soil tab february 2014

8/13/2019 Soil Tab February 2014

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Soil ConservationSpecial supplement to the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle, February 2014

The Dickinson County Conserva-tion District is proud to announcethat they are presenting the 2013

Young Farmer Award to Chad Lorson.

Chad is a farmer, owns a commercial/residential electric business with his fa-ther, is the Fire Chief of the Hope Ru-ral Fire Department, and is Chairman ofthe Dickinson County FSA Committee.Chads wife Brittney is employed as anLPN at Memorial Health Systems.

Chad graduated from Hope High Schooland graduated from Barton County Com-munity College. His wife, Brittney, gradu-ated from Victoria High School and at-tended Fort Hays State University andgraduated from Manhattan Tech. Chad

and Brittney were married on April 10,2010 in Victoria, Kans. They have oneson, Brighton, 2 years old.

Chad began farming in 2002, and at thatsame time began installing conservationpractices into his farming. Chad decidedto become a conservative farmer becauseit just made sense to him since most ofthe ground he farmed was on hillsides.Chads outlook on conservation is that notworking the soil (no-till farming) allowsthe microbes and earthworms to do theirjob in the decomposition process, whichmake a good soil prole. Time and fuelare conserved by not going over the elds2-3 times tilling, weed population is less,and the ground is shaded, which holds inmoisture. It may require more chemicaluse, but correct timing of application canbe very benecial in the process.

Chads farming operation includes thefollowing: wheat 450 acres, corn 200 acres, grain sorghum 100 acres,

soybeans 400 acres and alfalfa 60acres. All of Chads acreage is strictly no-till.

Along with farming, Chad also raisesstocker calves with his father, Phil Lor-son. He tends to purchase them around

500 pounds, then grow them out to sellat about 850 pounds. Last year, they ex-panded the feedlot to hold a capacity of700 head.

Problems that Chad has encountered inno-till farming is that if erosion occurs dueto a washed out terrace, it is more workto ll it back in because it cannot just betilled up to correct the washout. Also, inthe spring the soil temperatures may notwarm up as fast. Doing some of thier ownspraying to eliminate a custom applicationbill helps out on the nancial side.

Chad researches many different placesfor information on conservation farming.Such resources include websites such asNo-Till Farmer. Chad also attends confer-

ences and seminars such as No-Till on thePlains, reads farm magazines and watchesvarious television programs on RFD suchas Ag PHD.

Advice Chad would offer to someonewanting to install conservation practicesinto their farming methods: just do it!Chad emphasizes that you must make sureyou have the equipment to do it. A no-tilldrill is important, as a regular one withnormal down pressure will not cut throughthe residue. Having a planter with heavydown pressure springs and a sprayer arevery benecial as well. Chad stresses tobe patient. Your soil will get mellow as theyears come.

Benets Chad has gained from his con-servation system has been more mellowsoils, better moisture conservation, fewerweeds, increased organic matter, and low-er fuel costs.

Conservation accomplishments ofChads include rebuilding several water-

ways for proper drainage, rebuilding andadding terraces to prevent erosion, install-ing buffers around the creek edges, dig-ging out ponds in the dry years to increasecapacity, and adding a pond to keep cattle

2013 Young Farmer AwardChad Lorson

Chad LorsonSeeLorson,Page 8


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2 Soil Conservation, February 2014 www.abilene-rc.com

714 S. Buckeye Abilene, KS

The 2013 Dickinson CountyWindbreak Award is proudlybeing awarded to Jim Wood.

The winning windbreak was plant-ed in 1995.

Because there were no trees left atthe building site of his home, Jimknew that trees were desperatelyneeded to break the north wind. Thisout-weighed every other factor thatwas an inuence in Jims decision toplant a windbreak on the north sideof his home and work sheds.

Jim knew it was pertinent that agood water supply was the numberone necessity. The rst step in begin-ning the windbreak process was todrill a water well. After nding thatthere was an adequate water supply,Jim was then able to plant the wind-break.

The windbreak was planted during

early spring of 1995. Jim recalledthat they planted the windbreak intoplanted wheat.

Jim decided that two rows of RedCedars would be sufcient for the

windbreak. Rather than hire some-body to plant the windbreak, Jim alsodecided to do the work himself andplant all the trees.

In order to make sure that the treeswould receive adequate moisture toincrease their chances of advancingand growing successfully, Jim choseto use the method of irrigation bystringing soaker hoses through thetrees.

Invasive weeds were kept undercontrol by rolling out black plas-tic over the soaker hoses that werestrung out. Jim felt that this would bethe most productive approach for amethod of weed control. After all the

soaker hoses and black plastic werein place, the trees were then planted.

Jim does not recall ever having anyproblems with rodents or deer so thatmade the success of the windbreak

that much better.When Jim began his initial search

on planting a windbreak, he lookedto the extension ofce for informa-tion on establishing his windbreakand received very productive helpthere.

Advice that Jim would offer to oth-ers when considering planting wind-breaks would be to use Red Cedartrees.

The reason for this is because hehad never had any problems with in-sects or diseases with that species oftree.

Jim is a retired farmer who gradu-ated from Chapman High School.

Jim Wood

2013 Windbreak AwardJim Wood

CONGRATULATIONS

Dickinson County

Farmers for your

superb soil conservation

practices. Because of

you the soil will be

rich and fertile for

years to come.


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www.abilene-rc.com Soil Conservation, February 2014 3

3rd Generation Family Owned & Operated Company1302 Portland Ave Abilene, Ks 263-2470

Serving Kansas Since 1924

Oils, Grease, Lubricants,Motor Oil & More

We are Valero & Cenex Distributors

& Offer Diesel, Unleaded, Ethanol &

Bio Blended Fuels & More.

Curtis and Jason Stoffer are theproud recipients of the 2013Dickinson County Conservation

District No-Till Award. Curtis and Jasonare a very productive father/son farmingoperation.

Curtis began farming in 1972 and Jasonbegan farming in 1998 after high school.They decided to try their hand at no-tillfarming in 1999. A Case IH 1250 planterand Case IH 500 Air Seeder are used intheir no-till planting.

Utilization of moisture was a very heavy

factor that inuenced Curtis and Jason toexperiment with no-till farming, as well asthe need to avoid topsoil making its wayinto waterways and township ditches af-ter hard, heavy rains. After dry summers,they were looking at how to preserve and

utilize any form and amount of moisturereceived. With no-till farming soil erosioncan still happen but its not as severe.

Crops that Curtis and Jason no-tilled thispast year are as follows: grain sorghum onwheat stubble, soybeans on wheat stubble,soybeans on grain sorghum stalks, wheaton wheat stubble, wheat on harvested soy-beans and alfalfa on wheat stubble.

Curtis and Jason found that the easiestcrop to no-till was wheat into harvestedsoybeans because the soil was generallysoft and mellow with very little residue.

They also found that planting soybeansinto grain sorghum stalks also workedwell.

The most difcult crop to no-till wascontinuous no-till wheat. The reason be-hind this is because too much residue can

Dad Curtis (from left) grandson Matthew and son Jason

2013 No-Till Farmer of the Year Award

Curtis & Jason Stoffer

be a problem for maintaining proper seeddepth and seed to soil contact. Too muchmoisture on the residue can also createproblems when planting. Some wheat va-rieties are not as resistant to the diseasesassociated with high residue. They have

had to treat the seed with a fungicide andinsecticide for plant protection, and alsobe more selective in varieties. The use offungicides on the growing wheat has alsoproved benecial.

About ve years ago, they experimentedwith planting wheat into standing wheatstubble on just a portion of thier acres.They wanted to see how well it worked,what adjustments were necessary beforeplanting all the acres accordingly, and to

see if the results were satisfactory.Problems and concerns that Curtis and

Jason have come across over the years ofno-till farming are the following: 1) Time-liness of spraying, planting, and harvest-ing is always a concern. 2) Wise selectionand use of pesticides is necessary to avoidany type of resistance developing. 3)Equipment updates and changes. 4) Cropvariety selection for no-till farming. 5) In-creased use of fungicides and insecticidesfor plant health. 6) Protability is crucial.

According to Curtis and Jason, there willalways be problems and concerns with ei-ther full-till or no-till.

Managing residue in a continuous wheatsituation is a concern that Curtis and Ja-son are still working on. They started us-ing a Shelborne stripper header to harvestwheat, and with three years of this prac-tice, results have been very positive withany following crop. They also switched to

10 spacing versus 7.5 spacing with theair seeder this past fall. Another arisingproblem is the crop residue in townshipditches.

Curtis and Jason state that they havegained much information on no-till farm-ing by reading articles, attending confer-ences, listening to and observing whatothers are doing, visiting with crop con-sultants and chemical representatives.

Advice that Curtis and Jason have tooffer is Dont be afraid of trying no-tillfarming on part of your acres. Also, if youhave the opportunity, share equipment andlabor with a neighbor.

Benets Curtis and Jason have gainedfrom no-till farming have been improved

soil health, better erosion control, and bet-ter water management.

Curtis graduated from Abilene HighSchool and is married to Peggy. Theywere married in Cuba, Kans., on May28, 1976. Peggy graduated from HillcrestHigh School and Kansas State University.While Curtis currently farms, Peggy is afarmwife/retired teachers aide/para.

Curtis and Peggy have two adult chil-dren and seven grandchildren. Daughter

Jennifer is married to Reggie Hasenbank,and their children are Connor, Addison,Carson, and Carter. Son Jason is marriedto Rebecca, and their children are Katie,Matthew, and Christine. Both families livein Abilene.

Jason graduated from Chapman HighSchool in 1998 and was married to Re-becca in Abilene on March 19, 2005.

Rebecca graduated from PykeSeeStoffer,Page 7


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48

Dennis & Kevin Everett, Owners

Road Building -

Soil Conservation Work

Site Preparation -

Drainage Ditches

Land Leveling -

Clearing - Septic System

Basements - Demolition

Gravel Hauling & Loading

Dozers

Grader

Highloaders Backhoes

Dump Trucks

HettenbacHconstruction coPaul HettenbacH

785-263-5677

Gregg and Shelly

Sexton are theproud recipients

of the 2013 GrasslandAward, awarded by theDickinson County Conser-vation District.

Gregg is a farmer andrancher while Shelly isa grade school para andschool bus driver.

They were married on

Oct. 20, 1984. Their chil-dren are Sarah Bowserof Holton, Jamie Sextonof Abilene and KathleenSchultze of Waldo. Gregggraduated from Chap-man High School in 1976,and Shelly graduated froLarned High School in1977 and K-State Univer-sity in 1981.

Gregg started farming in1976 after graduation andbegan as a grassland man-ager in 1985.

Gregg and Shelly decidedto become good stewardsof their grassland to better

2013 Grassland Award

Gregg and Shelly Sexton

ing questions and for gain-ing knowledge in graz-ing and forage solutions.

When advising oth-ers and making recom-mendations about their

success with their grass-land management, theynoted that they would

denitely encourage indi-viduals to clear the treesout of the grassland areas,as well as seek advice onthe proper grazing rates ac-cording to the type of cattleoperation to be utilized inthe grassland areas.

Gregg and Shelly feel thatit is part of their obligationas landowners and as par-ents to continue to improvethe grassland they haveso that their children andgrandchildren will be ableto enjoy the beauty of thegrasslands and continuethe tradition of improving

and conserving the grass-lands.

Another important pieceof information that Greggthought would be news-worthy and interesting to

others is the fact that theynow have more grass, butwith the same number ofcows as before.

This is all due to bettermanagement practices oftheir grassland. He notesthat it works.

Both Gregg and Shellyenjoy participating in fam-ily activities with theirthree daughters and twoson-in-laws.

In addition to all they doin their busy lives, Greggand Shelly are active atZion Brethren in ChristChurch, and have previ-ously been church Trusteesand board members of theFarmers Coop of Talmage.

manage the resources they

have access to.Presently, Gregg and

Shellys operation con-sists of 30-35 fall cow/calfpairs. They have 200 acresof native grass and 25acres of brome grass thatare grazed. Gregg prefersto graze the brome grassearly, then let it rest. He

rotational grazes the native

grass pasture with a planto burn it once every threeyears.

Challenges that Greggand Shelly have facedover the years in theirgrassland project has beendriven by continuous treeregrowth that has to beconstantly maintained,

as well as water sources/

the lack of moisture.Gregg mentioned that he

would like to install morepaddock fences in order tomake his grassland opera-tion even more effective.

Gregg and Shelly havefound success by turningexclusively to their localNRCS ofce for answer-


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The DickinsonCounty Conser-vation District is

pleased to announce thatthe recipients of the 2013Dickinson County BufferAward are Fred and Jean-nie Traskowsky.

The greatest factors thatinuenced Fred and Jean-nies decision to plant buf-fers was knowing the factthat buffers make betteruse of eld borders, theyprovide a buffer strip tolter chemicals and fertil-

izer, and they increase thewildlife population.

In the spring of 2006,Fred and Jeannie planted27.7 acres of quail buffers.They followed up in thefall of 2006 by planting 23acres of lter strips.

Fred and Jeannie receivedinformation, advice andvaluable information onthe establishment of buf-fers and lter strips fromthe NRCS ofce. Theyalso received informationon cost-share assistance

and participated in thatprogram through NRCS.

Fred and Jeannie foundthat the main benet ofplanting buffers and lterstrips is the increased wild-life habitat, which in returnimproves hunting, aide incontrolling soil erosion,help to lter out chemicalsand fertilizer and becauseof the fact that buffers uti-lize eld borders more pro-ductively.

Invasive trees seem topose the most problems/concerns in the bufferstrips, and seem to be an

ongoing process to keepthem under control and outof the buffer strips.

Fred graduated fromChapman High School andattended Salina Vo-Tech.Jeannie graduated fromNew Underwood HighSchool in South Dakota,and attended South DakotaState University.

Fred and Jeannie weremarried in 1985 in SouthDakota.

Freds occupation isfarming and ranching, andJeannie is involved in sales.They have four children:Mike, Missy, Maria, andMardi. Mike is involvedin farming, Missy works inmarketing, and Maria andMardi both attend Hering-

2013 Buffer Award

Fred & Jeannie Traskowsky

Fred and Jeannie Traskowsky

Hope785-366-7225

[email protected]

www.fnbks.com

[email protected]

www.fnbks.com

Contact us for ALL

your banking needs!

Dickinson CountyConservation District

All programs and services of the Dickinson Coun-ty Conservation District are available to anyone

without regard to race, color, religion, sex, nationalorigin, age, or handicap.

The Conservation District Board meetings are thesecond Monday of every month and are open tothe public. Ofce hours: Monday through Friday, 8a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Conservation District Personnel

Cindy Woofter,District Manager

Teresa Wilson,NPS and Buffer Coordinator

Bill Marston,Drill Manager

Supervisors

Jared Morgan,Chairman

Dennis Marston, Vice Chairman

Matt Gustin, Treasurer

Darren Haney,Member

Francis Anderson,Member

NRCS Personnel

Monty Breneman, Acting District

ConservationistDaniel Carroll,Soil Technician

Allie Rath,Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist

Annuities

College Funding

Retirement Planning

Stocks & Options Strategies

Mutual Funds

IRAs & ROTH IRAs

Insurance Products

Tax-Managed investments

NO BANK GUARANTEE NOT FDIC INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE

Securities & Advisory Services offered through Investment Pr ofessionals, Inc.,

a Registered Broker Dealer & R.I.A. Member FINRA & SIPC

112 North Main Hope, KS 67451

Tel 785-366-7225 Fax 785-366-7333

[email protected]

Dan CookFinancial Consultant

See Buffer,Page 8


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BEEMERCONSTRUCTION

INC.

Terraces Ponds Land Level Feed Lots Waterways Lagoons Site Preparation Septic Systems

388-2428 or 263-6364

ABILENE, KANSAS

A Farmer

Needs The

Right Tools.

Robson Oil Co., Inc.1302 Portland Ave Abilene, Ks

785-263-2470

David Gfeller and

son Heath havebeen selected to

receive the 2013 KansasBankers Soil ConservationAward for their conserva-tion work done on theirDickinson County farm.

The Gfellers operate ap-proximately 1,700 acresof cropland that they par-ticipate in Crop Rotation,

Residue Management, andContour Farming.

David is a farmer and heand Janet both drive busesfor the Chapman schooldistrict. They were mar-

ried on June 14, 1975, and

have three children andthree grandchildren. Da-vid graduated from Chap-man High school and Janetgraduated from AbileneHigh School and attendedMcPherson College. Chil-dren of David and Janet areas follows: Heath Gfeller(wife Stephanie) of Chap-man with daughter Clara

and son Gracen; HeatherGfeller Schumacher (hus-band Darren) of Hays withdaughter Zoe; and DarrenGfeller of Chapman.

Heath is also a farmer and

Heath (left) and David Gfeller

2013 Kansas Bankers Soil

Conservation Award

David and Heath Gfeller

his wife Stephanie is an In-structor and Research As-sistant at the Kansas StateUniversity Center on Ag-ing. They were married onNov. 5, 2005, in JunctionCity. Heath graduated from

Chapman High School andManhattan Area Techni-cal College, and Stephaniegraduated from ChapmanHigh School and KansasState University. Theirdaughter Clara is 5 yearsold and son Gracen is 10months old.

David began farming in1972 and immediately be-

gan participating in con-servation practices at thattime. Heath began farmingwith David in 1997. Rea-sons that inuenced Davidand Heath to become con-servative farmers were tocontinue and to build uponthe practices that Davidsdad Robert had in place topreserve the land by savingand protecting the topsoil

and preventing ditches.Positive results and ben-

ets of the current conser-vation system that Davidand Heath utilize havebeen that the topsoil hasimproved greatly with theno-till planting and con-servation work they havedone. Over the years, they

have seen crop yields in-crease tremendously as adirect result of their con-servation.

David and Heath managea cattle herd of approxi-mately 50 head of cow/

calf pairs. Crops raisedare as follows: 700 acreswheat, 400 acres grain sor-ghum, 300 acres soybeans,and 200 acres hay. Theyalso maintain more than100,000 feet of terraces,and have been instrumen-tal in rebuilding four acresof grassed waterways onrented land.

Interesting informa-tion that David and Heathwould also like to shareis that the current Gfellerfarming operation has beenin the family for ve gen-erations, and three genera-tions (Robert, David andHeath) are currently farm-ing the land together as a

See Gfeller,Page 8

family. In their pastime,David and Janet both enjoyspending as much time aspossible with their fam-ily, especially the grand-children. David and sonDarren enjoy attending K-State football games and


7/8


Web Address: networksplus.net/alida

301 E. Third St.

P.O. Box 489Chapman, Ks 67431

Phone: 785-922-6505Fax: 785-922-6204

Email: [email protected]

Dickinson CountyConservation District

2013 Poster Contest WinnersKindergarten & First Grade

1stplace: Landen Barten St. Andrews Elementary

2ndplace: Aaron Hartman St. Andrews Elementary

3rdplace: Canyn Taylor St. Andrews Elementary

4thplace: Lizzie Brooks St. Andrews Elementary

Honorable Mention: Bennett Altwegg St. Andrews Elementary

Honorable Mention: Luke Hunter St. Andrews Elementary

Honorable Mention: Kayden Thrower St. Andrews Elementary

Second & Third Grade

1stplace: Macy Wiedeman Chapman Elementary 2ndplace: Mara Crane Chapman Elementary

3rdplace: Danny Jackson Chapman Elementary

4thplace: Katie Ramey Chapman Elementary

Honorable Mention: Alexya Harding Chapman Elementary

Honorable Mention: Elyssa Frieze Chapman Elementary

Fourth, Fifth & Sixth Grade

1stplace: Kylie Merritt Chapman Elementary

2ndplace: Taylor Briggs Chapman Elementary

3rdplace: Melody Winkel Chapman Elementary

4thplace: Abigayle Jones Chapman Elementary

Honorable Mention: Naliya Contreras Chapman Elementary

Honorable Mention: Grace Mosher Chapman Elementary

Honorable Mention: Ashley Deters St. Andrews Elementary

Seventh & Eighth Grade

1stplace: Jamie Rock Chapman Middle School

Check us outwww.dickinsoncountyconservationdistrict.com

Businesses interested in advertising in the

Conservation Edition can contact theConservation District at 785-263-2787

for more information.

Knowledgeable agronomiss ready o help

you achieve profiabiliy now, while

mainaining he inegriy of our land.

Caring parners desiring your operaonssuccess as measured oday and in he fuure.

Commited o he fuure generaons abiliyo enjoy he same opporunies.

Valley High School in1997 and attended

Kansas State University.Jason and Rebecca have

three children: Katie 3years old, and twins Mat-thew and Christine 1 yearold.

In his free time, Curtisthoroughly enjoys spend-ing time with his grand-children. Peggy enjoysspending time with thegrandchildren, as well asreading and quilting.

Both Curtis and Peggywere project leaders andworked in departments atthe Central Kansas Free

StofferContinued from Page 3

Fair when the kids wereyounger and involved in4-H. Curtis has also servedas Director on the AbileneCoop and Farmers CoopBoards.

Hobbies that Jason enjoys

would be most importantlyplaying with and spendingtime with the children. Healso enjoys keeping up withthe different changes in ag-riculture.

Rebecca nds enjoymentin going places as a familyand visiting with friends.In addition to farming andparenting, Jason and Re-

becca also do some ll-inteaching at their church,and Jason is on the SPRCCommittee.


8/8


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March 15Crop Insurance is all we do. We are a farmer-ownedagency serving Kansas farmers since 1981.Kev & Rosemary Harrs

Ths Agecy s a Eqa Opportty Provder

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Bank101 S. Broadway

Herington, KS 67449

Phone Fax785-258-BANK 785-258-2384

Doug Smart& Kyle Becker& Brad Berry215 N.W. 15th

263-1920

Soil Conservation is

a publication by the

Dickinson County

Conservation

District, and

published by the

Abilene

Reector-Chronicle.

out of the creek.

Hobbies that Chad enjoysare spending time withhis wife Brittney and son

Brighton. He also thor-oughly enjoys hunting,attending Kansas Statesporting events, as well asspending time with friendsand family.

Brittney also enjoysspending time with Chadand their son, Brighton,

LorsonContinued from Page 1

Fred stays active in the

community by participat-ing as a member of the

Woodbine Fire Depart-ment. He is also the VicePresident of the LyonsCreek Watershed District.On a personal note, Fred

BufferContinued from Page 5

GfellerContinued from Page 6events, while Janet enjoysgardening and knitting.Activities they have beeninvolved in have been4-H, both as members andproject leaders, President,Trustee, and Secretary ofchurch, and serving on theAlida-Pearl Coop board

for 18 years, that of whichfour years David was thePresident.

as well as their two dogs,Hank and Lilly. She lovesmaking crafts and bakingtreats for her boys. Shealso loves to sew, shop,watch Kansas State games,

and spend time with familyand friends.

Chad and Brittney aremembers of the St. Phil-lips Catholic Church andlive in the Hope Town-ship. Chad is a member ofthe North Central KansasCoop and the DickinsonCounty Pheasants Forever.

Along with everyday busylife, Heath and Stephanieare members of the FirstUnited Methodist Churchin Junction City, and are onthe Cemetery Board andBlueridge School PTO.Both Heath and Stephanieenjoy spending time withtheir family and runningtogether in their free time.Stephanie also enjoys her

advocacy work with theKansas Culture ChangeCoalition.

enjoys stock car racing.

Advice Fred would passon to those inquiring aboutor are interested in plantingbuffer strips would be em-

phasis on instilling thesepractices as it is a greatway to utilize eld bordersand helps provide and sup-port wildlife habitats.

We all depend on natural re-sources to survive. It is essen-tial that people understand theimportance of conserving andprotecting natural resources forthe quality and sustainabilityof life. Educating people of allages about natural resources isimperative to effectively ad-dress conservation challenges.

The Dickinson County Con-servation District is dedicatedto educating youth and adultsalike about the value of con-serving our natural resources.Conservation education is ahigh priority of the District be-cause by increasing awarenessand knowledge about conser-vation issues, citizens are moreapt to make informed and re-sponsible decisions.

Tomorrows leaders, whichin all essence are our children,need to be equipped for tomor-rows challenges, and we mustadequately prepare our chil-dren for the future they willinherit. This poses a challengefor us and requires a commit-ment to providing our children

with conservation education.In an era where more and morechildren are disconnected fromnature, the District recognizesthe importance of making areal investment in conservationeducation.

America is in the midst ofone of the most profound andrapid societal shifts in history.Todays generation of childrenis the rst to grow up indoors.Their plugged-in lives are

largely devoid of exploring thenatural world, and we are justbeginning to understand theramications of their virtualworld. The District emphasiz-

es educational programs wewant kids who grow up hereto have a basic knowledge ofwhere their food comes from,where water comes from, andso on.

In this somewhat compli-cated process of promoting andenforcing conservation edu-cation, we hope that we havehelped to produce better in-formed consumers, taxpayers,and decision-makers for thefuture. We also hope to sparkthe interest in those who willbecome the next generation ofproducers, educators and scien-tists.those who will continueon the venture of promotingand improving conservation.

In the whole conservationeducation process, the Districthas the ability to give people ofall ages opportunities to obtainknowledge and create changesto their lifestyle and their envi-ronment, creating awareness,changing behavior and habits,and providing skills and knowl-edge. We strive to help thosegain a wider knowledge, better

understanding, and to impacta sense of stewardship for thenatural resources around us.

While television providesan over-abundance of mate-rial about natural resources, itsgreatest downfall is that it isgeared towards spectators, notparticipants.

Participation is a key elementin the educational programsthat are sponsored by the Dick-inson County Conservation

District. Most of our activitiesare designed to take studentsoutdoors where they have theopportunity to experience na-ture rst hand.

Conservation education

soil tab february 2014

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