KANSAS Rural Center awards Clean Water Farms-River Friendly Far

Kansas

The Kansas Rural Center recently awarded $39,955 in cost-share funds from its Clean Water Farms-River Friendly Farm Project (CWF-RFFP) to 15 Kansas farmers. Farmers in the following counties received funding: Atchison, Butler, Clay, Dickinson, Franklin, Geary, Marion, Marshall, Ness, Reno and Washington. Of those, eleven farms are located in high-priority Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) areas in Kansas.

"Our program always draws a wide range of interest especially from small to mid-sized farmers--from the 20 or 30 head cow/calf operation to several hundred head. They all share a common goal of improving their operation by improving water quality on their farm or ranch," stated Mary Fund, CWF-RFFP Coordinator, said. "Given the number of these kind of operations around the state, reaching as many of these producers as possible helps water quality overall."

To improve the water quality on their farm or ranch, approved projects must implement best management practices (BMPs). Those BMPs on approved projects include: Drainage and removal of unused livestock waste tanks; installation of grass buffers to filter livestock runoff; construction of livestock lagoon; construction of containment unit below fuel storage tanks; relocation of winter feeding area away from creeks; development of alternative livestock watering system; relocation of hog and cattle pens; fencing of ponds and creeks to restrict cattle access; construction of sediment basins to stop field erosion; installation of cross fencing (to protect water sources, improve grazing distribution and distribute manure); installation of dairy barn manure pit; replacement of fuel tank; installation of water tank; filling and capping of unused manure pit, and redesign of cattle pens.

Farmers and ranchers in TMDL watersheds or in established or developing WRAPS watersheds are eligible to apply for up to $5000 in cost-share funds. (See the CWFP page on KRC's website at www.kansasruralcenter.org for a map of eligible areas.) To apply, farmers must have completed the River Friendly Farm Plan (RFFP), a self-environmental assessment, and developed an action plan to address any problems or weaknesses found by the assessment. As an added incentive, there is a $250 payment for those farmers completing the RFFP.

"The River Friendly Farm Plan environmental assessment can be a valuable tool to any farmer, not just those applying for cost-share," Mary Fund, RFFP-CWFP coordinator, said. "The assessment helps producers recognize how they can make improvements, and our field staff and others help them find reasonable solutions to problems or potential problems."

KRC will announce its next round of cost-share funding this fall. "But completing the RFFP is the first step, so it is a good idea to get it done early," Fund commented.

The benefits of completing the RFFP include:

--Better conservation and management, as well as money saved;

--Better positioned to qualify for cost-share funds from a variety of sources;

--Better positioned to comply with, or avoid, future environmental regulation.

In 2005, the CWF-RFFP allocated over $73,000 to 19 projects. Over 11 years the project has provided nearly $500,000 in cost-share funds to over 130 producers to establish demonstrations of clean water farming practices.

Contact the Kansas Rural Center at 785-873-3431 or ksrc@rainbowtel.net for more information on eligibility and the program or visit the KRC website at www.kansasruralcenter.org.

The project is funded by U.S. EPA Section 319 funds through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and administered by the Kansas Rural Center, a non-profit research, education, and advocacy organization located in Whiting.

Date: 6/22/06

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