Kansas Rural Center receives grant to increase pollinators in Douglas County

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

The Kansas Rural Center, an organization with the goal of strengthening small farms and rural communities, is the beneficiary of a $10,000 grant from the Douglas County Community Foundation, according to a news release from the DCCF distributed last week.

Julie Mettenberg, KRC’s executive director, said the money would be used to hold a series of workshops on beekeeping in Douglas County.

“At our annual conference, the Food and Farming Conference, this year, we had a pollinator workshop that was very well attended,” Mettenberg said. “For us, that’s an indicator that there’s an interest in bees in Kansas. We’re excited about it.”

According to the news release, the ultimate goal of the workshops is to increase the number of beekeepers and honeybees in the area. The KRC has three specific objectives: increase the quantity and quality of the pollinator habitat, increase access to locally-produced honey, and train and mentor more beekeepers.

This is necessary because bees and other pollinators are in decline due to a lack of diversity in plant life, Mettenberg explained.

“With the monoculture system we have in this state, it’s not great for the bee habitat,” she said. “This is a pilot project for us to gage interest.”

The Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund through the DCCF supports efforts to preserve nature each year. To apply, visit the organization’s website.

Kansas Rural Center holds women-only workshop for farm planning

This USDA map shows the percentage of farms with female farm operators using statistics from the 2007 Census of Agriculture. To view more statistics on female farmers in the U.S., click the map.

The Kansas Rural Center is holding a women-only workshop on farm planning this Thursday, Nov. 14 in Linn, Kan.

The workshop will provide female farm operators with tools to conduct a self-assessment, which helps inventory the farm’s natural resources, its pastures and cropland in order to illuminate the problems and provide potential solutions.

Women are encouraged to bring copies of their farm’s aerial maps as well as pertinent farm records, including data on crops planted and completed conservation work to the morning session, where they will learn about farm assessment and planning. According to the KRC news release, field assistants Dale Kirkham and Ed Reznicek will provide an overview of the planning process from 9 to 11:30 a.m.

After lunch, the workshop will continue with a presentation from Mykel Taylor, an agriculture economist from Kansas State University. Taylor will explain leasing and tenant agreements, and give an update on pasture and cropland leasing prices.

Forrest Buhler, a staff attorney for the Kansas Agricultural Mediation Service, will speak after Taylor, explaining the do’s and don’ts of estate planing. The workshop will end with a tour of cover crops at a nearby farm.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, 30 percent of farm operators in the U.S. are women, a 19 percent increase from the 2002 Census.

Kansas Rural Center holds annual Farming and Food Conference this weekend

More than 14 workshops and sessions falling under the theme “Farming as if People Matter: How to Feed Ourselves, Build New Farms and Adapt to a Changing World” will be offered at Saturday’s Farming and Food Conference in Newton.

The annual conference is put on by the Kansas Rural Center, which provides resources for entrepreneurs in the agricultural industry.

About 15 businesses and organizations will hold workshops, focusing on a variety of topics such as farming with limited access to land, credit and capital, the farm to school program, and establishing community gardens.

Wes Jackson, founder of the Land Institute, will be the conference’s keynote speaker. The Land Institute is a non-profit research, education, and policy organization dedicated to sustainable agriculture that is based in Salina.

The conference will be held at the Meridian Center, 1420 E. Broadway Ct. in Newton on Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendance is $45 per person. Click here to register. 

To view a full schedule, click here. 

View the following video to learn more about the Kansas Rural Center and its mission. The video features the owner of Lawrence’s Red Tractor Farm.