By It was a tough year in 2009 with the drought in Kleberg and Kenedy counties but towards the end of the year things have changed with fall moisture we haven’t seen in some time.

Even with no crop production, it is even more important to try and conserve and protect the natural resources of soil, water, air, plants and animals.

It takes a concerted effort by the landusers to do everything they can to prevent erosion and to conserve all the moisture they can so production agriculture remains viable in these two counties of South Texas.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under the United States Department of Agriculture continues to assist landowners and operators with technical assistance in the planning and application of conservation practices on the land to solve conservation problems such as soil erosion on cropland or plant health on grazinglands.

This is accomplished through various conservation programs.

The NRCS partners with the local Kleberg-Kenedy Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to accomplish these tasks.

The SWCD, headquartered in Kingsville, provides conservation guidance to Kleberg and Kenedy county producers through the NRCS.

The District continues to recognize outstanding accomplishments at their annual Awards Banquet and sponsors the Poster and Essay contest to help educate youth in both counties.

The District also has their 2009 Annual Report available to the public highlighting their activities during the year.

Conservation or best management practices (BMP’s) such as brush management, strip-till, nutrient and pest management and grazing management were implemented to varying degrees in 2009.

We were reminded on Christmas eve of the forces of mother nature with the wind howling out of the north and causing severe wind erosion problems on the bare fields and the importance of implementing practices necessary to minimize or keeping this from happening again.

On pastureland and rangeland, maintaining a proper grass cover through proper grazing with plenty of standing vegetation will ensure that the plant and animal resources will be protected and maintained.

On cropland, leaving residue on the soil surface by conservation tillage methods such as strip-till will ensure that the soil is kept in place so that future generations can continue to enjoy a plentiful supply of food and fiber.

The NRCS as well as the Kleberg-Kenedy Soil and Water Conservation District looks forward to another year of assisting the cooperators with the conservation of their natural resources.

Anyone interested in the 2009 Annual Report and conservation assistance should contact the District office at 401 East King Ave., Ste. 100, in Kingsville.

The NRCS is here to help you with your conservation problems and concerns.

Our mission is helping people help the land.

Our office looks forward to the challenges ahead in 2010 and wishes everyone a safe and prosperous New Year.

Please call the office in Kingsville at (361)-592- 0309 Ext. 3 for assistance.