new butler county conservation district annual edition celebrating … · 2018. 10. 4. · january...

The winner of the 2015 Kansas

Banker’s Association Soil Conservation

Award is Justin Grunder of Cassoday.

Justin and Sarah Grunder’s daughter Audrey and son Kaleb

Justin, along with his dad Carl and Billy

Stacey, his brother, farm 500 acres of

cropland.

They have 3,000 acres of hay land and

additional rangeland acreage where they

run stocker cattle and cows with calves.

They also run a custom hay business. The

farm operation keeps them busy year

round.

Justin’s dad lived most of his life on this

farm. Carl now lives across the road from

the original farm.

Kansas Banker’s Association

2015 Soil Conservation Award

Justin Grunder

Our Thanks to Butler

County Banks for

Sponsoring the

Key Banker Award and

Annual Dinner!

January 2016

Inside This Issue Soil Conservation Award

Justin Grunder

1

Cost Share Sign-up 3

A Butler County

Conservation Ethic

John Claassen

4

Supervisors—Providing 70

Years of Conservation

Leadership

6

Farming in the

21st Century

8

Stocking Rates

are the Key

10

Poster/Limerick

Award Winners

11

Butler County Conservation District

Annual Edition

Celebrating 70 Years of Conservation!

He is semi-retired but still enjoys getting

out to feed cattle and helps with other

farming chores.

Justin and his wife Sarah, their five year

old son Kaleb and two year old daughter

Audrey now live on the home place.

Rangeland practices on the farm include

rotational grazing, burning, spraying for

weeds and monitoring for invasive

species and noxious weeds.

Conservation practices include terraces

and waterways. Additional terraces are

scheduled to be constructed this winter.

Justin constructs his own conservation

practices on the farm using a 1949

grader.

Justin gained a lot of background

knowledge on soils, animals and

agronomy at Kansas State University

that he hadn’t been exposed to before

and that was an asset when he returned

to the farm and began making decisions

regarding the farming operation.

For the past three years Justin has been

no-tilling his cropland. Justin said the

time and fuel savings alone was

incentive enough to make the switch to

no till farming. Justin sees the benefit of

keeping the soil covered year round

which has increased soil organic matter

and improved water infiltration and

biological activity on the cropland.

Each year, the following Butler County Banks sponsor the Key Banker Awards and co-sponsor our

annual dinner meeting.

Next time you visit your bank, please thank them

for supporting agriculture in Butler County.

Intrust Bank

Bank of the West

Bank of Whitewater

Commerce Bank

Community National

Bank

Emprise Bank

Peabody State Bank

Rose Hill State Bank

Vintage Bank Kansas

Verus Bank

American Ag Credit

White Eagle Credit

Union

Grunder Photo

Butler County Conservation District Annual Edition—Celebrating 70 Years of Conservation!

Justin began reading and hearing about the benefits of

cover crops. He decided to incorporate cover crops into

their crop rotation to

provide additional

soil health benefits

and to extend the

grazing season for

the cattle operation.

He planted 300 acres

the first year he

began no-tilling using

a multiple species

mix. He was

impressed with the

results and continues

to incorporate cover

crops in the crop

rotation. He plants

cover crops after

wheat in the summer

and then after corn

and soybeans in the

fall. Although he

sees some crop yield

reduction, the extra

forage he gets from

cattle grazing the

cover crops makes up for the lower yields.

As with trying anything new, Justin commented there is

always room for improvement to optimize the use of no

till and cover crops. He’s committed to make what they

are doing with cover crops and no till farming better.

They are looking at the timing of their cash crops so that

cover crops can be used more efficiently. Justin is

researching different varieties of earlier maturing corn

and soybeans so that cover crops can be planted earlier

in the fall to produce more forage for the cattle before

the end of the growing season. They are also

experimenting with spacing on their planter to assure

the soybean canopy will cover the ground.

There are several producers in the area experimenting

with cover crops on their own land. Justin recommends

talking to farmers who have incorporated cover crops

into their crop rotation to find out what worked best for

them before incorporating cover crops into their own

operations.

Justin received technical and financial assistance for a

waterway, terraces and cover crops through several

different programs including the USDA Environmental

Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Kansas Department

of Agriculture, Division of Conservation Water Resources

Cost Share Program and the Upper Walnut El Dorado

Lake Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy

(WRAPS).

He mentioned these programs forced him to get a plan

in place; he had to follow the plan in order to qualify for

the funds he received through these programs.

In addition to receiving cost share, the work that Justin

has accomplished and continues to do will reduce soil

erosion and improve water quality in El Dorado Lake

which is a major water supply for the area.

There is not much time to get away from the farm for

other activities but Justin does serve on the Flint Hills

USD 492 school board. One of his hobbies is fixing and

working on old trucks. After their wedding ceremony

several years ago, he and his wife Sarah drove away in a

1966 Ford F150 he restored. Sarah has a teaching

degree but currently stays home to be with the kids.

Justin’s 5 year old son Kaleb

likes to check the fields with

Justin and two year old

Audrey spends a lot of time

in the tractor with Justin.

