Soil health field day

No-till on the Plains and the Kansas Soil Health Alliance will co-host a soil health field day at Soil Pro Seeds and Custer Farms, Aug. 3, near WaKeeney, Kan.

This free field day will showcase cover crop test plots, managed grazing systems, soil pits, infiltration demonstrations, and more. Attendees will meet at 8:30 a.m., at the Trego County Fairgrounds 4-H Building, at 13th Street and Russell Ave., WaKeeney. Lunch will be provided.

To register, visit notill.org/events/kansas-soil-health-alliance-field-day. Or call Steve Swaffar, executive director of No-till on the Plains, at 785-210-4549; or Jennifer Simmelink, coordinator of the Kansas Soil Health Alliance, at 785-545-5628.

Kansas Corn Summer Listening Tour

Kansas Corn’s “Born for the Field” Summer Listening Tour will stop at five locations across the state in August. Deb Ohlde, Kansas Corn’s director of grower services, says each location will feature a meal and the opportunity for growers to learn about trade, ethanol, corn markets, education and local issues that affect them. Each stop will include time to listen to local grower concerns.

The “Born for the Field” baseball theme connects with the National Corn Growers Association’s partnership with Major League Baseball’s “Field of Dreams” game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox in Dyersville, Iowa, which will be broadcast nationally Aug. 12. Kansas Corn is participating in NCGA’s promotions throughout the summer.

Each dinner will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., local time. The dates and Kansas locations for the summer listening tour are:

• Northwest. Aug. 4, Goodland, at 6 p.m. (Mountain time)

• Southwest. Aug. 5, Garden City

• North Central. Aug. 10, Marysville

• East Central. Aug. 11, Lawrence

• Southeast. Aug. 12, Fredonia

Farmers will also be able to catch up with Kansas Corn at these field days:

• Flickner Innovation Farm Field Day. Aug. 31, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Moundridge

• Knopf Soil Health Day. Sept. 2, 4 to 6:30 p.m., Gypsum

To register for these summer events, visit kscorn.com or call the office at 785-410-5009.

KDA seeks Ag Hero nominees

The Kansas Department of Agriculture is seeking nominations for its second year of Kansas Ag Heroes. This recognition program started in 2020 during the pandemic to recognize those in the Kansas ag industry who went above and beyond in service to their communities when it was needed most. This year’s honorees will be recognized Aug. 26 during the Kansas Governor’s Summit on Agricultural Growth in Manhattan.

To nominate an individual, family, business or community group in Kansas agriculture who provided a notable contribution to the ag industry or their community as a whole, visit agriculture.ks.gov/agheroes. Nominations will be accepted through Aug. 13. For questions, contact Brittney Grother at 785-564-6797 or [email protected].

Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program

Livestock and poultry producers who suffered losses during the pandemic due to insufficient access to processing can apply for assistance for those losses, and the cost of depopulation and disposal of the animals, according to USDA.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announces the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program as part of the department’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. Producers can apply for assistance through the USDA Farm Service Agency through Sept. 17.

For more information, visit farmers.gov/pandemic-assistance/plip or call your local FSA office.

Sen. Jerry Moran receives honor

The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation presented the inaugural John D. Dingell Jr. Award for Excellence to Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; and Reps. Mark Takano, D-Calif. 41st District, and Phil Roe, R-Tenn. 1st District (retired) during the 2021 Celebration of Service to America Awards.

Tester and Moran and Takano and Roe served as chairmen and ranking members in the Senate and the House of Representatives for the Veterans Affairs Committees of the 116th Congress. In fall 2020, the committees passed the Cmdr. John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act and the Veterans Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care and Treatment (COMPACT) Act, which were signed into law and represent some of the most comprehensive legislation to address veterans' mental health and suicide prevention.