Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was in Texas County Wednesday morning, visiting the Highway M dairy farm of Ted and Barbara Sheppard.
Nixon was at the location to view work done resulting from the state’s emergency well drilling cost-share program that helps farmers and producers deal with drought-related critical shortages of water by covering most of the cost of digging a new well or deepening an existing one.
In qualifying circumstances, the state pays 90 percent of the bill (up to $20,000), while the property owner pays the other 10 percent.
Nixon said that at the time of his visit to Sheppard Dairy, the state had received more than 11,000 applications and approved close to 5,900. Of the approved projects, nearly 4,000 have already been completed.
Texas County Soil and Water Conservation district representative Kaven Keller indicated that his office had received about 200 applications, with 40 wells being approved and 57 tanks. Some landowners were able to get both a well and a tank.
See a complete story in the Sept. 6 Houston Herald.