The Southern Bull Shoals Watershed Project and the Southern Bull Shoals Watershed Water Quality Education Project are sponsoring a Dairy Waste Management Field Day on October 15th, 2004 at Lawson Dairy Farm.

This event is a perfect opportunity to talk with Dairy owner and see the waste management at first hand. We will have Thomas Lawson, an Agricultural Engineer, and Vance Hambelton from the University Extension office speaking.  After, the three speakers we will take a tour of the farm.  To finish off the afternoon lunch will be provided.   There will plenty of time for one and one questions and answers.

 Call for reservations and directions:  Crystal Smith Project Manager  679-4876

Stream Team Full Ahead
On November 6, The Lutie High School Stream Team set out for their first water quality-monitoring event. The group comprised of five FFA students: Amber Myers, Willie Beaudin, Megan Noah, Bekah Cantwell, Christina Reich, Michael Mahan Lutie Agriculture Teacher, and Tina Mills Ozark County Soil and Water Conservation District SALT Project Manager.

It was a cold, wet, yucky day and these kids just jumped right in and we got to work. We went to the junction of Pond Fork and county road 883. We looked at the different kinds of aquatic bugs in the water and found that the rating was excellent. We also checked the amount of oxygen in the water and that came back as 97% saturation, which is wonderful for organisms to survive in. Other chemistry tests we ran was a nitrate test which indicated very little nitrates in the water, and the pH of the water was 7.8 which is also very good. The kids tested the stream discharge which came out to be 5.8 cubic feet per second, this just lets us know how fast the water is moving on that day.

The bug monitoring part is the most important part of the whole monitoring. The chemistry results give us a snap shot of what that water is like that day and time, but the bugs give us an idea of what is happening to that water all the time. If there was contamination let into the water in the afternoon, and we are there in the morning the results might not show anything on the chemistry tests. However, the bugs would give us a clue because they would not be able to survive the contamination.

This is the first of many water quality monitoring events to take place over the next seven years with the approval of the areas new Agricultural Non-Point Source Special Area Land Treatment Project that was started in July. This grant is for the Southern Bull Shoals/Pond Fork Watersheds. The main purpose of this grant is to educate landowners and students about the importance of good water quality, by holding field days, workshops, and visiting with grade school and high school kids about conserving our natural resources. This grant also has money for cost-share practices to assist landowners on their place. Everything with this grant is totally voluntary landowners are not required to do anything. For more information on this and to see a map of the area call 417-679-4876, or visit our website at bullshoalswatershedproject.4t.com.

Money Available For Fertilizer

If you have been wishing that there was some way to get paid to spread lime and fertilizer on your farm, your wish may be about to come true.  There are of course a few rules and qualifiers, which follow.

The Ozark county soil and water conservation district (SWCD) applied for and received a grant from the Missouri department of natural resources to offer special practices in the Pond Fork and Theodosia area.  The land must be in the Pond Fork or Theodosia area.  Call Crystal Smith in the Gainesville SWCD office at 679-4876, and she can tell you specifically if your property is in the project area or not.  There can not be an excessive amount of erosion from the fields.  Crystal can also determine this.  Soil samples must be collected and tested.  A nutrient management plan listing required amounts of lime and fertilizer will be prepared based on the soil tests.  The SWCD board must approve of your application to participate.  The required lime and fertilizer must be applied.  One year after the board approved your application, a payment of $20 per acre will be made.

To get an appointment to start the ball rolling, or to find out more information give Crystal a call.