A number of special awards were handed out at the 78th Annual Marion County Soil and Water Conservation meeting held at the Fairgrounds Exhibit Building Thursday night. The traditional program has not been held for the past two years due to COVID-19.
The Marion County Conservation Farm Family is the James Nattier family in rural Patoka which farms 11 hundred acres.
“We just grow corn and beans and have a few cows. Plant the beans and the corn stalks and any marginal ground we try to keep in pasture and CRP.”
Nattier brought along his entire extended family who he hopes will keep the family farm together which is now in its fourth generation. Conservation efforts began with his dad who wanted to protect the habitat for the quail.
Cooperator of the Year Andrew Richardson.
Andrew Richardson who farms about 1,000 acres in Raccoon Township southwest of Salem was honored as Cooperator of the Year.
“I try to do my best to implement practices…no till, cover crops, erosion control, to try and maintain the flow of the water. It’s vital for the crops we grow and the environment. We want to leave things better to the next generation than it was given to me.”
Jacob ‘Jake’ Davis ‘Friend of Conservation’ award winner Shelby Bundy.
The Jacob ‘Jake’ Davis ‘Friend of Conservation’ award was presented to Shelby Bundy. After working 17 years in a coal mine, Bundy started a tree farm selling B and B trees and Christmas trees. He then started CRP tree plantings and to date has planted well over one-million trees in Marion and surrounding counties. That led to opportunities to work with the Natural Resource Conservation Services and the Department of Natural Resources doing conservation work specifically Timber Stand improvements and exotic species control.
Conservation Teacher of the Year Charlene Stewart accepts her award.
The Conservation Teacher of the Year is Central City Grade School 4th grade teacher Charlene Stewart. She has worked with the Ag in the Classroom Program which has provided some financial support.
“Trying to teach good practices for our Earth. Having been in a 3rd generation farm family, that is important to our family so I think it should be important to those younger kids. So when they get into high school they can be involved in FFA and all those other great programs.”
The fifth-grade poster contest winners were also honored. First Place went to Brialey Shuler of South Central Grade, second place to Brookelyn Counts of New Horizon Grade School, and third place to Brylee Carter of Selmaville Grade School.
The South Central FFA was honored as the winner of both the Land Use Contest and Envirothon.
South Central High School FFA Land Use Team awarded for 1st place finish. Left to right: Wyatt Iler, Chase Thompson, Mitchell Brauer, Hailey Shuler, Keira Langley, Advisor TJ Bolin, and Burke Davies.
1st Place South Centralia High School FFA Envirothon Team. Left to right: Advisor TJ Bolin, Keira Langley, Hailey Shuler, Evan Hoover, Colton Smith, Wyatt Iler, and Burke Davies.
The members of the Soil and Water Conservation District also unanimously re-elected Steve McConnaughhay and Kirk Hayes to the District Board of Directors.
