Buy conservation tree seedlings now--don't wait for Spring

By Richard C. Snell

Barton County Extension Agent--Ag

Don't look now, but the snow and ice that we had for a solid month has all melted away. Not only that, but the ground hasn't frozen, unless it has in just this recent cold snap.

Buying seedling trees and shrubs in the dead of winter may sound crazy. But it's a good idea for central and western Kansans interested in using next spring to start improving their property with trees and shrubs.

I'm not saying spring is here but it was amazing how we melted everything away in the first 12 days of the year. When I first moved here, almost 21 year ago to the date, people talked about the January thaw. I always thought that's when you really got into "the thick" of winter. Some years we do get a warm January and then more winter after that. Some years we don't have much winter at all and what we do have is a cold January. This year, we really did get a January thaw and I am hoping that will get everyone into the planting mood. There are a couple of reasons that this should be the year to plant conservation trees and shrubs.

First, times are relatively good in rural Kansas with good prices and help from the oil industry. So, you may have more available cash than some years for new tree projects. Secondly, we had a lot of trees and shrubs that were destroyed or damaged in the December ice storm, the high winds in early September and the tornadoes in May. Many of these need replacing.

Here are some ideas for conservation trees and shrubs:

--A living "wall" to block out noise or ugly views.

--A shore planting to help control soil erosion, stabilize the bank, and filter out pollutants before rainwater runoff reaches a river, stream, lake or pond.

--A woodlot or Christmas tree farm that provides an alternate to trees in the wild as a source of wood products.

--A windbreak to protect home, outbuildings, driveway, access road, livestock, pasture or crop field from wind and drifting snows.

The Kansas Forest Service is a top source for plants to use in these ways. Every year, the service offers low-cost trees and shrubs selected for their wide adaptability in Kansas. Local residents can qualify for this deal simply by agreeing to plant what they buy and to design their planting so that it serves some sort of conservation-related purpose.

We are in the best shape we have been in years from a soil moisture standpoint and long-term weather forecasts are calling now for more moisture than Kansas received during the past few winters.

So, this spring should be a good planting season. The forest service will start shipping in March, but keep taking orders from now until May. Still, ordering long before spring is always a good idea. The service does the best it can at anticipating what Kansans will want. Even so, it always runs out of something. The only thing that's different from year to year is which species go first and how quickly its supply gets exhausted.

That's why I suggest landowners with big plans for spring, drop by the Extension office soon to look over the forest service's plant list for 2008. Thanks for supporting the Conservation Tree Planting Program.

Did you know

--This Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 22 and 23, will be the Cover Your Acres reduced tillage conference in Oberlin. I will be taking a van load. Call me by Tuesday morning if you are still interested in going with us. We will be staying over one night.

--A series of meetings designed to help crop and livestock producers learn about Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite (AGR-Lite) and other risk management programs is planned for several locations in the coming weeks. Dates and locations of a few are: Wichita, Jan. 21; Garden City, Jan. 23; Manhattan, Jan. 24 and in Larned on Feb. 5.

--Larned will be the site of an in-depth wheat production and Precision Ag School, from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 4. Register by Jan. 29.

--The National Western Stock Show is taking place in Denver, Jan. 12 to 27.

--This time, you can fill out your National Ag Census form that is due Feb. 4 online via the Internet.

--The Chicago Mercantile Exchange and MF Global are holding a Cattle Risk Management Strategies Workshop in Dodge City on Jan. 26.

--No-Till on the Plains, one of the most popular conferences of its kind in North America, will be held Jan. 29 and 30 in Salina.

--The 2008 Women Managing the Farm Conference is scheduled Feb. 8 and 9 at the Grand Prairie Hotel and Conference Center in Hutchinson.

--As we get into calving season, the two most important things for cow-calf producers to manage are: body temperature of the calf and colostrum intake. Dry calves off with a towel if they get wet and then warm them. As long as they are dry and either nurse the cow the first few hours or are given colostrum, they are usually fine.

--The Kansas Agriculture Research Association and K-State will hold the annual Precision Ag--Technology Conference at the Holiday Inn in Salina, Jan. 23 to 25. The registration fee is $125.

--The National Bio-Diesel Conference will be held Feb. 3 to 6 in Orlando, Fla.

--K-State will hold a Swine Profitability Conference in Manhattan on Feb. 5. Registration fee is $25 before Jan. 25 and $50 after that.

--The National Alfalfa Symposium will be held in Kearney, Neb., Feb. 4 and 5. In conjunction with that, the Mid-America Alfalfa Expo will be held there Feb. 5 and 6.

--Jan. 29 is the deadline to terminate oral crop leases.

--You can find details for these meetings by stopping by your local county Extension office or call us at 620-793-1910.

2/11/08
1 Star WK\9-B

Date: 2/7/08

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