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Farm Bureau hands out awards

By ROY GRABER
Courier Editor

Cowley County Farm Bureau presented awards to a number of people for their efforts in sound agriculture practices and support of the industry Aug. 21 at their annual meeting at Baden Square in Winfield.

Farm Family of the Year

Ken and Pam Bryant --along with their three grown children -- were named the Farm Family of the Year.

The Bryants, who married in 1979 and reside north of Arkansas City, have been involved in production agriculture since their days in 4-H and FFA.

Currently they farm about 2,700 acres with Ken's brother, Phil. They raise alfalfa, wheat, grain sorghum, soybeans and corn. They use mainly conventional tillage, but are starting to do some no-till farming.

Over the past year, the Bryants have started running some calves on wheat pasture, and now have a few on grass.

Ken is a past board member of the First United Methodist Church and is a board member of Rural Water District No. 6. He also serves on the Arkansas City High School Advisory Committee.

Pam has served as a 4-H community leader for Martha Washington 4-H Club for about five years and was a 4-H Junior Leaders sponsor for about 11 years.

She was also a swine superintendent for the Cowley County Fair for around 11 years and was a very active alumni member and sponsor for Arkansas City FFA for many years.

One thing the Bryants are well known for is hosting Ag Day on the Farm, where they give elementary school kids the chance to see what it is really like on the farm.

All three of the Bryants' children have been actively involved with 4-H and FFA. Keith, 25, and Clint, 23, were chapter, district and state FFA officers. Kimberly, 20, served as a chapter and district FFA officer. She was also a volunteer with the Arkansas City FFA's participation in helping with the victims of hurricane Katrina.

Natural Environmental Resources Award

Linda Bowlin of Atlanta was the winner of this year's award. She has a cow-calf operation and has implemented a number of conservation practices.

Bowlin's main goal for starting these projects was to make what was once beautiful and productive return.

A lot of water flowing into the Grouse/Silver Creek lake comes from her property, which causes almost thirty acres to flood during periods of heavy rain. Over the past few years, the area of the lake on her property has almost silted in. In the dry season, she is left with very little stock water and her agritourism fishing is nonexistent.

The main projects on her ranch were to fence off the waterways entering the lake, gravel the creek crossings, remove erosion-causing trees and create rotational grazing areas.

She also had two fenced ponds built as alternative water sources with concrete watering tanks below and gravel around them to prevent erosion.

Both dams are seeded and grass is growing. Dredging and widening along the west lake bank was done to increase the water containment area and create quality water and fishing. This will also help with the flooding problem.

Bowlin developed a fenced-in camping and shooting range area with all amenities and a small fishing pond that has been reconfigured to create a proper spillway overflow across a large grassed area to prevent silting and erosion to the lake. The pond dam has been seeded and the grass is growing.

Bowlin was given until 2009 to complete the projects with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. All were completed by the end of 2007, with the exception of ongoing tree removal.

Bowlin also has other plans in the works. She seeks to take a small area of non-productive area in the northwest corner of the ranch and create a fenced-in wildlife habitat that includes a century and a half old rock house and hand-dug well that is an alternative water source.

"By keeping this ranch beautiful and productive, maybe I can show young people what the Flint Hills are all about and what they can accomplish -- with the help provided by the wonderful people and programs of the NRCS, KRC and Grouse/Silver Creek Watershed," Bowlin said.

Century Farms

Two farms were honored as Kansas Farm Bureau Century Farms. In order to qualify for the award, a farm has to remain in the same family for 100 years or more.

Mary Lou Conrod, whose rural Winfield farm was established in 1900, and Jack Meyer, whose farm was established in 1907, were this year's recipients.

Friend of Farm Bureau

Roy Graber, managing editor of the Winfield Daily Courier, was presented with the Friend of Farm Bureau award.

"I don't know if it is Roy's rural upbringing, his work ethic or just his desire to tell the story. What I do know is that without his commitment to reporting of ag issues, those involved in farming and ranching would be preaching to the choir," said Denise Noonan-Middleton, coordinator of Cowley County Farm Bureau.

"As our general population continues to be further removed from the farm, public awareness becomes so critical to the agriculture issues our country is facing. Unfortunately, we are in an era when few are interested in farm issues unless it is to spin a negative story. Not many will report on the number of families a farmer feeds or the conservation practices farmers and ranchers use to protect the environment. Roy Graber, is dedicated to the truth of rural America."

2008 Farm Bureau Scholarship

Josh Reed, a recent graduate of Winfield High School, was presented with the 2008 Farm Bureau Scholarship.

Farm Bureau board member Craig Pringle said applicants were asked to write an essay, and a surprising amount of the people who applied thought that food came "from Dillons." However, Reed had a thorough understanding about agriculture in his essay, making him the clear choice.

ABOVE: Ken and Pam Bryant, and their family, were recently named the Farm Bureau's Farm Family of the Year for Cowley County.