Kansas State Technical Committee Minutes - May 22, 2003

Kansas State Technical Committee (KTC) Meeting
Thursday -  May 22, 2003
9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m
Kansas Highway Patrol Training Academy
2025 East Iron - Salina, Kansas

Harold L. Klaege, State Conservationist (STC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) gave the welcome and opening remarks. Introductions were made.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

Gaye Benfer, Soil Conservationist, Conservation Programs Staff, NRCS, gave an update on the EQIP.

The KTC accepted the recommendations of the KTC EQIP Subcommittee on addressing at-risk species habitat recovery in current Kansas Fiscal Year 2003 Application Evaluation Criteria.

Based on input from the floor, additional ranking priority will be given to those applicants who enter in the Kansas Water Right Conservation Program (WRCP).

The KTC accepted the recommendations of the KTC EQIP Subcommittee on the changes to cost-share rates for each resource concern. The changes focused on addressing national and state priorities.

The final 2003 EQIP application evaluation criteria and eligible practice lists are attached. The KTC EQIP Subcommittee recommended a cost-share rate of 90 percent to Limited Resource Producers and Beginning Producers. For regional consistency, the KTC recommended that the STC add an additional 20 percent to the set cost-share rate for the practice.

Gaye reviewed the Kansas Fiscal Year 2003 EQIP Allocation Distribution. Harold Klaege received concurrence from the KTC to use the 10 percent originally planned for water quantity under the regular EQIP allocation for Grazing Lands Health Resource Concern in the drought-impacted area of the state.

The following document requires Adobe Acrobat.

Application Evaluation Worksheets
Air Quality - Livestock Management (Airborne Odors) (63 KB)
Grazing Lands Health (Productivity & Health; Pest Management (70 KB)
Water Quantity - Water Management (Ground & Surface Water Conservation) (76 KB)
Soil Quality - Excessive Wind Erosion (73 KB)
Water Quality (Organics) - Confined Animal Waste (63 KB)
Water Quality (Organics) - Concentrated, Non-Confined Animal Waste (64 KB)
Water Quality - Nutrients/Pesticides/Sedimentation (64 KB)

EQIP Eligible Practice Lists
Air Quality Eligible Conservation Practices (53 KB)
Grazing Lands Health Eligible Conservation Practices (52 KB)
Soil Quality Eligible Conservation Practices (52 KB)
Water Quality Eligible Conservation Practices (58 KB)
Water Quantity Eligible Conservation Practices (55 KB)

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

Loren Graff reviewed the updated State WHIP Plan that the WHIP Subcommittee recommended for use. It was the consensus of the KTC to accept the WHIP Subcommittee’s recommendation. The updated State WHIP Plan is attached.

The following document requires Adobe Acrobat.

WHIP - Kansas State Plan (330 KB)

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

Dennis Gaschler and Rod Winkler, Farm Service Agency (FSA) provided the following update on the CRP signup and a report on determination made by the Kansas State FSA Committee on KTC recommendations.

The CRP signup has been extended to June 13, 2003. As in the past, landowner and operators continue to show strong interest in the CRP.

A handout was provided to the KTC members listing the Required Management Practices applicable to each CRP practice. The four selected practices are Prescribed Burning, Interseeding, Brush Management, and Managed Haying and Grazing.

Rod and Dennis reported on action taken by the Kansas State FSA Committee on the required management practice recommendations made by the KTC.

The Kansas State FSA Committee accepted all recommendations made by the KTC except for:

1. Light disking was not accepted as a required management practice. Program participants will be eligible to perform the practice but will not receive cost-share under required management practice.
2. On managed haying, the FSA State Committee did not include the requirement for haying 50 percent of the field.
3. The Brush Management practice will label as such and not as recommended as Invasive Tree Control.

Members of the KTC expressed serious concerns in these areas:

1. For wildlife under managed haying, the requirement to leave 50 percent of the field unhayed, needs to be included with this practice, as it is included with the national requirement for emergency conditions. Removing all of the cover from wildlife in a managed practice under a program that has wildlife as emphasis makes little sense.
2. The practice light disking was not fully understood and the verbage could be added to the practice that would not allow participants to receive cost-share if the cover is destroyed by the participant during application of the practice.
3. Grazing is a practice that is not detrimental to wildlife in CRP cover performed under forage management plans. Thus, the limitation to graze outside the primary nesting season economically forces participants into haying scenarios, which is much more detrimental to wildlife when you remove all of the cover and/or food source. The national requirement to limit grazing to outside the primary nesting needs to be reconsidered.
4. Haying and/or grazing after July 15 solely, tends to enhance the cool season introduced species (low protein level at this time) while the warm season species carries the stress (peak protein at this time). This creates an emphasis over time on introduced species that are not as good for wildlife as native species within a program with one of the objectives being, to improve wildlife cover.

Rod and Dennis agreed to share these concerns with the Kansas State FSA Committee at their meeting on June 2, 2003.

Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)

Harold Klaege gave an overview of the GRP.

Meeting adjourned.

< Back to Kansas State Technical Committee