The family recently returned

from snow skiing in Colorado,

a first for their kids.

The 2015 Soil Conservation

Award is sponsored by the

Kansas Banker’s Association.

Congratulations, Justin!

Make reservations now to attend Butler County

Conservation District’s Annual Meeting at 6 PM on

Thursday, February 4, 2016 at the Benton Church. For

reservations, call 316-320-5891.

Please RSVP before January 29,

2016.

Conservation District History

Butler County Banks Support Conservation

District Activities

At the 1953 Annual Meeting, WF Easter of Towanda Bank

presented the first Banker’s Awards in Butler County to

James and John Boyer, DA Edmiston, Harold Brown and

Ira Houser.

In 70 years, 173 cooperators in Butler County have

received the Bankers Award for Soil Conservation, 11

cooperators received Rangeland Management awards, 8

cooperators received awards for Wildlife Habitat, 5

cooperators received water quality awards and 1

cooperator received a stewardship award.

The Banks of Butler County continue to support

Conservation District activities by sponsoring the

Banker’s Awards and by co-sponsoring the Conservation

District’s Annual Meeting each year.

Grunder Photo


Sign Up Now for Financial Assistance in

Implementing Conservation Practices on

Your Farm or Ranch

Cost Share Sign-Up

January 1 to April 30

Controlling soil erosion on your farm or ranch can be

expensive. That’s why financial assistance is made

available to local landowners through the State Water

Plan Fund. The Conservation District administers these

funds for Butler County. Funds are provided to

landowners who qualify based upon local program

requirements set forth by the Conservation District.

Landowners who are interested in receiving financial

assistance need to fill out an application before April 30,

2016 to be considered for our next round of funding that

we receive in July 2016. Applications received by April

30th are prioritized and ranked based on a number of

factors. These include the type of practice to be

implemented, whether the practice is located in a high

priority watershed and location of practice to sensitive

areas such as perennial or intermittent streams, wells or

public water supplies. Applications that rank high are

funded first.

Conservation practices eligible for cost share include:

grassed waterways, terraces, underground outlets,

diversions, pasture and hayland planting, range seeding,

sediment control basins, wetland creation, filter strips,

ponds, watering facilities, fencing, plugging abandoned

water wells, upgrading livestock waste systems and

repairing failing septic systems. A complete list of

guidelines and eligible practices can be obtained at the

conservation office.

All cost share practices must meet NRCS Standards and

Specifications in order for cost share to be paid.

If you have some erosion issues, call us or stop by and

talk to us. We can pull up a map on the computer to

discuss areas in your field(s) that concern you and then

come out to the field and with your help, determine the

best way to solve an erosion problem. It costs you

nothing to ask or have us come out and look. We can

provide some estimates on cost so you can make a

determination on whether you want to proceed with the

project.

For more information on the cost share program,

eligibility, or a complete list of practices that can be

funded with cost share, contact Sandy Koontz at the

Conservation District office, 316-320-5891.

Rent the District’s No-Till Drills!

The Conservation District has two Great Plains Model 1006NT No-till Drills for rent. They are 13 feet wide with a 10 foot planting width. They have 3 seed boxes with capability to drill seed crops, brome, native grass and

small seed such as wildflowers.

The drills have a single hitch and hydraulic lift. A 70 horsepower tractor or bigger is recommended for

pulling in the field. You can pull it behind your truck when you pick it up. These drills rent for $9.50 an acre with a 10 acre minimum ($95 minimum charge).

Geo—Textile Fabric The Conservation District has geo-textile fabric for sale. The fabric comes in a 15 foot width and you can order as many feet as you need. It is $2.80 per square yard.

Marking Flags If you need some flags we sell them for $7.50/100 count. They come in white, blue and pink.

Root Plow

Don’t push out those hedge rows! We have a root plow. There is a $25 charge to use the root plow.

NRCS and Conservation District Staff

L-R Carey Fieser—NRCS Soil Conservation Technician, Sandy Koontz—Water Quality Coordinator/District

Secretary, Justin Kneisel—NRCS District Conservationist,

Jeff Parks, NRCS/District Soil Conservation Technician,

Brenda Nyberg—District Manager (Not Pictured, Charley Hunter—NRCS Soil Conservationist)

Q: What do you call a calf after it's six months old?

A: Seven months old.


A Butler County Conservation Ethic

John Claassen

Most of us weren’t alive when Whitewater area farmer Albert Claassen scratched “1929” into the curing concrete of an erosion control structure he installed on his farm in Butler County, Kansas that year. Albert

would tell his son John, “You couldn’t get a horse to go through that gully it was so steep”. Today, the structure still stands, still functions and still keeps soil from washing off the farm; a testimony to all that conservation of our soil and water resources is a practice worth every penny.

Maybe more importantly though, Albert Claassen instilled a conservation ethic into his family as well as

into the community that surrounded him, all before the catastrophic events of the “dirty thirties” Dust Bowl.

That conservation ethic lives on in Albert’s son John.

