Y E A R E N D 2 0 1 5 N E W S L E T T E R

Harper County Conservation District

803 W Fanning Drive

Anthony, KS 67003

(620) 842-5910

Board of Supervisors

Debbie Francis

Dusty Albright

Bruce Miller

Lisa Newsum

Matt Goertz

Office Personnel

District Manager,

Teresa Mandevill

District

Conservationist,

Blake McClemore

Conservation

Technician,

Chris Hoskinson

Inside This Issue:

Poster Contest 2

Nature Wise 2

Save the Date 3

NRCS

Programs

4

Grazing

Practices

4

Winter is quite a difficult time for pollinators. It is

cold and often rainy and the first frosts will wipe

out most of the flowers, and thus drastically reduce

the availability of food. Pollinators have evolved

various strategies to overcome this problem. In the

following, we describe some of these strategies.

Bumblebees, at least from our perspective, have

evolved quite a radical way to deal with the prob-

lem. The whole colony including the workers and

the old queen die before winter and only the young

queens reared in the colony will survive to start

new colonies in the following spring. In autumn,

they drink a huge amount of nectar to fill their

honey stomach and to build up body fat and then

they go searching for a suitable hiding place for

hibernation. These hiding places are mostly under-

ground, under tree roots and hedgerows or at the

base of walls. If the young queens have not

reached a certain weight before the onset of winter

they are likely not to survive winter. Therefore it is

really important they find enough nectar-rich flow-

ers in autumn

In spring, the queens emerge from hibernation and

feed on early flowers such as soft fruit blossom,

early flowering fruit trees, and spring bulbs (e.g.

Crocus) before starting to build new colonies. The

earliest queens to emerge can usually be seen

searching for flowers on the first warm days in

March. They are quite big and often a bit clumsy

after their long hibernation, and thus easy to spot.

Honeybees differ from bumblebees in as far as

they are overwintering as a whole colony inside a

beehive. When the temperature drops below 10°C,

they stop foraging and begin to cluster around the

queen in the central area of the hive. To protect the

queen from the cold winter temperatures outside,

the workers, by means of shivering, keep, the tem-

perature in the center of the cluster at around 27 °C

which is raised even further to 37 °C later on when

the queen resumes egg-laying. The workers work

in ‘shifts’ on the outside of the cluster and periodi-

cally

have time inside the cluster where they do not ex-

actly rest but are nonetheless able to enjoy a bit of

warmth themselves. Honeybees consume their

stored honey throughout winter in order to be able

to produce the body heat required to maintain the

temperature in the cluster.

Solitary bees do not maintain colonies and have

neither queens nor workers, and therefore they

have evolved different strategies to survive winter.

Adult bees are normally active for only about 3

month in the year (mostly spring/summer depend-

ing on the species) and then die after the business

of mating and nest building is finished. The off-

spring survives winter either as young adults (most

of the early-emerging bee species), as pupae

(many of the later-emerging bees) or as larvae

(usually found among species emerging very late)

inside the nest cells which, depending on the exact

species, have been built in hollow reeds, in holes

in wood or walls, in dead stems or in underground

chambers.

Butterflies and moths display a wide range of

strategies to survive winter. Depending on the spe-

cies, they can overwinter as egg, as caterpillar, as

chrysalis, as hibernating imago ( the adult moth or

butterfly), as active imago, or by migration to

warmer climates.

More moth species than butterfly species overwin-

ter as egg, but caterpillars often hibernate among

the vegetation, in seed pods, in silken nests, and in

rolled-up leaves, and the caterpillars of some spe-

cies will resume feeding during mild spells. In

most such species, caterpillars spend winter as

individuals, but in some species they are aggregat-

ed into groups.

This spring—keep an eye out for the lucky ones!

Where Do Pollinators Go in the Winter Submitted by Teresa Mandevill, District Manager Excerpts from the Urban Pollinators Blog published

Page 2 Year End 2015 Newsletter

VAC-U-VATOR TRANSFERS

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Phone: (620) 842-5526

Fax: (620) 842-5539

1 Mile West of

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Call for All Your Farming Needs!

