Mason County Conservation District

We’d like to express our appreciation to the local businesses, groups, and individuals who assisted in making our annual dinner possible.

The Mason County Extension Service once again provided their excellent facilities to hold our event. A delicious barbeque meal was served by Bennett’s BBQ & Catering. Pastor Jim Dougans of the Maysville Presbyterian Church provided our invocation, and Mason County FFA Chapter President Kenton Johnson assisted in serving guests. Duane Schlieman of EnviroFlight provided our keynote address. Mason County Farm Bureau partnered with us in recognizing and awarding the student winners of our conservation art and writing contests, while DeSha’s Restaurant provided coupons for the winner’s gift packets.

Monetary donations were received from the Bank of Maysville, Peoples Bank of Kentucky, Stober Drives, International Paper, US Bank, and Peoples Bank. Items for door prizes were received from Tumbleweed Restaurant, Security Bank & Trust, and the Friends of Minerva group.

ANNUAL DINNER. The District’s annual dinner in April was an opportunity to showcase our work for the past year, recognize local individuals and businesses for their outstanding efforts in making conservation a priority, and award local students for their art and writing abilities.

David Appelman was recognized as our Outstanding Conservationist in Production Agriculture, and Maysville’s Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America as our Contribution to Conservation winner.

Students from St. Patrick School and Mason County High School received prizes from the District, Mason County Farm Bureau, and the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation for placing first, second, or third in last year’s local Jim Claypool Conservation Art and Writing Contests.

Duane Schlieman, Agronomy Sales Representative from EnviroFlight, provided a presentation on commercial agricultural products being developed by the company utilizing black soldier fly larvae.

KENTUCKY’S STATE COST SHARE PROGRAM

The Kentucky Soil Erosion and Water Quality Cost Share Program was created to assist agricultural producers in protecting soil and water resources. The program helps to address existing soil erosion, water quality, and other environmental problems associated with farming or woodland operations. Applications are taken year-round, but periodic cutoffs are necessary so that applications received can be submitted for review. Cutoffs typically occur in mid to late fall, with approvals announced early the following year. Approvals are based on statewide ranking criteria and the availability of funds.

Conservation practices eligible for cost share funding include, but are not limited to, animal mortality and composting facilities, critical area plantings, diversions, filter strips, grade stabilization structures, grassed waterways, livestock heavy use areas, livestock water facilities, riparian buffers, stream crossings, roof runoff and water storage structures, waste storage facilities, water and sediment control basins, pasture and hay planting, spring development, and cover crops. Cost share rates are a maximum of 75 percent of the actual installation cost of the practice, not to exceed $20,000 per year.

For more information, visit our office at 1925 Old Main Street, Maysville, call (606) 759-5570 Ext. 3, or email us at [email protected].

2024 Conservation Awards Presented - David Appelman and Maysville’s Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America are recipients of the District’s 2024 conservation awards. The presentations took place at our annual dinner in April.

Mr. Appelman was announced as the 2024 Outstanding Conservationist in Production Agriculture. He was selected for his many years of service to agriculture and conservation, and for the innovative practices in place on his farm near Lewisburg. A graduate of Augusta Independent High School, Mr. Appelman received his undergraduate degree in Production Agriculture from the University of Kentucky and his Masters in Career and Technical Education from Morehead State University. He was employed by the UK Cooperative Extension Service as Bracken County’s Agriculture Agent from 1997 until his retirement in 2023. He and his wife Mollie currently raise purebred Angus and Hereford cattle on their Lewisburg property, along with producing hay and grain.

Maysville’s Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America was announced as the 2024 recipient of the Contribution to Conservation Award, in recognition of their many years of sponsorship of our free tree seedling giveaway program. Mitsubishi has provided funding for the program since 2009, in addition to materials to bag and box the trees for distribution to the public. Their Associates help provide the labor to package the 1,500 to 2,000 trees annually.

Great morning yesterday packaging tree seedlings for free distribution to the public. 1,800+ trees bagged and boxed at the Mason County High School Ag Barn with help from students, teachers, and Mitsubishi Electric associates. Over 200 pine trees provided to fifth graders at Mason County Intermediate and St. Patrick Schools. Trees were still available this morning at our office, Maysville Southern States, and May's Lick Hinton Mill.

We recently presented an additional $5,000 to Mason County Judge/Executive Owen McNeill for the County's fallen livestock removal program. This grant came from the Kentucky Soil & Water Conservation Commission and was added to the $7,500 that was granted earlier this year from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund. We greatly appreciate the County's efforts to maintain the removal program to assist our local agricultural producers.

Our annual tree seedling giveaway returns this month. We're planning to have them available the afternoon of Wednesday, April 24. We have 1,850 trees on order including white pine, Shumard oak, buttonbush, yellow poplar, pecan, witch hazel, persimmon, and Chinese chestnut. We anticipate using multiple locations for distribution, including our office at 1925 Old Main Street, Maysville Southern States on the Clyde Barbour Parkway, and May's Lick Hinton Mill on US 68. The number and variety at each location may vary. Availability is on a first come, first served basis.

Approximately half of our 500 white pines will be distributed to 5th grade students and their teachers at St. Patrick and Mason County Intermediate Schools.

Our tree giveaway is made possible again this year by a generous donation from Maysville's Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America.
Have you planted trees from our past giveaways? We invite you to share photos here of how they look today.