That same year, 1929, while Mr. Claassen was constructing his concrete erosion control structure,

another man, a soil surveyor with the U.S. Bureau of Soils named Hugh Hammond Bennett recognized how soil erosion was degrading the land and had a bulletin published entitled "Soil Erosion, A National Menace."

In 1933, Dr. Bennett became the head of the newly formed Soil Erosion Service. As a direct result of the Dust Bowl, the Soil Conservation Act was passed by congress in 1935 which renamed the Soil Erosion Service to the USDA Soil Conservation Service (now known as the USDA Natural Resources Conservation

Service) with Dr. Bennett as the first chief. Dr. Bennett realized early on if the Soil Conservation Service was to be effective, it must have grass roots support. Local leadership was needed to encourage local participation and coordinate efforts of conservation agencies. The U. S. Congress encouraged states to pass Conservation District Law and establish local conservation districts.

Kansas passed their Conservation District Law in 1937; Labette County was the first Kansas Conservation District to establish in 1938; Butler County Conservation District was established in 1945. With Dr. Bennett’s

leadership, the establishment of local soil conservation districts in almost every county in the nation became reality. Dr. Bennett is known as the Father of Soil Conservation.

Using locally elected officials to provide local leadership on local conservation issues is an arrangement that has worked for over 70 years in Butler County; with Natural Resources Conservation Service and Conservation

District employees waiting in the wings to provide the technical or financial support to get conservation on the

ground.

Albert Claassen didn’t serve on the Butler County Conservation District Board but his son John did from

1958 to 1984. As an associate member and supervisor, John promoted conservation efforts, provided local leadership and helped set priorities important to Butler County landowners for 26 years, by far the longest time served of any supervisors in the last 70 years.

Landowners usually get involved with the Conservation District because of an invitation and encouragement by someone on the Board. Ted Klaassen was on the board back in 1958 and Ted invited John to become an associate member.

It was a natural step for John to make because conservation has always been practiced on the Claassen farm. An article in a 1977 local paper called John and

other supervisors of that time “pioneers in soil conservation work”.

August 1971—Albert Claassen standing beside an erosion control structure he built in 1929.

September 1978—John Claassen standing beside the erosion control structure his Dad Albert built in 1929.

Page 4


The commitment to conservation is evident by the conservation work done on the farm through the years

and more importantly, maintained through the years. First was the concrete erosion control structure his Dad

Albert made in 1929 and another in 1935 and terraces in 1938. John recalls when he was in high school his dad let him stay home from school one day when Floyd Siegrist, Butler County’s first Soil Conservation Service Technician, came out to survey for terraces.

In the 1980’s, John was the first in Butler County to install an underground outlet terrace system. For several years John kept pipe at the farm for the Conservation District to sell to other landowners. No till farming has been used on the farm since 1982 but as

early as 1975, John was looking into the benefits of no till. He hosted a field day in 1975 on his farm to demonstrate terrace construction and maintenance in addition to featuring no till corn planting.

John took his role as associate member and supervisor seriously. He hosted several field days on his farm to show new and innovative farming methods. His farm was used for educational tours for Whitewater Middle School and Potwin Grade School students. John’s wife Miriam was a 3rd grade teacher at Potwin Grade School

during his terms in office. Mrs. Claassen (who was also active in the Conservation District Ladies Auxiliary) brought her students out to the farm and they would ride on hayracks to see conservation practices. John had a field near Potwin and sometimes Mrs. Claassen would just walk her students from the grade school to

the field for a lesson in conservation with John.

As a member of the Kansas Association of Conservation

Districts, he met with Governor Robert Docking in Tope-ka in 1972 to promote Soil Stewardship Week. Along

with other board members, he attended area, state and national conservation meetings to stay informed about soil and water conservation issues and then promoted the concept of wise use of soil and water resources back home in the area he represented. While John was on the Board the Conservation District won the Goodyear

Award for Outstanding Conservation Programs in 1961 and again in 1977.

During the years John was an associate member and supervisor it was an exciting time in the conservation

movement. Prior to and during the time John was on the board, six watershed districts began the process of

becoming official organizations. Little Walnut Hickory Watershed was the first watershed district established in Butler County followed by Muddy Creek, Rock Creek, Upper Walnut, Whitewater River and Middle Walnut.

Butler County Conservation District was instrumental in assisting the watersheds with organization and provided sponsorship to the watersheds as they began their planning efforts. After the watershed districts were incorporated they began securing funds to build watershed structures for flood control. Today there are

over 100 watershed structures all over Butler County. Part of the procedure for securing funds for watershed projects was to assure conservation work was completed above the proposed structures to reduce erosion. John

remembers there being a lot of comradery and cooperation among conservation district board members

and the board members of the 6 watershed districts in Butler County.

The watershed boards and their contracting officers worked closely with the Conservation District and NRCS

staff to promote the benefits of the watershed structures and actively worked with landowners to get conservation practices on the ground. With the District and watersheds working hand in hand a lot of conservation practices were implemented in Butler County.

What has changed in the last 70 years? New conservation concepts were introduced. Conservation tillage, no till farming and cover crops slowly gained

acceptance and now have become more common practice. Terraces, waterways, erosion control

structures and other conservation practices continue to be implemented on farm ground in Butler County.