T&R Excavating LLC

120 W. Leiter

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Dozer/Winch, Excavation, Tree Removal,

Oil Field Expertise, Pond Construction

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eruckle320const@gmail.com

(620)243-2435

Koehler Dozer Service

Jarrod Koehler

Owner/Operator

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Truck Pulls, Terraces/Waterways, Ponds, Oilfield

All Dirt Construction Needs

Phone (620)254-7256 Fax (620)254-7202

114 N Main - PO Box 414, Attica, KS 67009

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Anthony ~ Kingman ~ Wichita ~ Hutchinson Loan Office

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1-888-532-5821

The Harper County Conservation District

kicked off their annual Conservation Poster

Contest in all the Area schools. This year’s

theme is “Local Heroes - Your Hardworking

Pollinators”. The Conservation District pre-

sented the topic to the students with the assis-

tance of Harold and Mary Waldschmidt, who

are local farmers and avid bee keepers.

Mr. Waldschmidt brought in several differ-

ent tools of the bee keeper trade, including a

protective suit and hat, scraper, smoker, hon-

ey spinner and an observation hive of live

bees.

The Conservation District explained the im-

portance of our pollinators and how important

their job is to the human existence. They also

engaged in a group activity to demonstrate

how pollination works.

The KANSAS ASSOCIATION OF CON-

SERVATION DISTRICTS sponsors an annu-

al Conservation Poster Contest on the local,

state and national level which provides kin-

dergarten through twelfth grade students an

opportunity to promote good stewardship of

our natural resources through their art, and is

an educational outreach effort of the Harper

County Conservation District.

Poster winners in each category will be rec-

ognized at the Conservation District’s annual

meeting on February 8, 2016.

Poster Contest

Kicks Off

Nature Wise Submitted by Teresa Mandevill,

District Manager

Are you “Nature

Wise”?

Can you distinguish

these

Kansas natives?

Bee Keeper

Harold Waldschmidt

County Commissioner, Brian Waldschmidt

assists the students in trying on a beekeeper’s

suit. Brian is the son of Harold & Mary

Waldschmidt

Page 3 Harper County Conservation District

Conway Springs, KS 67031 620-456-2937

Lange Excavating Inc.

Fred 316-772-6509

Keith 316-640-2576

ALL TYPES OF DIRT WORK

Site Prep Ponds Roads Soil Conservation

CRP TURNS 30!

USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is

celebrating it’s 30th anniversary! The pro-

gram was signed into law by President Ronald

Reagan in 1985. The aim of the program is to

conserve land with the long-term goal of re-

establishing valuable land cover, help improve

water quality, prevent soil erosion, and r4educe

the loss of wildlife habitat.

Farmers enrolled in CRP agree to remove envi-

ronmentally sensitive land from agricultural op-

erations and to plant species land will improve

environmental health and quality in exchange for

yearly federal rental payments. CRP agreements

usually last 10-15 years in duration. This round

of CRP sign-ups started December 1, 2015 and

will close February 26, 2016. For more infor-

mation about CRP in Harper County, please call

the USDA office at (620) 842-5910, or check out

the USDA NRCS website.

Monarch Butterfly Habitat

Protection Project

Through Farm Bill conservation programs

and technical assistance, NRCS will work

with partners and clients to increase mon-

arch habitat on private lands in all states

where the monarch butterfly occurs. Unique

to most species proposed for listing under

the Endangered Species Act, the monarch

occurs not only in all states except Alaska

but also in virtually all counties in those 49

states. This makes targeting NRCS’ limited

resources difficult. As a member

of the Monarch High Level Working

Group, and in response to the Presi-

dential Memorandum and the Nation-

al Strategy, NRCS has developed the

framework of a Monarch Butterfly

Habitat Development Project through

which NRCS will work cooperatively

with private landowners to increase

monarch habitat in a 10-state region.

