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Fayette County Conservation District to use $4,000 grant for winter cover‑crop program; nutrient roundtable set for Oct. 2
Summary
The board acknowledged a $4,000 payment from an American Farmland Trust grant to the Fayette County Conservation District to support its winter cover‑crop program, which pays $35 per acre and reimburses equipment rental. A nutrient-management roundtable with a Kentucky Division of Water speaker is scheduled for Oct. 2 at the UK extension office.
Heather Silvanek, director of the Fayette County Conservation District, told the conservancy board that she received a $4,000 check today from an earlier $10,000 grant awarded by American Farmland Trust and that the district will apply the funds to its winter cover‑crop program.
The district plans to apply the $4,000 toward a fall/winter program that pays $35 per acre for cover crops, up to 100 acres (up to $3,500). The program also offers reimbursement for use of the conservation district’s no‑till drills: a full day’s rental reimbursement for each 50 acres planted, up to three days. Enrollment opens Oct. 1; applicants must submit the Farm Service Agency (FSA) acreage report (FSA‑578) before applying, Silvanek said.
“We plan on utilizing the funding toward our $35,000 budget for a winter cover crop program,” Silvanek said. “When you report what you planted to the Farm Service Agency, you receive a 578 form, and that form is required before you submit an application.”
Silvanek said the district budgets for 1,000 acres at $35 per acre but that participation has varied year to year; staff estimated the program covered less than 1,000 acres last season. The district will post the application and program details on its website on Oct. 1, she said.
The district is also hosting a nutrient‑management roundtable Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. at the University of Kentucky extension office on Red Mile Road. Paulette Akers, Gulf Hypoxia Program coordinator for the Kentucky Division of Water and a former Division of Conservation director, is the keynote speaker. Silvanek said Akers will discuss water‑quality sampling and nutrient sources in the Lexington area, noting that sanitary sewer treatment plants are a major local source of excess nutrients.
Silvanek told the board the extension office can accommodate recording and that the district will pursue having the event put on LexTV so officials and stakeholders who cannot attend in person can view the session.
The board’s treasurer confirmed the Fayette County Conservation District’s $4,000 invoice had been paid out of the grant line; the payment was noted in the meeting’s financial report.