John’s been retired from farming for a few years now, at

least the day to day activities of farming. John and Miriam still live on the home place. He has a woodworking shop that keeps him busy these days along with taking care of the yard but he still keeps a watchful eye on how his land is being farmed. There’s a sign out by the driveway that says “Kansas Bankers Award, Soil Conservation, 1996”. Thirty five years

earlier, in 1961, John’s father Albert was given that award.

Even though John leaves the farming to others who rent

his ground they must agree to and sign a contract that they will farm the land as John did.

They are okay with that because they can see the

benefits of a life-long commitment to a conservation ethic.

September 2015—John Claassen standing beside the erosion control structure built in 1929 and still functioning in 2016.

Thanks to all past and present

conservation district supervisors and

associate members for their service and

commitment to protecting our soil and

water resources. Page 5


Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only

thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead

In preparing for our 70th annual meeting, time was spent

looking at old minutes, photographs and news clippings

for background information. It soon became very

evident that there have been a select few who have been

instrumental in shaping the conservation program in

Butler County. Following is information gleaned from

various archived information:

The first organizational meeting of the Soil Conservation

Association was held in November 1944. A temporary

committee was selected and included AG Harsh, AR

Willhite, FE Dine, Walter Claassen, CV Pickett, Harvey

Smith, CC Cunningham, Merton King and Bert Noble.

The Butler County Soil Conservation District was

established by a favorable vote of landowners and

operators in 1945. The first elected supervisors in 1945

were: CC Cunningham, Bert Noble, Merton King, Virgil

Hammond and FE Dine.

In April, 1945, the Conservation District along with Butler

County Farm Bureau came up with a list of sixteen

conservation issues that they thought needed to be

addressed in Butler County. These items included soil

erosion, depletion of organic matter, flood control, wet

land along rivers, farming up and down the hill,

re-seeding sub marginal land, developing water

resources, better crop rotation, need for more legumes,

need for lime and phosphate, pasture management

(including deferred grazing, less burning, control grazing,

mowing weeds, control of gullies), control of noxious

weeds, development of shelter belts, wind erosion, need

for terrace outlets, making proper use of the land. Farm

Bureau members who attended this organizational

meeting included Guy Faulconer, J. R. Nuttle, Clee

Ralston, Mable Artz, Chris Stackley, Leroy Randall, Mrs.

SY Curry, Mrs. Charles Leathers, James Boyer, JE Baker,

Tom Moore, Ralph Grier and Dale Edelblute.

Other supervisors throughout the 70 year history

include: Oliver Sontag, Chris Stackley, AH Gish, JO

Sontag, Ted Klaassen, Lloyd Howard, Richard Chase,

Walter Woods, Blaine Bodecker, John Claassen, EE Jabes,

Homer Milbourn, James Nuttle Jr., Don Showalter,

Vincent Vestring, Ellsworth Willhite, Jack Bunyard, Herb

Shaffer, David Sundgren, Judith Haffner, Bruce Bodecker,

Don Smith, Barry Black, Steve McCune, Eldon Esau, Virgil

Biby, Leon White, David Bernsden, Gary Doornbos, Jason

Pirtle, John Taylor, Harold Ralston, Carolyn Corbin, Daryl

Regier, Walter Burress, Bill Shriver, Robert Chandler,

Bonnie Smith, Richard Scott, Russell Janzen and Ryan

Locke.

Associate members were appointed or invited by the

supervisors to become involved with conservation district

activities. Many supervisors began as associates and

were later elected as supervisors. Many supervisors

remained active in conservation work as associate

members after serving as supervisors.

Associate supervisors included: Ellsworth Willhite,

Richard Chase, Blaine Bodecker, JS Cunningham, Homer

Milbourn, Ivan Seward, JR Nuttle, Willard Wiebe, Rex

Newcom, Lloyd Howard, Vernon Walters, Dale Watts,

James Fagan, Melvin Butts, Bob Little, John Claassen,

Elwood King, Walter Woods, ME King, John Templeton,

CB Price, Ward Gibson, Del Shepler, Vernon Henn,

Everett Moss, JO Sontag, Fred Langenegger Jr., EE

Jabes, Harmon Lackey, WD Mitchell, Hiram Parsley,

Lloyd King, Ted Klaassen, Frank Duvanel, Leonard

Jennison, John Scribner, Harold Taylor, Ervin Grant,

Howard Cheney, Don Showalter, Edwin Andres, Tom

Klaassen, Bob Gammon, Vincent Vestring, Waunita

Engler.

Supervisors in office the longest:

John Claassen–26 Years, John Templeton—20 Years, Walter Woods–20 Years, Oliver Sontag—18 Years, Blaine Bodecker–18 Years, Vincent Vestring–18 Years, Ellsworth

Willhite—17 Years, Bruce Bodecker–17 Years, CC Cunningham—15 Years, Homer Milbourn—15 Years, Merton King–15 Years, E E Jabes–11 Years, Lloyd Howard–10 Years, Ted Klaassen—9 Years, A H Gish—9 Years, Walter Burress—9 Years, Daryl Regier–9 Years.

