Ridgway farmer Carl Payne was named the Saline County Soil and Water Conservation District Farmer of the Year Monday night at the district's annual awards banquet held at Eldorado High School's cafeteria.
The goal of the district is to improve crop yields through soil and water conservation.
The district is a state agency that operates from the Unites States Department of Agriculture Service Center located at 912 S. Commercial in Harrisburg.
Jim Warder, district conservationist for Saline County in the Natural Resources Conservation Service, outlined some of Payne's accomplishments on his 54 tracts in Saline and Gallatin Counties. Payne:
Installed 23 grade stabilization structures,
Installed 13 grass waterways,
Placed 12 acres of vegetative strips (grass strips) on the borders of water courses,
Constructed 22 water and sediment control basins with a total length of 4,850 feet,
Created over 4 acres of quail habitat buffer strips (quail help with insect control),
Installed subsurface drain tile on 700 acres of the land he farms.
All of these measures aid soil retention and water conservation and are greatly encouraged among farmers working with state and federal groups.
Payne also is incorporating cover crops — crops planted to prevent erosion during the winter months, provide nitrogen and help with drainage during the winter or off season.
Each year the county SWCD awards the title of Farmer of the Year to a local farmer who is being aggressive about conservation of soil and water.
Essay Contest
Other awards given to students Monday evening included the Essay Contest Awards sponsored by the SWCD and McLean Implements.
For Eldorado High School Grant Loudy won first place and Paxton Morse won second place.
For Harrisburg High School J. D. Fugate won first place and Courtney Hobbs won second place.
For Carrier Mills High School Brody Walker won first place and Kyli Grathler won second place.
For Galatia High School Ethan Patterson won first place and Jeremy Mitchell won second place.
The overall county winner of the essay contest was Ashley Harrod of Harrisburg High School. Her teacher Cacy Ellis accepted the award with her. She received a check for $50 and a certificate.
All the agriculture students in the county had attended a tour of Marshall Grisham's farm and then wrote and essay demonstrating what they had learned. Each first place winner received a check for $20 with a certificate. The second place winners received a check for $10 and a certificate.
Poster Contest Awards
A presentation was given by Jackie Ital and Carolyn Hathaway to each of the county's fifth grade classes on the subject of soil conservation. The students then created posters inspired by the presentation. A winning poster for the county was awarded as well as a first, second and third place poster award at each school. A trophy will be awarded to each of the schools later this month.
Emma Wargel of Courtney Ashby's fifth grade class at Eldorado Elementary won the county poster award. She received a $20 check.
The retirement of Joe Tison, a director of Saline County SWCD since his first term in 1976, was recognized with a plaque.
