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2023 Soil & Water Conservation

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SOIL&WATER CONSERVATION Douglas County Conservation District Year in Review

2022 has been both productive and full of change. COVID has become something we now accept as a part of life and its challenges seem to be practiced procedures as we continue to assist landowners and producers. This past year we said goodbye to our District Manager Randy Winchester as he retired after 9 faithful years with the District. Randy was a great asset. His knowledge and connections with the farming community will be greatly missed. The new District Manager, Suzy Mooney moved from Education and Outreach into the District Manager position in August. So, what did we accomplish in 2022? The district was allocated some additional funds

this year for Cost Share Programs. The District allocated $19,139.60 from the state’s Non-Point Source program and $41,920.50 from its Water Resource program to landowners and producers needing assistance with conservation infrastructure. These funds helped producers and landowners with terrace and tile installations, stream crossings, watering facilities, waterway development, well decommissioning, soil testing, Brush Management, fencing, and even septic repairs. Working in partnership with the NRCS, the District helped producers and landowners implement 47 Environmental Quality Incentive program (EQIP) contracts valued at more than $1,100,000 and 23 Conservation Stewardship Program Grassland

Welcome to the Service Center The USDA Service Center located at 4920 Bob Billings Pkwy is home to three government farm and conservation agencies. The Douglas County Conservation District makes its home here, as does the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA). District Manager Suzy Mooney is the new District Manager as of August of 2022. She was the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the District along with working as part of the NRCS office as an independent contractor.

Suzy grew up on a small farm in Missouri and has called Lawrence home for the last 22 years. After 9 years with the District as the District Manager, Randy Winchester has retired. He started with the district in 2014. He was born and raised in a small NE Kansas town, where his family operated a grain elevator, cattle feedlot, and farmed several hundred acres of row crops. He also owns a 70-acre farm in SE Douglas County, where he and his family raise Scottish Highland cows. Continued on page 2

Please Join Us Douglas County Conservation District 77th Annual Meeting Thursday, February 16th, 2023, 6:00 p.m. The Douglas County Conservation District’s annual meeting will be at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Building 21. Come and join us for a great night. Expiring terms for Board Supervisors this year are John Bradley and Lowell Neitzel – He has chosen not to run for re-election. The board has asked accept a nomination of Stephanie McNish in his place. Voting for Board Supervisors will take place at the meeting. AGENDA • BBQ Dinner • Conservation Awards •Report of district activities and financial affairs for the prior year. • Election of board Supervisor(s) to serve for a term of three years. • Door Prize Drawing Please RSVP by calling our office or online at douglasccd.com Call our office at 785-843-4260 ext. 3 or e-mail douglasccd1@gmail.com should you have any questions.

Conservation Initiative (CSP-GCI) contracts valued at over $53,000. Participated in the Kansas Climate Smart Initiative and helped our state to surpass their enrollment goal of 100,000 acres. The District continued to offer our no-till drills for rent at reasonable rates, with more than 50 people taking advantage of the equipment. Many of those people also took advantage of our seed sale program, purchasing native warm-season grass seed, cool-season grass seed, wildflowers, and forbs. We also provided drip torches, fire mats, and backpack sprayers to people conducting prescribed burns. We were also able to offer several education opportunities throughout 2022.

Douglas County Conservation District

Our Beginning and How We Are Helping Today Conservation Districts were originated under the Franklin Roosevelt administration in the early 1930s during a time that poor soil conservation practices caused the Dust Bowl throughout the South-Central United States. The creation of Conservation Districts was a starting point in the effort to make sure that America would have healthy farmland in the future. Severe soil erosion problems in the “Dust Bowl” days prompted the passage of the Conservation District Law by Kansas Legislature in 1937, which lead to the formation of conservation districts in Kansas. Across the state, 105 conservation districts (one in every county) provide local leadership by helping the local people address their natural resource needs. The Douglas County Conservation District (DCCD) was formed by farmers and landowners at a referendum held on August 1720, 1945. Most farmers believed that a soil conservation district would be of great help in solving the serious erosion problems of the

county. Two farmers, Emil Heck of Lawrence and Wilson Counts of Baldwin, were appointed supervisors by the State Soil Conservation Committee. On January 4, 1946, Homer Gerstenberger of Eudora, George Butell of Baldwin and Leslie Dermeritt of Clinton were elected as supervisors. On January 11, 1946, the DCCD requested technical assistance from the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS). M.H. Wertzberger was assigned as a technician to the district. At the beginning of operations, a considerable list of applications was presented. Many needed immediate technical help to facilitate conservation farming. Terrace construction by farmers using their own plows and equipment was by far the most common method used. With the assignment of an SCS employee to the district, a partnership of Douglas County landowners, the DCCD, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service was formed to address soil Continued on page 3

Congratulations to the Conservation Award Winners!

REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE 785-917-5700 | 3200 HASKELL #130 LAWRENCE, KS 66046 | HECKLANDCO.COM

February 12, 2023

BRIAN PINE

KELVIN HECK

DANA BAKER

CO-OWNER | ASSOCIATE BROKER

CO-OWNER | SUPERVISING BROKER

RURAL RESIDENTIAL AGENT

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