We owe all these people a debt of gratitude for their service in leading the way, setting the stage and setting a good example for others to be conservation stewards and protecting the natural resources of Butler County.

Supervisors and Associate Members Providing 70 Years of Conservation

Leadership to Protect Butler County’s Natural Resources

2015 Butler County Conservation District Supervisors

Back Row—Ryan Locke, Russell Janzen, Richard Scott Front Row— Daryl Regier, Walter Burress



KG&E (Kansas Gas & Electric)

Awards

In July 1960, Kansas Gas and Electric (KG&E) introduced a program to recognize cooperators who completed conservation

plans on their land. Many landowners in Butler County were recognized by KG&E and received a sign that read, “KG&E Award for Soil and Water Conservation. If you look, you can still find a few signs around the County.

Conservation District History—

When the Conservation District organized in 1945, the door was opened for securing assistance from the United

States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service (now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service) to aid local

farmers in controlling erosion and maintaining soil fertility. This partnership continues today and now includes protecting all our natural resources including water and wildlife.

Conservation District History Kansas Bankers Awards

At the 1953 Annual Meeting, the first Kansas Banker’s

Association Awards for Soil Conservation were

presented. Bankers Awards are presented to

landowners who have made notable efforts in

conservation. The 1953 awards were presented by W

F Easter of Towanda Bank and went to James and John

Boyer, D A Edmiston, Harold Brown and Ira Houser.

In 70 years, 173 cooperators in Butler County have

received the Bankers Award for soil conservation, 11

cooperators received rangeland management awards,

8 cooperators received awards for wildlife habitat, 5

cooperators received water quality awards and 1

cooperator received a stewardship award.


Cooperator Fees

After its establishment in 1945, landowners had to apply for membership into the Conservation District and pay a $5 fee. This fee was charged to landowners requesting

assistance through the Conservation Office for soil conservation planning and work.

In August 1970, it was reported that Lowell Lygrisse of Benton was the 2,000th cooperator to sign with the Butler

County Soil Conservation District. At that time, more than 75% of Butler County’s 921,424 acres were under agreement with the Butler County Conservation District.

In April 1983, the Conservation District Supervisors voted to delete the $5 cooperator fee.

NRCS and Conservation District Partnership Continues….

Towanda Rustlers

4-H had the Grand

Champion Banner

this year in the

Conservation

Banner Division at

the 2015 Butler

County 4-H Fair.

The

Conservation

Banner is

sponsored by

Butler

County

Conservation

District

Conservation District History Sponsoring 4-H

In July 1960, the Conservation District Board gave approval to have a booth at the local 4-H Fair for the

purpose of providing educational information to fairgoers.

The Conservation District also sponsors the

Conservation Banner and presents cash awards to top placing clubs each year.

Conservation District History Ladies Auxiliary

In 1963 the Ladies Auxiliary was formed which consisted of the spouses of supervisors and associate

supervisors. The Butler County Auxiliary was the first in the State. Their duties included promoting the essay, poster, limerick and speech contests in local schools. They also ordered and delivered stewardship materials to local churches for observance of Stewardship Week, an annual observance in the spring. The Ladies Auxiliary is no longer active.

Conservation District History—Goodyear Awards—The Conservation District won the Goodyear Tire and Rubber

Company’s Conservation Award Contest in July 1961 and again in 1977 for outstanding conservation programs. This award program emphasized the concepts of planning for service, organizing to give that service and evaluation of district services. They looked at the District’s Annual reports and compared them with their Annual Work Plans to determine whether their goals had been met. Goodyear also recognized local farmers with a outstanding farmer awards for conservation work completed. These award programs are no longer offered by Goodyear.


Farming in the 21st Century - A Practical Approach to Improve Soil Health

Managing for soil health must begin by changing the way you think about soil.

By reducing nutrient inputs, we can take advantage of the nutrient cycles in the soil to supply crop nutrients and allow plants to make essential associations with soil organisms. If we acknowledge the complex life in the

soil and work with it instead of disturbing it, we will harness a tremendous engine for biological production (growing crops).

The ‘soil factory’ workers can be most productive when they have a good working environment with an ample supply of energy. When they are most productive, the farmer is most profitable.

Grow Living Roots Throughout the Year... to feed soil organisms

The soil food web is a complex association of organisms responsible for breaking down crop residues and cycling plant-available nutrients in the soil. Every organism has something that it eats…or something that eats it. There are many sources of food in the soil that feed the soil

food web, but there is no better food than the sugars exuded by living roots. Soil organisms feed on sugar from living plant roots first. Next, they feed on dead plant roots, followed by above-ground crop residues, such as straw, chaff, husks, stalks, flowers and leaves. Lastly, they feed on the humic organic matter in the

soil.

