Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1996)
X i- ± Page 8-MSWCD Supplemental to the Heppner Gazette-Times, April 24, 1996 Considerations for CRP take-out There is little experience with converting grassland cover to crop production using conser vation systems. Conservation compliance requires that all highly erodible land (HEL) have an applied conservation system when converted to crop production. Wind and water erosion problems could result if traditional intensive tillage methods are use. The following are consideration and manage ment strategies that should be taken into account when con verting CRP to crop produc tion: Consider the time of year. Normally in the Columbia Ba sin, water erosion occurs bet ween December and March and wind erosion from Febru ary through May. Conservation practices need to be in place during this time. Some form of protection (grass residues/crop growth) should be considered prior to take-out. Erosion is influenced by soil type, slope gradient and length. Sandy and very fine sandy loam soils have high potential for wind erosion. Silt loam soils in greater than 12” rainfall zones face water ero sion potential. The steeper the slope, the higher the potential. Vegetation characteristics play an important role. Bunch- grasses such as Crested and Siberian wheatgrass and Big bluegrass will be easier to re move than a sodforming grass like Pubescent wheatgrass. In high precipitation areas, grasses such as orchardgrass, smooth brome and intermedi ate wheatgrass may form a dense vegetation. In addition, many fields in high precipita tion zones (more than 12") may have a dominance of young pine trees up to 10 feet high. Conversion to cropland would Continued— Page 9 CPR contracts expire The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985, enabled farmers to retire highly erodible or environmentally sen sitive cropland for 10 years. These contracts began to expire in 1995. CRP contract holders have a number of issues to consider when their CRP contract expires. Some of the options for end use are: return to cropland, utilize existing forage for grazing or wildlife purposes, retention of the most environmentally sensitive acres, or a combination of uses. The majority of CRP contracts are for a ten year period. They begin and expire based on the federal government's fiscal year, October 1 through September 30. Contracted acres can be "work ed” 90 days prior to the expiration date. See table below: Contract years 1986- 1995 1987- 19% 1988- 1997 Expiration date October 1, 1995 October 1, 19% October 1, 1997 , Here at Kinzua, conservation is a “growing” concern. PORT OF MORROW MORROW COUNTY OREGON r. O. no» 1M, IW d rn in , OR 77118 Ph « * 1 7 * 7 * . Fa« 401-2679 Good Conservation today; Means good business tomorrow. Local Facilities: • Airpo rt and air industrial land • Container terminal • General purpose dock facilities • Rail and interstate freeway # <« • « r i » . , farming in 1947. Through the years, he has adjusted his far ming practices to improve man agement of his land. Wind ero sion remains his biggest pro blem, but by increasing residue and by spreading straw on trouble spots, he has success fully controlled those areas. Kemp has also minimized run off by reshaping and planting to grass some natural ditches which had cut into his fields. His clean fields and higher- than-average yields testify to his hard work and dedication to conservation. Stan Kemp Phone 676 9613 235 Linden Way Heppner, Oregon 97836 MILLER Morrow County Grain Growers -Lawn & Garden-Power Equipment-Chain Saws-Tires-Housewares-Pet Supplies -Hardware-Plumbing-Electrical-Lawn M A N U FA C TU R IN G Serving Morrow County for Over 50 Years •Auto & Farm Tires •Chemicals & Fertilizers •Hardware Store •Propane •Fuel & Petroleum •Farm Equipment Dealer •Irrigation/Pump «Grain •Full Service Auto & Farm Equipment Shop_ _ _ _ _ . BALE FORKS - 8 Bale Clamp -1 0 Bale Clamp - Rotating Models - Free Pivot Models -1 Ton Bale Forks - Vertical or Down Flat - Single Bale Lengthways - Single Bale Sideways - 2 One Ton Bales Your Intermodal Shipping Hub for International & Domestic Connections • Industrial land ' Conservation Wasco Branch 442-5781 1-800-824-7185 MCt.t. 4th & Clark St. Wasco, OR 97065 LU Phone 989-8221 A l • TRAILER HITCHES & ACCESSARY’S • BED RAIL CAPS, TAILGATE COVERS, ETC. lone Store mm Morrow County Crain Growers « ,9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 INC. • TRUCK BEDS MADE TO ORDER D»n Creamer. Prmdent jerry Mealy, Vice President Larry Lindsay, Secretary I>eane Secger. Commissioner Marv Padberg. Commissioner ... Stan Kemp, Lexington, was named the 1995 Morrow Coun ty Conservation Farmer of the Year. His "lifetime of steward ship” started when he began • PICK-UP FRONT END PROTECTORS CommiMiontrs: t of the Year If the chosen end use alternative is going to involve technical assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (for mally SCS) for its compliance plan, grazing plan, etc., the local field office should be contacted a minimum of six months before the contract expires. If the contract holder plans to return CRP acres to crop pro duction for a commodity crop and plans to participate in govern ment programs, they must have their conservation compliance plan approved by the local field office and the local conserva tion district prior to planting the first commodity crop. Check with your county FSA (formally ASCS) office to find out how to protect your acreage base when the contract expires. Every year, after the hunting season, ODF&W employees con duct their annual deer herd composition counts. Normally, the counts are started in early November and are completed during the first part of December. The information collected during these counts is used to determine the proportion of bucks that surviv ed the hunting season and helps determine the ratio of fawns produced per 100 adult does. The survey is not a total count but provides a ratio that is used for setting the buck season the follow ing year and assists in determining the over-winter survival of the fawns. The information collected in the fall is used with the population inventories that will be conducted next April to deter mine overall population levels. The total number of deer classified for the Big Game Manage ment Units within the Heppner Wildlife District during 1995 is listed in the following table: Total B/100 F/100 Unit deer Does Fawns Bucks does does Heppner 673 209 418 46 11 50 Fossil 855 550 244 61 11 44 E. Biggs 342 205 110 27 13 54 S. Col Basin 749 409 263 77 19 64 ... Farmer 90 days prior July 1, 1995 July 1, 19% July 1, 1997 ODFW-annual deer herd composition counts £ MSWCD Supplemental to the Heppner Gazette-Times, April 24, 1996-Page 5 1 -800-452-7 396 LEXINGTON. OREGON 97839 P.0. Box 367 -Power Equipment - Chain Saws - Tires - Housewares - Pet Supplies - Hardware -Plumbing-Electrical-Lawn & Garden- ■ v *
