Several yearly awards were handed out at the 80th Annual Meeting of the Soil and Water Conservation District Wednesday night.
The Conservation Teacher of the Year is Selmaville Grade School Teacher Michelle Murphy.
“Megan Heistand comes into my classroom once a quarter and does a lot of Ag in the Classroom activities, soil activities, apples, and different activities for the students,” Murphy said. “I try to incorporate those into my lessons and educate my students about how important it is for conservation, safety, our planet, soil and things like that.”
One project that has really caught student interest is the burying of three pairs of underwear and then digging them back up in six months. The material is almost completely gone showing how soil is alive and recycles itself.
Danny Fark was named Cooperator of the Year.
Danny Fark presented with the Co-operator of the Year award. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
“Well we’ve got waterways, we’ve got solar strips, we planted some cover crops, we’re planting a pollinator field this year,” Fark said. “I try to conserve all the soil I can. I’ve been farming for fifty-three years. I started conservation farming probably about twenty years ago. When I first started farming, they moldboard plowed everything, you don’t see a moldboard plow in the area anywhere anymore. Everything is conservation tillers or vertical tillers. We don’t till much of the ground like we used to.”
Fark farms 640 acres in the Sandoval area. He notes he has met a lot of nice people farming.
The George Beer Family was named as Conservation Farm Family of the Year. He farms 300 plus acres in Stevenson Township in rural Iuka.
The George Beer family is awarded Farm Family of the Year. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
“It’s a growing farm,” Beer said. “I’ve got a lot in hay, and a guy who keeps the waterways, and I put a lagoon in so we could knife in the manure and all that stuff. It’s been working out pretty good so far.”
Two other generations of the Beer family have joined the farming operation, his son and grandson
Burke Davies was awarded this year’s Jacob ‘Jake’ Davis ‘Friend of Conservation’ award. Davies just recently retired from the conservation district a job he has held after starting his career in the soil mapping of Marion County.
Burke Davies is given the Friend of Conservation Award. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
“I’m proud that I got the chance to work with so many good producers, landowners, and municipalities in Marion County,” Davies said. “I’ve been lucky.”
Davies says the award was extra special to him because Davis was the one who originally hired him and because Davis was ahead of him time on conservation issues.
The South Central High School Environthon Team and Land Use Team were honored for their first place finishes. Fifth grade poster winners were also recognized. They are first place winner Caleb Dice of Franklin Park Middle School, second place winner Selah Brinkley of New Horizon Grade School and Weston Crouse of Selmaville School.
Those in attendance also re-elected Steve McConnaughhay and Kirk Hays to the Soil and Water Conservation District Board.
