BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//ChamberMaster//Event Calendar 2.0//EN METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:P3D REFRESH-INTERVAL:P3D CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20240708T143000Z DTEND:20240708T183000Z X-MICROSOFT-CDO-ALLDAYEVENT:FALSE SUMMARY:Conservation District to offer cover crop sign-up assistance day DESCRIPTION:The Barton County Conservation District\, in\n\ncooperation with the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts\, will host a sign-up\n\nevent on Monday\, July 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to assist farmers with applications\n\nfor cover crop transition programs. These programs provide technical and financial\n\nassistance to reduce risk involved in adding cover crops to an existing rotation.\n\nConservation experts will be available to answer questions. Programs will include but\n\nwill not be limited to Farmers for Soil Health and Re:generations.\n\nFarmers for Soil Health is designed for fields with soybeans and corn in rotation.\n\nNumerous other commodity crops\, including wheat\, may be part of these rotations\, but\n\nbeans and corn are a must. National partners include the National Corn Growers\n\nAssociation\, United Soybean Board\, National Pork Board\, National Fish and Wildlife\n\nFoundation\, and numerous local partners including the Kansas Soil Health Alliance\,\n\nKACD\, the Kansas Soybean Association and the Kansas Corn Commission.\n\nTechnical Assistance will be provided by Heartland Soil Services.\n\nRe:generations Initiative requires wheat in its rotation profile. Payments will be made\n\nfor cover crop transition\, in addition to add-on payments for wheat production. This\n\nprogram is presented by ADM and partners. KACD provides technical assistance.\n\n"Several farmers in Barton and neighboring counties have transitioned to cover crops\n\nin recent years to suppress weeds\, retain moisture and protect soil from wind and rain\n\nerosion\," Veronica Coons\, BCCD Manager said. "We're seeing positive results from\n\nthese fields. Farmers report decreased inputs and better yields. Drought is a factor\,\n\nbut we're finding that a living root in the ground provides more benefit overall than\n\nnaked ground with no live root."\n\nSince 2022 when the USDA began the Climate-Smart Commodities program\, many\n\nprograms have been introduced\, each with unique requirements and payments. The\n\ngoal of the BCCD cover crop sign up day is to share technical assistance\, provide\n\n\n\ninformation to compare programs and determine which of the available programs will\n\nbe the best fit. Same day sign-up\, as well as instruction for self-sign-up will be\n\navailable. Deadlines for sign-up are typically in late summer\, and reporting\n\nrequirements vary.\n\nSome programs set a specific number of acres they will sign-up in eligible states\, so\n\npopular programs fill up faster than others\, Coons said. Other factors to take into\n\nconsideration including ability to stack payments from a cover crop program and other\n\nlocal\, state\, or federal conservation contracts. Depending on the conservation plan\,\n\nstacking payments can add up to significant savings\, absorbing much of the risk of\n\ngiving cover crops a try.\n\nAssistance will be available from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Monday\, July 8\, in the\n\nconference room at the USDA office at 926 S. Patton Road in Great Bend. Contact\n\nthe Barton County Conservation District for more information if needed at 620-792-\n\n3346 ext. 303. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Barton County Conservation District\, in
\ncooperation with the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts\, will host a sign-up
\nevent on Monday\, July 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to assist farmers with applications
\nfor cover crop transition programs. These programs provide technical and financial
\nassistance to reduce risk involved in adding cover crops to an existing rotation.
\nConservation experts will be available to answer questions. Programs will include but
\nwill not be limited to Farmers for Soil Health and Re:generations.
\nFarmers for Soil Health is designed for fields with soybeans and corn in rotation.
\nNumerous other commodity crops\, including wheat\, may be part of these rotations\, but
\nbeans and corn are a must. National partners include the National Corn Growers
\nAssociation\, United Soybean Board\, National Pork Board\, National Fish and Wildlife
\nFoundation\, and numerous local partners including the Kansas Soil Health Alliance\,
\nKACD\, the Kansas Soybean Association and the Kansas Corn Commission.
\nTechnical Assistance will be provided by Heartland Soil Services.
\nRe:generations Initiative requires wheat in its rotation profile. Payments will be made
\nfor cover crop transition\, in addition to add-on payments for wheat production. This
\nprogram is presented by ADM and partners. KACD provides technical assistance.
\n&ldquo\;Several farmers in Barton and neighboring counties have transitioned to cover crops
\nin recent years to suppress weeds\, retain moisture and protect soil from wind and rain
\nerosion\,&rdquo\; Veronica Coons\, BCCD Manager said. &ldquo\;We&rsquo\;re seeing positive results from
\nthese fields. Farmers report decreased inputs and better yields. Drought is a factor\,
\nbut we&rsquo\;re finding that a living root in the ground provides more benefit overall than
\nnaked ground with no live root.&rdquo\;
\nSince 2022 when the USDA began the Climate-Smart Commodities program\, many
\nprograms have been introduced\, each with unique requirements and payments. The
\ngoal of the BCCD cover crop sign up day is to share technical assistance\, provide
\n
\ninformation to compare programs and determine which of the available programs will
\nbe the best fit. Same day sign-up\, as well as instruction for self-sign-up will be
\navailable. Deadlines for sign-up are typically in late summer\, and reporting
\nrequirements vary.
\nSome programs set a specific number of acres they will sign-up in eligible states\, so
\npopular programs fill up faster than others\, Coons said. Other factors to take into
\nconsideration including ability to stack payments from a cover crop program and other
\nlocal\, state\, or federal conservation contracts. Depending on the conservation plan\,
\nstacking payments can add up to significant savings\, absorbing much of the risk of
\ngiving cover crops a try.
\nAssistance will be available from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Monday\, July 8\, in the
\nconference room at the USDA office at 926 S. Patton Road in Great Bend. Contact
\nthe Barton County Conservation District for more information if needed at 620-792-
\n3346 ext. 303. LOCATION:The conference room at the USDA office at 926 S. Patton Road\, Great Bend KS UID:e.2303.13754 SEQUENCE:3 DTSTAMP:20260430T132531Z URL:https://members.greatbend.org/events/details/conservation-district-to-offer-cover-crop-sign-up-assistance-day-13754 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR