Short funds endanger agricultural agencies

In an attempt to prevent the closing of several conservation districts in Kansas, a steering committee that includes Bourbon County Conservation District Supervisor Ronnie Brown and many other state conservation officials has proposed a bill to the state legislature to increase funding for conservation districts throughout the state.

According to Brown, a lack in federal funding funding is threatening to shut down 11 Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices, which could also lead to the closing of several Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) offices and local Conservation District (conservation district) offices.

Because FSA, NRCS and conservation district offices are usually located within close proximity of each other in the state's various districts, the loss of FSA offices would force the NRCS and conservation district offices to take on the expenses, and due to limited funding, those two entities probably could not continue to exist, Brown said. The NRCS is essential to the conservation districts because the NRCS provides the conservation districts with office space, computers, phone and computer connections and most of its local infrastructure.

"Once FSA pulls out, the NRCS can no longer afford to stay there alone, so they'll pull out, leaving the conservation districts on their own," Brown said. "That's where the local problem comes in."

The bill proposed by the steering committee is aimed at changing the conservation district law to allow the state to match county funds up to $25,000 instead of the current amount of $10,000. Brown said the bill has passed both the Senate Agricultural Committee, the House Agricultural Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee, and it could be voted on by next week. Should the bill pass, the increase in funding could help maintain the conservation offices that are threatened to being shut down. However, Brown said there could be some offices that would still close.

"Some of the districts will not be able to utilize that ($25,000), because they won't be able to get the county to come up with the additional (matching) funds," Brown said. "So it really won't help them."

Another problem facing the conservation offices is the decrease in funding for their technical assistance employees, who in Bourbon County are Cecil Post and Bill Schoenberger. Brown said that without the funding for technical assistance, the NRCS will not be able to continue to employ those technicians. He also said a hiring freeze within the NRCS is in effect which would disallow the replacement of people like Post and Schoenberger who are expected to retire within the next two years.

"What we're facing, if that happens and this continues, is no replacement people," Brown said. "So we will be in a position with no district conservationist here. If that happens, the public office may be subject to close. So our future concerns are more than what is on the surface."

Brown said the hiring freeze was implemented to help save money without having to fire current employees. It's called downsizing by attrition.

"That's admirable in one regard, because people aren't losing their job," he said, "but it's not helping the overall situation."

Brown said he heard a report on the radio on Wednesday that said the federal government is proposing a significant increase in funds for conservation programs. While that sounds good, he said, without the technical assistance funds, the added conservation programs would be difficult to implement and maintain.

"If on the federal level, they keep adding more programs to us all the time, they need more technical assistance or it won't work," Brown said. "If they're going to add money to the program, they won't have anybody out there to deliver. That's what we're facing and the fight's still on."

Brown said he expects that the bill proposed to the state legislature will pass, because of the importance of conservation. However, just getting the bill passed won't fix all the problems, he said.

"The people in general are real supportive of conservation," he said. "Most everyone realizes the necessity of good, clean, clear water and the conservation of our natural resources. I don't think it's going to be a problem to get this done, but getting the funding to where it needs to be and how it needs to be is the problem."

Brown said he would like to find a way to ensure that the additional funding, should the bill pass, be divided up in a way that would save the offices that would close without it.

"The goal of the steering committee is to try to help all the districts survive in any way we could," he said.

Brown said it is important that conservation districts survive, because they have been vital to the conservation of natural resources since the Conservation District Law of 1937, passed by the Kansas Legislature, essentially setting up the various conservation district's throughout Kansas.

"Conservation districts are much needed organizations," Brown said. "They are grassroots organizations, which work one-on-one with local farmers and ranchers. We expedite the programs from federal, state and local levels, right on down to the farmer. Without the district, a lot of conservation would cease to exist within the county."