Nominations sought for Kansas Bankers awards

It's time once more to nominate producers for the Kansas Bankers Association Award.

Last year's Kansas Bankers Association Award winners from Bourbon County were Larry and Paula Howard for Soil Conservation and Jingles Endicott for Water Quality.

The program's purpose is to stimulate a greater interest in the conservation of Kansas agricultural resources by recognizing farmers and landowners who have made "outstanding progress in the establishment of soil and water conservation on their farms," a news release said.

Included in the awards program are a soil conservation, wildlife and windbreak award, in addition to three relatively new areas of energy conservation, water quality and water conservation.

Points to be considered in selecting winners include: Use of land according to its capabilities, completeness of conservation plan, balance of farm enterprise, quality of conservation work completed and maintenance of practices, and special practices unique to the farming operations.

The windbreak award considers windbreaks which provide protection from damaging winds for residential (or other structures) areas, livestock, or fields. Windbreaks should be a minimum of three years old; with points of selection including windbreak design, management, location, density and length.

Basis of selection for the energy conservation award are the efficiency of energy used for buildings, equipment and operations, production and use of energy from renewable sources and cogeneration and co-utilization of energy.

The water quality award is based on quality of water quality improvement and protection work, adoption of management practices to reduce sediment, nutrient and bacterial contamination of surface water such as buffers, nutrient management plans, grazing systems, and livestock watering systems.

For the water conservation award, considerations include improved irrigation management, matching cropping systems with irrigation capacities, adoption of appropriate tillage systems to reduce soil water evaporation and improve soil water storage and improvement to on-farm water supplies.

Anyone who knows someone they would like to nominate may stop by the Extension Office. Awards may be given to individuals, landowner-tenants, family partnerships, or any other combination.

For more information on the awards, visit http://www.agronomy.ksu.edu/extension.