KARTA

NESS CITY – The Kansas Ag Research & Technology Association (KARTA) announced last week that they will be making up to $14,000 available for agricultural research funding in 2018. The announcement was made during the 20th Annual Kansas Agricultural Technologies Conference in Junction City, Kansas, in front of more than 150 producers, vendors, and students who attended the growing event.

Between now and February 20th, KARTA members (and prospective members) are encouraged to submit funding applications for on-farm research. “It is getting harder and harder to maintain a viable farming operation with rising input costs,” says KARTA Board President Brent Rendel. “On farm research is so important for testing new products and new methods – and sharing that information with the other producers at our annual conference is always an attendee favorite. It’s not about your theory being right, it’s about being more in-the-know when the data comes in.”

Research grants are available in several amounts. KARTA members who submit new research project receive a grant in the amount of $500 per person. Members who submit applications for continuing projects from previous years receive $400 per person. Group studies are also encouraged, and grants are available at $300 per group member involved with the research project. New group projects are being facilitated this year, with more information being announced to those who apply to participate.

“Grant funding is designed to encourage producers to answer the questions they might have on their own farms,” says KARTA Research Coordinator Tyler Lund. “The first time you take on a research project it can be challenging, but it gets easier the more you practice. We can help new researchers get started tracking their results, and can try to walk them through the process to make it as simple as possible.”

Grant recipients are expected to track their project’s results in a scientific manner that produces comparable data. The funds will be awarded in the spring of 2018, and the recipient will be expected to report their results to the KARTA membership at next year’s conference in January 2019. Anyone interested in learning more about the research funding or reading previous research projects should visit the KARTA website. From there, they can also fill out the convenient online application to request funding for their proposed project. Deadline to apply is February 20th.

Find more details or apply on the KARTA website, www.kartaonline.org. Be sure to like the KARTA facebook page and follow on Twitter, @kartaonline.