Welcome To The Mercer County Conservation District Homepage!

227 Morris Drive
Harrodsburg, Ky. 40330
Phone# 1-859-734-6889
FAX# 1-859-734-5336

District Mission Statement
Planning begins and ends with the needs of the people: food, air, water, shelter, space, health, education, mobility, work, and play - all the factors of life itself.

The Mercer County Conservation District plans to take the lead in the challenge of meeting the needs of the land and of the people on the land, thereby improving the quality of life for all.

On Going Programs
No-till farming:
The Mercer County Conservation District owns four no-till seed drills which are leased at a low rate to the county farmers. As a result, about 85% of the cropland in Mercer County is no-tilled.

Wildlife Habitat Improvement:
There is an increasing interest for Landowners in developing wildlife habitat, walking trails, restoring native grasses, etc... There are state and federal cost-share programs available that make improving habitat a legitimate practice to your yard or farm.

Pollution Control:
With four rivers and approximately forty dairies in Mercer County, animal waste has become a major priority. There are currently 61 animal waste systems in operation in the county and others are being planned for the future. Cost-share assistance is subject to an environmental benefit ranking system.

Thistle Control:
The district maintains two Broyhill sprayers for the use of 2,4,D only. These sprayers are loaned to the county farmers for the control of thistles and broadleaf weeds, which continues to be a problem in the county.

Recycling:
The district coordinates an office-wide recycling program and purchases recycled products when possible. There is a rinse and return program led by the Mercer County Extension Office and the district for herbicide and pesticide containers. Please contact us for more information.

Teacher's Grants:
The district offers teachers in all area schools a grant for the purchase of environmental education materials for their programs. The teacher must submit the objective and plans to the district board for approval.

Scholarships:
The district offers a $750 renewable scholarship to area students entering the fields of agriculture or environmental science.

Technical Assistance
Technical assistance is available for landusers through the USDA-NRCS and the Mercer County Conservation District.

Technical assistance consists of soils information, farm planning, engineering assistance for erosion control practices, water quality programs, animal waste systems, wildlife enhancement, education promotion, and farmland protection.

The Mercer County Conservation District Cost Share Program
The Mercer County Conservation District has been providing cost share assistance since 1997 to all landusers for the conservation and preservation of the natural resources of the county. Sometime in early summer, the district board decides upon the type of assistance program and the dates of the sign-up period to be offered for the year. Sign-ups are then reviewed by the district board for approval. After a landuser has been approved for county cost share, a district representative will visit the site and determine, with the landuser, the specifications for that project. After the landuser completes their project and all of the specifications have been met, they bring their bills to the district office to be reviewed and approved by the district board. The landuser is then reimbursed for a percentage of their expenses.

The rate for the cost share assistance program is 75%/25% with a $500 limit on reimbursed funds. The district will pay 75% of the costs of the materials (only) for the project, leaving the landuser responsible for the remaining 25% of the costs of materials and all of the labor.

There has been a tremendous acceptance to the HUA cost share program since the start of it in 1997. The district will be offering the HUA again in 1999, but is considering other projects for the year 2000.

Previous County Cost Share Projects

Year	Cost Share Project	Completed Projects
1997	Heavy Use Area (HUA)	17
1998	Heavy Use Area	32
1999	Heavy Use Area	33

If you are interested in signing up for future 
district cost share assistance please enter your name,
address, and phone number in the text area below. Also, if 
you have any comments, enter them into the text area and 
submit them to us along with your email address or name and 
phone number. Thank you for your interest and time.

:Your name

:Your organization

: Your street address

: City, State, Zip

: Phone number

:Your email address
IMPORTANT! Be sure to enter your E-mail address correctly!


Comments

1997-1998 Livestock & Milk Production

Type	Number	State Ranking
Jan. 1, 1998 All Cattle	36,500	24
Jan. 1, 1998 Beef Cows	14,300	29
1997 Milk Production(Lbs.)	35,100	23

Cash Reciepts

Type	Dollars	State Ranking
1997 Crops	$13,176	48
1997 Livestock	$21,413	25
1997 Total	$34,589	32

Census Data

Year	# Farms	# Acres	Harvested Cropland
1982	1,209	145,660	39,661
1987	1,106	144,404	39,744
1992	1,085	133,734	36,717

Mercer County Conservation District Staff
Linda Lake - Administrative Secretary
Eric Johnson - District Employee, Water Quality Support

USDA-NRCS Staff
Joe Montgomery - District Conservationist
Tom Gullion - Engineering
Libby Tuggle - Technician

Kentucky Heritage R.C.& D. Council
John Overing - R.C.& D. Coordinator
Christy Killion - Administrative Assistant

Associated Links
Kentucky Natural Resources and Protection Cabinet
National Association of Conservation Districts
Ky. Division of Conservation
USDA-NRCS
Ky-NRCS
USDA Conservation Programs
Kentucky Association of R.C.& D. Councils
Ky. Dept. of Agriculture
Salt River Watershed Watch Project Information
Kentucky Agriculture Water Quality Authority

Links for Poster and Essay Contest:

Forestry
What Is Forestry?
Resources from other states
UK Forestry - Cooperative Extension

Water Resources

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To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.