumbly.
10. Don't Wait Too Long. The downside of waiting too long to seed after spraying is that you risk regeneration of weeds. The weed seed pool found within CRP soils is vast.
11. Plant Later. If seeding in the spring, realize that excessive soil water will be removed more quickly by sod that's growing rather than dead or dying sod. Dead sod may prevent soil from drying or warming. In those situations, Baker favors a shorter interval between spraying and seeding. It may be best to sow a later-planted crop or later-maturing hybrids or varieties.
“It seems that everyone is astonished when you tell them no-tilling into sod is easy, but it can be with the right equipment and management,” Baker says.
2008 Annual Meeting Sponsors
ADM
Sign-up Deadline for LCP
and LIP
The Farm
Service Agency (FSA) has announced that livestock producers have until
July 18, 2008,
to enroll in the 2005 - 2007 Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) and
Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP).Signup began on Sept. 10, 2007, for
the two programs that provide aid to livestock producers who suffered
eligible livestock losses or livestock feed losses between Jan. 1, 2005,
and Dec. 31, 2007, because of a natural disaster.
For more information please contact your local FSA office for program
sign-up details.
Walk In Hunting
Each year approximately 200,00 hunters spend an average of 5 days
hunting in Kansas. On average, each hunter spends $185 per day on food,
gas, lodging, and equipment, and most of this money goes directly into
the communities where they hunt. This totals $185,000,000 for the Kansas
economy.
- 1,003,000 acres total current enrollment in program in its twelfth year
- 2,134 Contracts for hunting access were signed by willing Kansas landowners
- 2,341 Kansas landowners receive payments at the local level
- $1.25 per acre average cost is paid for by hunting license revenues and hunting equipment excise taxes through the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
- $535.00 is the average payment each WIHA cooperator receives
- 125,00 WIHA Atlases produced and made available to hunters statewide at no cost through license vendors
For more information come by the USDA Service Center in Sublette, Kansas or call 620-675-2324
Farm Record Changes
It is vital that you notify your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office if changes for the
2007 crop year have been made to any of the farms you have an interest.
Changes to report include ground that has been bought or sold, share
percentage or type of arrangement (cash rent or share rent), or if one
or more owners or operators should now be listed as a trust,
corporation, partnership, or estate.
Playa Lakes Awareness
In an effort to raise awareness and the conservation of playa lakes, the Playa Lakes Joint Venture has produced a new video about these important wetlands. “The Playas: Reflections of Life on the Plains” illustrates the values of playas to wildlife, water, and people; threats to the wetlands; and how people are working to conserve them. The video features footage of playas captured by hot air balloon, as well as interviews with playa specialists, biologists, landowners, and community leaders throughout the six-state playa lakes region.
Playa lakes are shallow, seasonal wetlands and are the primary source of recharge for the Ogallala Aquifer. These wetlands also support millions of birds and other wildlife species. There are more than 11,000 playas in Kansas making them the most abundant wetland type in the state.
The
video is now available online at:
http://www.myoutdoortv.com/show/playalakes/index.html. If you would
like a copy of the video in DVD or VHS format please request a copy from
KDWP Landowner Incentive Program Biologist Chris Berens at
cberens@kaws.org or 785-462-3367.
For more information on playa lake conservation practices please visit
your local Conservation District, Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS),
or FSA office or give Chris a call.
Signing Program Documents Properly
Signature policies are being strictly enforced by FSA Offices when it
comes to properly signing program documents. If these policies are not
followed you may be jeopardizing your benefits and may have to refund
program payments.
Spouses may sign documents on behalf
of each other, but not for their spouse’s interest in partnerships,
corporations or other similar entities, or to further delegate authority
on an FSA power of attorney. This will be followed unless written
notification denying a spouse this authority has been provided to the
FSA Office.
Individuals may grant other
individuals or entities authority to sign documents on their behalf
based on FSA power of attorney form (FSA-211).
General Partnerships must file any
formal partnership agreement with the FSA. If there are no restrictions
in the partnership agreement then any one general partner may sign
program documents on behalf of the general partnership and bind all
members. If there are no formal partnership papers any general partner
may sign on behalf of the general partnership.
**All members of a
Joint Venture must sign unless an
individual is authorized to act on behalf of the JV and bind all
members. This could be accomplished by all members signing a form
FSA-211 granting power of attorney to an individual for the JV.
Corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships,
limited liability companies and other similar entities
will be required to provide documentation
that the officers have authority to sign on behalf of that entity.
These documents may include the corporate charter, bylaws, papers
executed according to State Law, or a resolution by the board of
directors signed by the secretary or other officer
other
than the designated agent. If the
entity documents allow for redelegation of signature authority then the
person authorized to sign for that entity may execute an FSA-211.
Estate, Trust, Conservatorship or Guardianship
type entities will need to provide the FSA with a document executed
according to State law which states who can sign as administrator,
executor, trustee, guardian, receiver, or conservator. Types of
documents may include court orders of appointment, court approved
certificate or letter of administration, trust agreement or last will
and testament that established the trust, or other similar document
approved by FSA’s regional attorney. These documents must be signed or
certified by an officer of the issuing court except those approved by
the FSA regional attorney.
The above descriptions are the most common type of entities which do
business with FSA. Your local office may soon be contacting you for
documentation of signature authority for your farming interests. They
could also provide you with guidance on how the signature should be
written, but in many cases the words “by” or “for” must be included in
the signature. If you submit a program application without having
established signature authority on file with FSA your application will
be incomplete.
Farm Reconstitutions
In
FSA program terminology, farms are constituted to group all tracts
having the same owner and the same operator under one farm serial
number. When changes in ownership or operation take place, a farm
reconstitution is necessary.
The reconstitution—or recon—is the process of combining or dividing
farms or tracts of land based on the farming operation. Remember, to be
effective for the current year, recons must be requested by
August 1
for farms enrolled in specific programs.
For more information contact your local FSA Office.
Power of Attorney
NRCS and FSA no longer share power of attorney (POA) forms. If you plan on appointing someone power of attorney for land rights you will need to contact NRCS for a new POA form.