Special monarch fund allocations

will be provided through the Envi-

ronmental Quality Incentives Pro-

gram (EQIP) and the Agricultural

Conservation Easement Program

(ACEP). The 10 states include Io-

wa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minne-

sota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tex-

as and Wisconsin. NRCS

anticipates expanding the effort

in upcoming years. In states not

within this project area, NRCS

will work within existing Farm

Bill programs to increase mon-

arch habitat on private lands.

THE HARPER COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETING

Monday, February 8, 2016

6:30 PM—Municipal Hall, Anthony, KS

Please visit our Pollinator Festival Annual Meeting as we host a

plethora of experts to advise you in an array of topics that will

inspire you to help out those pollinators that make so much of

our food possible. A few of the booths represented will be bee-

keeping, organic farming, nature artists, entomologists , hoop

house owners, leaders in Farmers Markets, authors for chil-

dren’s books on farmer’s markets, certified monarch weigh sta-

tion enthusiast, and many, many more.

Be watching for more details next month on how to make your

reservation!

OTHER IMPORTANT DATES

Warm Season Grasses should be planted between now and May 15

Cool Season Grasses should be planted between now April 15

It’s time to broadcast those native wildflower seeds you received at the Fair

January 15, 2016 is WRP and GRP application deadline

January 18 is Martin Luther King Day— USDA Offices Closed

February 8 is Harper County Conservation District Annual Meeting

February 11 is NRCS/K-State Burn School (call the USDA office)

February 15 is President’s Day—USDA Offices Closed

Page 4 Year End 2015 Newsletter

NRCS Programs – A Warning about Scams Associated with “DUNS” and “SAM”

Have you ever considered applying for NRCS financial assistance to help you implement a conservation plan? If your farm operation or

business is identified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with an EIN tax identification number (Employer Identification Number),

the business must first obtain a “DUNS” number and register with “SAM”, before it can receive NRCS program payments.

A “DUNS” (Data Universal Number System) number is a unique nine-character identification number provided by the commercial com-pany Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). This number is used to verify the existence of a business entity globally. The “DUNS” number is a one-time registration for your business entity. Once your farm business entity has obtained a “DUNS” number, you must then register with “SAM” (the “System for Award Management”). The “SAM” is a government-wide registry for vendors doing business with the federal government. The “SAM” centralizes information about Federal financial assistance recipients and also provides a central location for you to change your organizational information. Unlike the “DUNS” number registration, “SAM” registration must be renewed annually. So why are we sending this information out about “DUNS” and “SAM”? We have received word from a number of NRCS applicants that they experienced various scams while attempting to register for a “DUNS” number and with the “SAM”. We want to warn you that you may receive anonymous emails or notifications that appear offi-cial regarding your “DUNS” or “SAM” registration. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, PAY ANY MONEY OR CONSULTING FEES FOR A “DUNS” number or “SAM” registration. These registrations are absolutely free, and you should not be charged anything for them. If you are interested in NRCS services and programs, please contact our office to schedule an appointment.

REVIEW OF GRAZING PRACTICES

COULD BENEFIT WILDLIFE

By Russell Stevens, The Samuel Roberts

Noble Foundation, Ag News and Views Submitted by Chris Hoskinson, Technician

This is a sample of articles I found in the

“Ag News and Views” newsletter from The

Noble Foundation. I’ve been receiving the

newsletter for a while and there’s always

very good information in them. I would

encourage you to check it out. - Chris

In his 1933 book Game Management, Aldo

Leopold stated "game can be restored by the

creative use of the same tools which have

heretofore destroyed it – ax, plow, cow, fire

and gun." People have recognized for many

years that grazing management is not always

beneficial to wildlife. Statements such as "if

pastures are in good shape for cattle, then

they're good for wildlife," are incorrectly

used to justify management decisions favor-

ing cattle. Wildlife are often at the losing

end of this battle even when landowners try

to manage simultaneously for cattle and

wildlife, primarily because the two have

different needs.

Make no mistake, grazing is a critical com-

ponent of wildlife habitat management in the

Southern Great Plains. The disturbance it

provides can create or help maintain plant

diversity and structure, necessary habitat

components for most species of wildlife. If

wildlife is deemed an important component

of an operation, the key is to apply grazing

with wildlife habitat needs in mind.

