Topeka ? Shawnee County’s program for battling methamphetamine will be used as the model for a statewide system, officials said.

State officials announced Monday that Kansas received a $345,000 federal grant to develop a statewide system to fight meth.

Begun two years ago, the Shawnee County program educates people about meth and helps farmers and retailers prevent thefts of ingredients used to make the drug.

Cristi Cain, coordinator of the Shawnee County program, will run the state project. She said increased awareness was one reason Shawnee County led the state the past two years in meth lab seizures, finishing last year with a record of 90.

Cain said the local program’s success was also reflected by a decrease in thefts of anhydrous ammonia, an ingredient often used to make the drug.

Cain noted that Kansas ranked fourth in the nation and first per capita in meth lab seizures in 2000 and 2001.

Officials said the state’s high number of meth lab seizures was one reason Kansas became one of six states selected for the one-year federal grants, which could be renewed for two more years.

Kansas Bureau of Investigation spokesman Kyle Smith said the state had a record 846 meth lab seizures last year. So far this year, 440 seizures have been reported to the KBI.