Living plants maintain a rhizosphere, an area of concentrated microbial activity close to the root. The

rhizosphere is the most active part of the soil factory because it is where the most easy to eat food is available and it is where peak nutrient and water cycling occurs. Microbial food is exuded by plant roots to attract and feed microbes that provide nutrients (and other compounds) at the root-soil interface where the

plant can take them up. Since living roots provide the easiest source of food for soil microbes, growing long season crops or a cover crop following a short season crop, feeds the foundation species of the soil food web as much as possible during the growing season.

Healthy soil is dependent upon how well the soil food web is fed. Providing plenty of easily accessible food to

soil microbes helps them cycle nutrients that plants need to grow. Sugars from living plant roots, recently dead plant roots, crop residues, and soil organic matter

all feed the many and varied members of the soil food web.

Keep the Soil Covered as Much as Possible

Soil cover conserves moisture, intercepts raindrops to reduce their destructive impact, suppresses weed growth and provides habitat for members of the soil food web that spend at least some of their time above ground.

(Continued on next page)

What is Soil Health?

A simple definition of soil health is the capacity of a soil to function.

Soil health is improved by disturbing the soil less, growing the greatest diversity of crops (in rotation and as diverse mixtures of cover crops), maintaining living roots in the soil as much as possible (with crops and

cover crops) and keeping the soil covered with residue at all times.

Soil is a living factory of macroscopic and microscopic

workers who need food to eat and places to live to do their work. Amazingly, there are more individual organisms in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on earth; thus, the soil and its processes are controlled by

these organisms. The living ‘soil factory’ is powered primarily by sunlight.

Managing for soil health (improved soil function) is mostly a matter of maintaining suitable habitat for the myriad of creatures that comprise the soil food web. This can be accomplished by disturbing the soil as little as possible, growing as many different species of plants as

practical, keeping living plants in the soil as often as possible, and keeping the soil covered all the time. Manage More by Disturbing Soil Less

Tilling the soil is the equivalent of an earthquake, hurricane, tornado, and forest fire occurring simultaneously to the world of soil organisms. Physical soil disturbance, such as tillage with a plow, disk or chisel plow, that results in bare or compacted soil, is

destructive and disruptive to soil microbes and creates a hostile, instead of hospitable, place for them to live and work.

Simply stated, tillage is bad for the soil.

If crop nutrients are applied to the soil in excess, plants

will not develop associations with soil organisms that help them acquire water and nutrients. After the “party is over” and the synthetic fertilizer is gone, the plants are left “high and dry” with few to no soil factory

workers to help them access water and nutrients for the remainder of the growing season. The plants then give up valuable energy (sugars) in an attempt to make

connections with microbes mid-way through the growing season when the plant should be putting that energy into flowering and seed development to produce a harvestable yield. By applying excess fertilizer, particularly nitrogen or phosphorus, we create plants that are very inefficient as they try to function without the support system of the soil with which they evolved.

(Farming in the 21st Century, continued)

This is true regardless of land use (cropland, hay land, pasture or range). If improving soil health is your goal, you should not see the soil very often.

Soil should always be covered by growing plants and/or their residues and it should rarely be visible from above.

Soil cover cannot be taken for granted.

Even in a no-till system, there are times when soil cover may be lacking because of crop harvest methods, amounts of residue produced, and low carbon: nitrogen ratios of some crop residues that make them decompose quickly.

Soil cover protects soil aggregates from ‘taking a beating’ from the force of falling raindrops. Even a

healthy soil with water-stable aggregates (held together by biological glues) that can withstand wetting by the rain may not be able to withstand a ‘pounding’ from raindrops. When water-stable soil aggregates are covered by crop residues or living plants, they are protected from disintegration by the hammering energy

of raindrops. When soil aggregates remain intact at the soil surface, water infiltrates the soil and is available to plant roots.

A mulch of crop residues on the soil surface suppresses weeds early in the growing season giving the intended crop an advantage. This is particularly the case with a rolled cover crop that may cover the entire soil surface at once. They also keep the soil cool and moist which

provides favorable habitat for many organisms that begin residue decomposition by shredding residues into

smaller pieces. If these “shredders” have good residue habitat they can increase residue decomposition, and therefore nutrient cycling, by up to 25%.

Keeping the soil covered while allowing crop residues to decompose (so their nutrients can be cycled back into

the soil) can be a bit of a balancing act. Producers must give careful consideration to their crop rotation (including any cover crops) and residue management if they are to keep the soil covered and fed at the same time.

Diversify with Crop Diversity

A living functioning soil depends on an efficient flow of light energy originating from the sun. Using chlorophyll to absorb sunlight energy, green plants transform

atmospheric carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates (starches, sugars, lignin and cellulose) in a process known as photosynthesis. The sun’s light

energy is stored in these carbon compounds, which provide the building blocks for plant roots, stems, leaves and seeds.

Soil microorganisms are responsible for decomposing organic matter and releasing plant available nutrients. A diversity of plant carbohydrates is required to support the assortment of soil microorganisms that live in the soil. To achieve this level of diversity, different plants

must be grown.


Check out Butler County Conservation District’s

Website:

www.butlercountyconservationdistrictks.com

The key to improving soil health is that food and energy chains and webs consist of several types of plants or

animals, not just one or two.

