HUTCHINSON, Kan. — There was a packed house for Wednesday morning’s Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber Breakfast where the topic was agriculture and how to deal with preserving water across the state.
Jake Worester, Assistant Agriculture Secretary, was the guest speaker and talked about bringing the water issues closer to the local levels. We talked with him after the meeting and he explained there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. He says they have already started working with local areas. One he didn’t talk about during his talk at the breakfast meeting is what he called an “L.E.M.A.,” or Locally Enhanced Management Area. He says there is already one in place in Sheridan County, in northwest Kansas.
He says that farmers got together and voluntarily agreed to cut the amount of water they were using. He says they put a pretty strict limit on the amount of water they could use for irrigation, less than what they were allowed under their water rights. He says since it started two years ago, it’s really started to make an impact in that area.
Worester says they’re now working to do that sort of thing in other areas of the state and believes that will be a better solution than having it all done at the state level. He says they just have to get more people talking about it and about L.E.M.A.s. He says he believes the groundwater management districts have a role to play and determine how they want to handle these issues in their areas. He says they want that to happen at the local level and believes that will be more effective than any statewide mandates that they have.
He also talked about the recent drought and says things have improved but will need good moisture through the winter months. He blames the lack of moisture for the poor wheat crop this year, but says the wheat that has been planted for next year is looking really good at this time. He says they are hoping for some good moisture over the winter.
He says water is important for crops, but also for the cattle and dairy industries in the state. He says agriculture is still the number one industry in Kansas and always will be.