Grazing management for cattle attempts to

maintain high quality, high volume, some-

what uniform grass production to optimize

animal performance and production. Cattle

producers target grasses and attempt to elim-

inate bare ground and reduce forbs and

brush in favor of homogenous, grass-

dominated pastures. Often, areas less suita-

ble for cattle grazing are where management

for wildlife occurs. If prescribed fire is used,

the objectives are usually to improve forage

quality for cattle and control brush with

grazing commonly deferred following the

fire.

Improper cattle stocking rate is a major con-

tributor to poor habitat quality for most spe-

cies of wildlife. Overstocking cattle for pro-

longed periods of time negatively affects

wildlife by reducing nesting cover, plant

diversity, and screening cover required for

feeding and security. Having too many cattle

is detrimental to long-term cattle production

and simply removes too many herbaceous

plants and/or the specific plants critical to

quality habitat for most wildlife species. As

a rule-of-thumb for wildlife in the Southern

Great Plains, moderate cattle stocking rates

are best in areas receiving more than or

equal to 30 inches of rain and light cattle

stocking rates are best in areas with less than

30 inches. This allows for greater flexibility

with grazing management decisions and

creates an opportunity to use prescribed fire,

another critical component of wildlife habi-

tat management in the Southern Great

Plains.

Some factors correlated to grazing manage-

ment can also be detrimental to wildlife.

Conversion of native range to introduced

pastures such as bermudagrass, tall fescue

and many varieties of Old World Bluestem

have eliminated many acres of wildlife habi-

tat. Overuse of herbicides for forb and brush

control to increase forage volume for cattle

has also eliminated many acres of habitat for

wildlife. Often these practices are under-

standably but incorrectly justified in order to

meet mortgage payments or to produce food

and fiber for mankind. However, there are

many acres where these practices are not

justified for production purposes but are

applied for aesthetics. In these situations,

there is room for modification to better meet

the needs of wildlife.

Management for most wildlife species

should include the use of prescribed fire

along with a grazing management plan that

includes strategic (temporal and spatial)

distribution of cattle stocked at a light to

moderate rate. These practices require a little

more thought and planning to implement but

can greatly increase patchiness and diversify

plant communities and structure required to

create and maintain quality habitat for wild-

life.

Blake McLemore, NRCS Teresa Mandevill, Dist. Mgr Chris Hoskinson, NRCS

BULK RATE

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Anthony, KS 67003

Permit No. 22

Harper County

Conservation District

803 W Fanning Drive

Anthony, Kansas 67003-2866

The U.S. Department of Agriculture(

USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its

programs and activities on the basis of

race, color, national origin, age, disabil-

ity, and where applicable, sex, marital

status, familial status, parental status,

religion, sexual orientation, genetic

information, political beliefs, reprisal or

because all or part of an individual’s

income is derived from any public

assistance program. (Not all prohibited

bases apply to all programs.)

Inslee Backhoe Service, LLC 24 Hour Service-Fully In-

T.J. Rausch Owner/Operator

408 N. Rose St

Sharon, KS 67138

620-842-2187

Brian Hendrick 580-541-5038

Brent Hendrick 580-541-8134 brent7189@hotmail.com

52 S. State Road 179

Anthony, KS 67003

Dozers Track

Loader/Forklift

Truck Pulling

Belly Dumps End Dump

Materials: Topsoil, Fill Dirt, Shale & Sand

501 W. Main

PO Box 151

Anthony, KS 67003

Toll Free: (800)862-4759

Fax: (620)842-5441

Office: (620)842-5137 “Partnering Together to Nurture the Land”

Freeport State Bank People Serving People

HARPER/ANTHONY

620-842-5700 www.freeportstatebank.net

Member FDIC

F S B

Established 1902

H20 Drilling, LLC Mitchell Hall 620-840-1207

PO Box 567

Anthony, KS 67003

mitchall1983@gmail.com

Conservation Practices Dirt Work,

Septic Tanks, Structures

Tim Rinke Harper KS

620-896-7588

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