A guiding principle is that diversity above ground (plants) equals diversity below ground (the soil food web). Growing a diverse rotation of crops is an excellent

way to increase the diversity of the soil food web.

Biodiversity is ultimately the key to success of any agricultural system.

Lack of biodiversity severely limits the potential of any cropping system and disease and pest problems are

increased. A diverse and fully functioning soil food web provides for nutrient, energy, and water cycling that allows a soil to express its full potential.

Increasing the diversity of a crop rotation and cover

crops increases soil health and soil function, reduces input costs and increases profitability.

Please contact the NRCS or Conservation District office for more information, 316-321-5803. More information is also available on the Kansas Web site at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

Excerpts from NRCS Publication, Farming in the 21st Century - a Practical Approach to Improve Soil Health

Go to the NRCS Soil Health web page to learn more: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/

soils/health/

Quotes from Hugh Hammond Bennett,

known as the Father of Soil Conservation:

From every conceivable angle—economic, social, cultural, public

health, national defense—conservation of natural resources is an

objective on which all should agree.

If you will take the trouble to ascertain the facts about our

farmland—and other natural resources—and then lend your

support to our conservation program we will get results and hold

on to them. To stand by silently will not help.

I consider the soil conservation districts movement one of the

most important developments in the whole history of agriculture.

National action may be led and aided by government, but the soil

must be conserved ultimately by those who till the land and live

by its products.

The wash cycle on your washing machine uses more water in 30

minutes than a pioneer family used in one whole day.

http://www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov/

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.


Stocking Rates are the Key!

By Tim Miller, NRCS Range Management Specialist Lawrence, Kansas

When I ask people what their stocking rates are for a year, I always hear “you can put one pair per eight acres.” I soon realized this statement is not accurate—there is not an identical pasture—anywhere. This might

be the county average that has evolved to be the rule of thumb.

A pasture can consist of many different soil types. Soils

are important because it determines what forages will grow. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) uses a county soil survey to determine the type of soil on pastures. Range sites can be categorized under Loamy Upland or Shallow Limy. There’s a small chance that an entire pasture is one type of range

site. The larger the pasture, the greater chance it will

have more than one range site. Each one of these different range sites have different vegetation characteristics and forage production possibilities.

A range site like a Loamy Upland can produce up to 6,000 lb per acre with Big Bluestem being the dominant grass. A Shallow Limy range site could produce 4,000 lb per acre with Sideoats Grama as the dominant grass. It is important to determine the production level of your pasture. This will help match your potential forage productivity to your animal’s requirements.

Let’s go back to the statement of “8 acres per pair.” Is it a 1,000 lb cow or is it a 1,200 lb cow? These cows might be the same breed, but their size determines their forage needs. Ask yourself—does a 1,000 lb cow eat as much

as a 1,200 lb cow?

The last thing you need to consider is time. How long are you grazing? A pasture can only produce so much forage

a year. Do you take the available forage in 3 months or 6 months? The shorter amount of time you graze a pasture, the more animals that will be allowed, compared to a longer time you graze. Forage should be stockpiled for animals that graze longer periods. Is that “pair” grazing 3, 6, or 12 months in the pasture? It’s

something to think about.

In order to determine a safe stocking rate, you should know the following:

1. Available forage 2. Type and size of grazing animal 3. Time the pasture is grazed

Please contact the NRCS or Conservation District office for more information, 316-321-5803. More information is also available on the NRCS Kansas Website at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

What happens on the land remains crucial to our economic and environmental

well-being, even if we never set foot on a farm or ranch. Our connection to the land is there every time we buy a loaf of bread, turn on the tap for a cool drink of water or admire a flock of geese heading south in the fall.

- excerpt from “A Geography of Hope”

Range Youth Camp

Each year the Conservation District offers scholarships to

upcoming high school sophomores, juniors and seniors with an

interest in rangeland management to attend the week long

Range Youth Camp sponsored by the Kansas Section Society for

Range Management. The camp is usually held in June or July.

During this week long camp, students will learn to identify

rangeland plants, determine plant growth and stocking rates,

discuss livestock nutrition, rangeland wildlife management, and

much more!

There will be a special field trip and a steak and potato dinner

provided during the week long camp. Fun activities are also

scheduled and include swimming, canoeing, fishing and hiking.

Tuition in the past has been $250 with the

conservation district offering full scholarships to

students who attend from Butler County.

Contact Brenda at the District Office for more

information, 316-320-5891.

Conservation District History—Non-Point Source Pollution Control Program As early as 1957 water pollution was discussed at monthly board meetings. In 1992, a Non-Point Source Plan was approved by the Conservation District Board with the following concerns listed as needing to be addressed: abandoned water wells, improper use/disposal of agricultural, urban and household chemicals, failing septic

systems, livestock waste runoff, petroleum activities, stream bank erosion, illegal trash dumping, runoff from roads/parking lots and construction activities. In 1994, the first Non-Point Source Coordinator was hired to run the District’s Non-Point Source (NPS) Pollution Control cost share program. The NPS program is still active today.

LAW OF MECHANICAL REPAIR: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will

begin to itch.

