Gaye L. Benfer, acting Kansas State Conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced today that NRCS is offering technical and financial assistance to producers in Kansas suffering from ongoing drought conditions. Drought recovery funding assistance is available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Drought Initiative.

The State of Kansas declared a Drought Emergency for the following counties:  Barber, Barton, Butler, Chase, Clark, Clay, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Dickinson, Edwards, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Geary, Grant, Gray, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearney, Kingman, Kiowa, Lincoln, Lyon, Marion, McPherson, Meade, Morris, Morton, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Saline, Sedgwick, Seward, Shawnee, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, and Wabaunsee.

 “Through this initiative, eligible landowners and producers in declared drought emergency counties will be eligible to address livestock water shortages in their operations,” said Benfer. 

Applications for assistance under the EQIP Drought Initiative are currently being accepted. The application evaluation cut-off period will be August 24, 2018 with contract funding to occur shortly after. Due to immediate need, applicants may apply for waivers to initiate necessary practices before contracts are funded.

Information Available
Additional information about NRCS programs is located on the Kansas NRCS website at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov or stop by your local USDA Service Center.  To find a service center near you, check your telephone book under “United States Government” or on the Internet at offices.usda.gov.  Follow us on Twitter @NRCS_Kansas.  USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.