The Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District held its annual meeting Tuesday night at the 2517 Restaurant in Warsaw.
Donya Lester was the guest speaker of the meeting.
Lester is executive secretary of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association.
In 1990, she came to Purdue, where she directs the Ag Alumni Association's many activities. She has also served as president of the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association.
Two Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor positions were filled at the annual meeting. Candidates must be a resident of Kosciusko County, own or lease 10 or more acres, and be willing to serve a three-year term.
Sherman Bryant was re-appointed as a supervisor to the board. Bryant has been a conservation leader for many years, having held positions locally, regionally, and statewide. Appointed supervisors must receive approval from Indiana's State Soil Conservation Board, upon recommendation by the local SWCD.
Jon Roberts was re-elected to a seventh term as a supervisor for the district. He also brings many valuable years of experience to the board, having served conservation districts through leadership roles at the local, regional and state levels.
The following awards were handed out at Tuesday's meeting:
Soil Judging Team Award
Each year, the Soil and Water Conservation District recognizes the top high school soil judging team in the county.
The winning team from this past year continues its school's legacy of success at the local, state and national levels of soil judging. Their efforts this past year have earned them a place at the national competition this spring. Wawasee High School won with team members Austin Parker, Matt Wright, Jacob Shock, and Sandra Simbeck. Their coach is Randy Warren.
River Friendly Farmer Award
The River Friendly Farmer Award Program recognizes farmers who implement conservation practices that protect and enhance Indiana's rivers, lakes, and streams. This award is based on nine criteria that rate conservation practices such as erosion control and nutrient and pest management.
The program is sponsored by the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Indiana Farm Bureau and Indiana State Department of Agriculture. Award winners are recognized each year at the Indiana State Fair.
Rich Schlipf was recognized as a Kosciusko River Friendly Farmer.
Intensive Grazing Award
As intensive grazing practices gain popularity, the need for good management becomes more critical. Larry Pyle was the recipient of the Intensive Grazing Award. He has been grazing his cattle since 1960 and has demonstrated good management practices during those years.
Pyle participated in the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, which helped him install fencing, plant 72 acres of pasture and hayland, install a new well and water pipeline, and put in a heavy-use protection pad. He uses prescribed grazing on 160 acres.
Forestry Award
The Forestry Award was presented to Dr. A.G. Schafer. Schafer is a landowner who owns 155 acres of forest land in three woodlots. He enjoys working in his woods, where he has planted thousands of trees.
Conservation Education Award
Harrison Elementary was awarded with the Conservation Education award.
The award typically goes to a teacher.
Environmental Enhancement Award
The Environmental Enhancement Award recognizes individuals who do an exceptional job of protecting the natural resources of our county, as well as, demonstrating leadership in the community.
This year's award winner was Bruce Wakeland. Wakeland is a forester by trade. Since 1976, he has worked with landowners to plant 9 million trees on 2,880 acres in Kosciusko County alone. He has also been involved with Timber Stand Improvement on many of these acres.
Master Farmer Award
For 39 years, Homer Ousley, the Master Farmer award winner, has managed all of the cropland, hayland, pastureland and woodland for one of the largest farms in Indiana. Natural Resource Conservation is very important to him, especially the use of grass and trees to control erosion and protect water quality. At one time Creighton Brothers had the largest cow/calf heard in the state, with several hundred acres of pasture and hayland. They still maintain more than 700 acres of forage land today.
This farm operation also includes 8,000 acres of cropland. No-till farming practices are used on these corn and soybean acres.
Additionally, Creighton have more than 1100 acres of forest land on their farms, including 20 acres of trees that have been planted under the guidance of our award winner. All of the woodland is managed with the help of a consultant forester.
Recently, Creighton Brothers cooperated with SWCD, NRCS and The Nature Conservancy to install a two-stage ditch on one of their farms, as a pilot water quality practice to protect the Tippecanoe River.
Conservation Farmer of the Year
The Conservation Farmer of the Year Award recognizes a farmer who does an exceptional job of protecting soil, water and related natural resources in their operation.
This year's recipient, Rich Schlipf, farms 700 acres in the northern part of the county.
