Each year, the Kansas Bankers Association promotes the recognition of farmers and ranchers who have completed quality conservation work through their conservation awards program. Their goal is to recognize those producers who participate in conservation activities while promoting the productive capability of their land.
On Saturday, Jan. 25, the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) held their annual Soil Conservation dinner, and meeting. At this dinner, the recent recipients of the various awards were honored for their conservation work.
This year, we have four awards winners in Barton County. Chuck and Marilyn Haynes of Great Bend were awarded the Water Conservation award for converting 110 acres from Flood Irrigation to a Pivot Irrigation in 2004; Richard Rugan of Claflin received the Soil Conservation award, converting his entire farm from Conventional till to No-Till starting in 2004; Brian and Melanie Mosier of Ellinwood were awarded the Water Quality Award for Completing and maintaining a livestock waste pit in 2004; Larry Klepper of Ellinwood has planted around 2,000 trees over the years for windbreaks for livestock and crop areas around his farm.
I would like to personally congratulate the winners on all of their hard work and dedication to conserving the land around us for future generations. A special thank you also goes out to the Kansas Bankers association who sponsors this set of awards. The banks involved are, American State Bank, Community Bank of the Midwest, Farmers Bank and Trust, First Kansas Bank, Landmark National Bank, Sunflower Bank, and Wilson State Bank. Please take the time to congratulate the winners, and thank the sponsors when you see them around the county. The hard work that they do will help insure that the world will be here for our future generations.
Alicia Boor is the Agriculture and Natural Resources agent for Barton County K-State Research and Extension. You can contact her by e-mail at aboor@ksu.edu or calling 620-793-1910