The Barton County Conservation District, for the benefit of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) local management unit, will host a Local Working Group meeting Monday, April 11 at American Ag Credit, 5634 10th St., To address pressing local issues regarding resource conservation in agriculture,     

The goal of the meeting according to BCCD District Manager Veronica Coons, seek the input of “boots on the ground” ag producers in setting local and state natural resource priorities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s resource conservation policies. Facilitators for the meetings will primarily be retired NRCS administrators.

While in the past, each county has hosted its own separate work group meeting, this is the first year the LWG will be combined to include all three counties - Barton Pawnee and Rush - in the Great Bend Management Unit of the NRCS.

The work group seeks, in part, to give a voice to traditionally underserved voices in the local ag community by providing a forum for diverse input on local ag and natural resource issues 

While each local community faces unique problems in resource conservation, Coons said the collaborative three-county effort is important in addressing pressing local issues.

“The conservation issues faced by each county don’t stop at the county line, and many producers work tracts in more than one county, so it makes sense to work this way,” Coons said. “It’s really helpful to hear from many different sides of agriculture to get a clear picture of the challenges being faced, and coming up with possible solutions.”

While there is not yet a set agenda for the meeting, Coons expects several key issues to be discussed at the meeting. 

“Some issues I’m sure we will hear about will be about the rising costs of fertilizer and other inputs, and how that is affecting producer decisions to take on different conservation projects at this time.  Also, concerns about drought, water quality, nutrient management specs, addressing wildlife concerns, water quality – any or all of these can come up,” Coons said.

Other topics to be covered at the LWG meeting include:

• A review of a resource assessment completed by each Conservation District in the Management Unit

• Identification of local priority resource concerns

• Training Needs in the Management Unit

• Outreach Opportunities in the Management Unit

For those unable to attend the meeting in person, BCCD will have a virtual attendance option available. Organizers have been able to take advantage of new technology to conduct the meeting virtually. A voice-activated camera designed for large group meetings, called the Owl, will follow whoever is speaking.

“I’m excited to see how this turns out,” Coons said. It will be helpful for us as we determine what sort of outreach we can provide people in the county who are seeking knowledge about conservation practices and where we can do a better job of getting the word out about concerns and suggestions about how to deal with them.” 

Coons said information gleaned at the local working group meetings helps determine what conservation practices the NRCS will lead with in this area.  

For more information on how to participate virtually or to RSVP for the in-person meeting, contact BCCD or NRCS staff at 620-792-3346, ext. 303.