LAW OF PROBABILITY: The probability of being

watched is directly proportional to the

stupidity of your act.

LAW OF RANDOM NUMBERS: If you dial a wrong

number, you never get a busy signal and

someone always answers.

http://www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov/


Poster and Limerick

Contest Winners

The 2015 Conservation Poster and Limerick

Contest Theme was “Local Heroes—Your

Hard Working Pollinators”. Seven schools

participated this year with 230 entries

received; 221 posters and 9 limericks.

2015 POSTER CONTEST WINNERS

Andover—Robert Martin Elementary—Fifth Grade

1st Place — Emiley Gonda

2nd — Sidney Gehring

3rd — Alexandria Cerini

Emiley’s poster was also entered in the state contest.

Augusta—Ewalt Elementary—Third Grade

1st Place — Sara Stanhope

2nd Place — Xavier Cortez

3rd Place — Taylor Gresham

Shopper’s Guide/Conservation Edition — Andrew Clouse

Augusta—Ewalt Elementary—Fourth Grade

1st Place — Isabela Rose

2nd Place — Destiny Irving Carroll

3rd Place — Kabren Wetzel

Augusta—Robinson Elementary—Fourth Grade

1st Place—Anastasia Mosier

2nd Place— Bosten Niblett

3rd Place— Kala Brant

Circle—Oil Hill—El Dorado—Third Grade

1st Place — Landon Craigmyle

2nd Place — Alexis Mead

3rd Place — Brycen Cook

Landon’s poster was also entered in the state contest.

Elbing—Berean Academy—Fourth Grade

1st Place — Mark Entz

2nd Place — Elisha Chouinard

3rd Place — Ava Wadley

El Dorado—Skelly Elementary—Fourth Grade

1st Place — Taylor Sutton/Chambers

2nd Place — Lila Spradlin

3rd Place — Samantha Beard

El Dorado Middle School—Sixth Grade

1st Place — Regan Lattey

2nd Place — Kensiz Anders

3rd Place — Thao Tran

Leon Bluestem—Fourth Grade

1st Place — Creighton Taft

2nd Place — Cadence Williamson

3rd Place — Hevin Sommers

2015 LIMERICK WINNERS

Elbing—Berean Academy—Fourth Grade

1st Place — Gavin Evans

2nd Place — Isaac Snook

Gavin’s limerick was entered into the state contest.

TEACHER AWARDS

Each teacher received $50 for participating in our contest:

3rd Grade

Ewalt—Augusta

Brenda McCoskey, Jason Puckette & Ashley Rodgers

Circle Oil Hill

Cindy Hearn

4th Grade

Ewalt—Augusta

Katie Harrison, Kyle Ray, Heather Tucker

Robinson—Augusta

Rebecka Ellis

Leon Bluestem

Barbara McCaffree and Angie Baker

Berean Academy—Elbing

Nita Newby

Skelly Elementary—El Dorado

Kristeen Goering and Brandi Marshall

5th Grade

Robert Martin Elementary—Andover

Shanie Rucker, Courtney Salome and Lisa Sturges

6th Grade

El Dorado Middle School

Sherry Hermreck

Thank you for teaching environmental

education in your classrooms!

Congratulations to All!

It takes 150 gallons of water to grow enough wheat to make a loaf of bread.

Butler County Conservation District is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

In a very real sense, the land does not lie; it bears a

record of what men write on it.

- W C Lowdermilk

2015 Key Banker Award

Winner for Soil Conservation:

Justin Grunder

Congratulations!!

Butler County Conservation District

2503 Enterprise, Suite B

El Dorado, Kansas 67042

316-320-5891

The 70th Annual Meeting of Butler

County Conservation District,

co-sponsored by the Banks of Butler

County, is scheduled for Thursday,

February 4, 2016 at The Benton

Church in Benton.

The meeting will start at 6:00 PM.

Dinner will be served by Oklahoma

Boys BBQ of Augusta. Attendees

will all receive door prizes in honor

of our 70th year.

Conservation District’s 70th Annual Meeting to be held Thursday, February 4, 2016 at The Benton Church in Benton

This poster created by Andrew Clouse, a fourth grader at Ewalt

Elementary School in Augusta, was selected to be highlighted in this

newsletter. Congratulations, Andrew!

The 2015 Kansas Banker’s Award

for Soil Conservation will be

presented to Justin Grunder of

Cassoday. The program will

highlight 70 years of conservation

in Butler County.

For reservations, please call

the Conservation District at

316-320-5891 . Reg i s t rat ion

deadline is January 29, 2016.

Funding for this newsletter has been provided by the

Kansas Department of Agriculture—Division of

Conservation through appropriation from the Kansas

Water Plan Fund.

Conservation District History—The first essay contest was sponsored in the 1948-49 school year. Poster, limerick and speech contests were added in later

years. An estimated 617 students have been awarded first, second or third place, honorable mention or highlighted in local papers since 1948. It is estimated over 10,000 students have submitted posters, limericks, essays or speeches over the

years.

new butler county conservation district annual edition celebrating … · 2018. 10. 4. · january...

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