GARDEN CITY — Congressman Jerry Moran today announced he will host a conservation tour next week to learn more about conservation efforts in southwest Kansas. This year’s First District “Partners in Conservation” tour will feature stops in ­­­­­­­­­­­­­Finney, Grant, Morton, Haskell and Seward Counties on Wednesday and Thursday, October 12 and 13. Joining Moran on the tour will be the U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment, David Tenny.

“Kansans have a vested interest in conserving our natural resources because we depend on them to make a living,” Moran said. “With prairie and farmland stretching as far as the eye can see and resources such as the Ogallala Aquifer and the Cimarron National Grasslands, this tour is an opportunity to showcase successful conservation efforts in southwest Kansas.”

Moran has held regular conservation tours to study conservation practices in various parts of the state. This year’s tour, the seventh of its kind, will focus on a variety of conservation issues important to Kansas including water use and conservation, wildlife habitat protection, grazing lands management and nutrient management planning.  

Moran plans to share information from this tour with members of his subcommittee, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, as they begin discussions about the 2007 Farm Bill.

Anyone interested is invited to attend at any point during the tour. The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

1:30 p.m.          Southwest Kansas Water Issues

Finney County – Kansas State University Southwest Research-Extension Center

                        4500 E. Mary Street, Garden City

2:45 p.m.          Limited Irrigation Research and Extension Programs at the SWREC

Finney County – Field Tour: KSU Research Plot Field

§         Driving Directions: will leave from KSU Southwest Research and Extension Center parking lot; west on Mary Street, 1 ½ miles north on North Jennie Barker Road; turn east on 3rd field road (gravel), 1/2 mile east, 1/4 mile south.

4:30 p.m.          Conservation Reserve Program

Grant County – Field Tour: Leland Higbie

                        SE 1/4 of section 26, township 28, range 38, Ulysses, KS

6:00 p.m.          Land Management Plans, Grazing and Wildlife Issues, Santa Fe Trail and Invasive Species Control

Cimarron National Grasslands - Cimarron River Overlook                                      

242 East U.S. Highway 56, Elkhart, KS

§         8 miles north of Elkhart

Thursday, October 13, 2005

8:00 a.m.          Morton County – Natural Resource Conservation Service
                        737 Vilymaca, Elkhart, KS  

§         Will leave for field tour from NRCS

§         Coffee and rolls provided

8:45 a.m.          Conversion of Irrigated Cropland to Dryland Pasture through Grazing Practices

Morton County – Tour Stop: George Atwood

§         Driving Directions from Elkhart: 13 miles north on K-27 to S 1/2 5-33-42; west side of road; telephone poles on section corners have yellow tag showing section-township-range.

10:30 a.m.        Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan

Haskell County – Field Tour: Clinton L. Stalker, Jr., DVM

                        651 220th Road, Satanta, KS   

11:30 a.m.        Lunch – Cattleman’s Café

                        110 S. Inman, Sublette, KS

1:00 p.m.          EPA-Mandated Nutrient Management Plans, ISO Certification

Seward County – Tour Stop: Supreme Cattle Feeders 

                        Old Highway 83 North (16 miles), Liberal, KS

2:30 p.m.          Cotton Production Roundtable and Warehouse Tour

Seward County – Tour Stop: Plains Cotton Cooperative Association Warehouse

                        2251 J Road, Liberal, KS

§         Driving Directions: 3 miles east of Supreme Cattle Feeders on blacktop county road, 18 miles south on U.S. Highway 83; take U.S. Highway 83 bypass east, 1/8 mile east on Tucker Road, ¼ mile north on J Road.

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