KDA Re-Opens Kansas Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Initiative

The Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Conservation announces the re-opening of the Kansas Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Initiative. This initiative provides a onetime incentive payment for Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP) contracts for the following practices:

The 2018 Kansas Legislature allocated $281,312 to the KDA Division of Conservation to help promote the reduction of nutrients and sediment through the CCRP program. The initiative has been open since June 2019 to targeted watersheds specified for sediment and nutrient impairment, and funds still remain at this time which has allowed KDA–DOC to re-open the initiative to qualified applicants. Incentive payments range from $162.50-$225 per acre, depending on level of the impairment as identified by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

 

The following counties have watersheds that fall within these targeted areas: Atchison, Brown, Chase, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Dickinson, Douglas, Ellis, Geary, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Morris, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Saline, Shawnee, Wabaunsee and Washington.

 

 

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.