Garnett, KS

Wondering how the drought in Kansas is affecting pasture conditions in your area?

It has been a long dry year in most of Kansas but there is a difference between our usual late July hot spells and all out drought. You might not even think the Garnett area is in a drought. However, of the 105 counties in Kansas now 77 are in some type of drought watch. Some farmers in SW Kansas have not seen any negible rain for a year.

Anderson County has largely been left out of most of the drought warnings over the last few months since it sits in the Central East section of the Kansas agricultural districts and the far eastern parts of Kansas have fared much better with rain this year than the other 2/3 of the state.

However, this week Anderson County was added to the list of counties now approved for emergency haying and grazing.

It is tough for farmers and ranchers to make the decision to sell herds and there is some predictions that the selling off actually provides some boost to the tax revenuses as discussed in the Gardner News article.

Drought conditions for Kansas can be followed through the Kansas Water Office and many national news media outlets are covering the drought such as USA Today.

In McPhereson Kansas the Sentinel newspaper covered the drought conditions and cattle as well as many other news stories that have highlighted the dire situation for ranchers and cattle producers in the state of Kansas.

Drought conditions may end up ultimately changing the values for land if cattle produceres eventually have to go completely out of business. The production of the land in a drought state is also not worth as much per acre if the landowner needs to sell. If you would like local land value information for Anderson County and the Garnett area please contact us. You can also follow our Kansas Land News Podcast updates for current information on Kansas agricultural news.

ONE DAY LEFT TO BID...and the short story behind the bid

BID FOR A FUN TIME AND TO SUPPORT

The chance to bid for a two-night getaway in Garnett, Kansas will end July 23 at 2:15 p.m. The auction bid button can be found at www.kansassampler.org.

The Garnett Getaway auction item is being housed on E-bay and is the first auction item being used to fundraise for the Kansas Sampler Foundation.

Six months ago, the Foundation put out a call for creative day trip packages. Foundation director Marci Penner said, "We wanted to come up with a fundraising method that would support our mission to preserve and sustain rural culture. The idea was that communities or attractions would come up with out-of-the-box, mind-boggling ideas and we would promote the offering to the global online community through the E-bay auction format. In the end, someone would receive a great Kansas package, the Foundation would receive much-need funds, and Garnett would gain great exposure."

The Garnett Getaway package includes two nights for four people at a George Washburn-designed bed-and-breakfast, an aerial tour of Anderson County, meals at local restaurants, shopping certificates, and tickets to a local dinner theater. The highlight is a backyard personal concert for 24 friends plus hors d-oeuvres and other amenities. The package value is $5,000.

The Kansas Sampler Foundation was founded in 1993. It is funded primarily by memberships, income earned from Foundation projects, speaking engagements, and private donations. In 2009 the Foundation also received a $50,000 grant from the Kansas Travel & Tourism Division to develop a rural tourism program. The two employees are Penner and WenDee LaPlant. Verna Lee Penner volunteers every morning to handle the bookkeeping and membership.

Some projects of the Inman-based non-profit include the 8 Wonders of Kansas series, the Kansas Sampler Festival, the Kansas Explorers Club, the Kansas Guidebook for Explorers, Rural Kansas: Come and Get It, the We Kan! Conference, and ongoing networking and communication on behalf of rural communities. Director Marci Penner's statewide journey in the early 2000s led to the focus on the small town grocery store issue. New projects in the works include a focus on recognizing and empowering 21-39 years olds who are rural by choice and an 8 Wonders of Kansas book.

Click here, to bid.