The amount of fertilizer and herbicides that the typical American puts on their yard is a much greater concentration than what the farmers would use. Miller said he and his family decided to incorporate these changes voluntarily for the benefit of those downstream, before they were forced to make these changes. If we don t care about water quality or our neighbors, or if we want to wait until someone either puts us out of business or forces us to make these changes, then that is one option. We decided we want to stay in the dairy business and for us, that meant making these changes. Bill Hargrove, director of the Kansas Center of Agricultural Resources and the Environment, said local cleanup efforts like the Cheney Watershed initiative are very important.
People are very concerned about their county, their town.
The challenge is to get local people aware of what the issues are, then develop strategies for local partnerships and how to carry out the cleanup plan. We need to bring information on how to clean water to the local level. Interested persons can contact their local Extension office. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan.