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Harvest time in fly-over country"They don't want field crops grown within 2,000 feet of a runway," Doug Kemp said. "Wildlife control is one of the primary reasons for the farm program," Jill Ronk said. By Doug Rich
Anyone who lives in the High Plains probably considers himself or herself to be in fly-over country. But the property that Doug Kemp manages is literally fly-over country, where the rumble and roar of jet engines shakes the ground and makes normal conversation almost impossible. Over 380 times a day jets fly over the largest land owner in Platte County, Mo. The land owner is Kansas City International Airport. Doug Kemp, an accredited farm manager with Farm Management Associates, Inc., began overseeing the land around KCI in the fall of 1999. Kansas City, Mo., owns approximately 10,000 acres where the airport is located. Approximately 2,000 acres are inside the fence that contains the air operations area (AOA). "We are responsible for everything outside that fence," Kemp said. That includes 3,600 acres of cropland and 2,200 acres of pasture and hay ground. Kemp said most of the hay ground could be used for grazing but it is situated in such a way that they are not allowed to build fences around it. The farm program for these acres is two-fold. The first is to maximize the revenue from these acres and the second is to control wildlife adjacent to the runways as much as possible. "Wildlife control is one of the primary reasons for the farm program," Jill Ronk said. Ronk is a Contract Specialist with the KCMO Aviation Department. "We want to control bird strikes and deer in the air operations area," Ronk said. When Farm Management Associates, Inc., took over the property in 1999, there were 31 different farm tracts and 12 different operators. Tract sizes ranged from 40 acres to 475 acres. Today there are 16 farm units and 10 operators and tracts range in size from 90 acres to 900 acres. Seven of these units are for cattle production and nine units are for crop production. Look at an aerial photo of the airport property and you will notice that all of the livestock production units are next to the AOA. That is part of their wildlife control. "Cattle in large numbers seem to reduce any population of wildlife such as birds, deer, coyotes, and rodents," Kemp said. "These tend to move away from cattle production units. They don't want field crops grown within 2,000 feet of a runway." When Kemp began overseeing the property, Unit 1 north of the AOA was in wheat production. Since then, it has been converted to livestock production. "Previous to our involvement, there was a bird strike on a jet engine and they determined there was wheat in the bird's digestive tract and that it came from the field closest to the runway," Kemp said. Today there is no wheat grown on any of the units and crop production is limited to corn and soybeans. As far as acreage is concerned, the mix this year is about one-third corn and two-thirds soybeans. Kemp said the soil is pretty good from I-29 South to about 120th Street and at least average compared to other Platte County properties. The rest of the crop production units south of 120th Street are not up to the northern standards. These fields have more slope and more erosion problems with thinner soils. "Rents for the units reflect this pattern," Kemp said. "The highest rents are on the northern end of the property." The seven units dedicated to livestock production are managed on a cash rent basis. The nine crop production units are a mix of cash rent and crop share. At harvest time Marty Richardson said the crops look pretty good. Richardson, from Camden Point, Mo., has been renting property next to the airport for six years. "It was a little too wet in the spring but we had a cool summer with good moisture," Richardson said. At harvest time Richardson said the corn was carrying a little moisture and they were drying it down. Corn yields on the property range from 125 to 180 bushels an acre while soybeans run from 30 bushels to 50 bushels per acre. Two years ago they had an exceptional corn crop and last year was a good one for soybeans. Most of the crop units have been limed, terraced or tiled since the farm program started. Kemp said they soil tested the crop ground when they started and most of it needed lime. "The first three years we set out to lime all of the crop ground; in fact, we limed some of the pasture ground also," Kemp said. In the last six years they have terraced 260 acres of the worst and steepest crop ground. Field tiles have been installed on 120 acres and they plan to tile another 100 acres this year. The biggest project has been building fence. Kemp said they have built 23 miles of fence since the farm program started in 1999. In addition to interior fencing, the entire perimeter fencing has been repaired or replaced since 1999 with the exception of a portion of the fence along I-29 that is maintained by the state. "It has been a major, major project and we are still building fence," Kemp said. Although they have been designed with intensive grazing in mind, all of the livestock units are currently being used for cow-calf production. Water tanks, deep wells, and buried line provide most of the water for Unit 1. Kemp uses old earthmover tires set in concrete for his water tanks. A spring-fed creek runs through Units 9 and 10. Unit 1 has a deep spring-fed well. Two years ago they expanded the system and added five more tanks in another unit. Kemp said they have installed 1,500 feet of waterlines. Kemp said they cannot build ponds because they attract waterfowl. In fact, they have taken out several ponds on the property for that reason. Crops and livestock are not the only things harvested from the property surrounding KCI airport. Three years ago Kemp brought in a certified forester to survey the property for marketable timber. To date, they have sold $75,000 worth of lumber from the property. "Harvesting the trees helped thin out large patches of trees and diminish habitat for deer and birds," Ronk said. A limited amount of hunting is allowed to harvest deer from the property. Originally USDA Wildlife Services conducted their own hunt and donated the meat to local food pantries. The last two years they have had an agreement with a hunting club in Kansas City to hunt on the property. Archery hunting only is allowed from September 15 to January 15 in selected areas. "They encourage each hunter to take a doe before they take a buck," Kemp said. Ronk said last year the club harvested nearly 60 deer from the acres around the airport. As a jet roars overhead, Kemp heads off to check on a fence-building project and check the crops, as harvest is ready to begin in fly-over country. Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by r-mail at richhpj@aol.com. 10/20/08 Date: 10/16/08 Advertisement
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