Clean Water Farms – River Friendly Farms Project

The KRC Clean Water Farms Project ran from 1995 until 2012.  

Since 1995, the Clean Water Farms Project has promoted adoption of clean water farming practices in high priority watersheds in Kansas. The Clean Water Farms-River Friendly Farms Project / State WRAPS Focus, with funding from U.S. EPA 319 Nonpoint Source Funds through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, has successfully established good models of clean water farming easily adopted by other producers. KRC has provided over 80 demonstration projects on the ground and reached hundreds of other producers with workshops, farm tours, and presentations.

A key lesson learned early in the project was that producers must have a clear understanding of the problem or threat to water quality, and a plan and means of setting priorities for addressing the problems. In partnership with Kansas State University, the Kansas Rural Center developed the River Friendly Farm Plan—an environmental assessment to help farmers evaluate their farms or ranches and develop a plan for addressing problems. Phase two of the project (Clean Water Farms- Whole Farm Planning, 2000-2004) focused on helping producers use this self-environmental assessment (River Friendly Farm Plan) to establish priorities. CWFP then helped producers develop whole farm action plans, and offered cost-share to eligible producers to implement some part of that plan, as well as helped them to identify other resources.

Today, the project still assists farmers in completing the RFFP environmental assessment of their farm or ranch using the River Friendly Farm Plan notebook. Once the farmer completes the assessment, he/she is eligible for the $250 incentive payment for its completion.  An approved action plan also allows the farmer to apply for up to $5,000 in cost-share assistance to implement items in the action plan.

In addition to continuing to work with individual farmers and ranchers in high priority watersheds across the state, the project focuses on helping individual farmers and ranchers in newly established Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy areas (WRAPS). We also work with community leaders in the new WRAPS areas. WRAPS is the state’s framework for ensuring stakeholder involvement in the assessment and action planning process to protect or restore entire watersheds.

Coordinator: Mary Fund, ksrc@rainbowtel.net

Project resources for farmers and ranchers: Grazing Management Monthly Telecalls