2011 River Friendly Farmer Recipients
Photos from the August 17, 2011 ceremony are available for those who were present. Click on the names that appear in blue (underlined) and download the high resolution JPG format photo.
Photo order: Lt Governor Becky Skillman appears on the left, recipients in the middle, and Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock is far right.
Adams County
Randy Roe farms 180 acres producing corn and soybeans. He also has a small poultry operation raising 80 egg-laying chickens, 50 ringneck pheasants and 100 bobwhite quail. The farm is located in the St. Mary's River and Little Yellow Creek Watersheds. Randy has installed a small wetlands and wildlife habitat area; utilized the CRP program; and planted hardwood and carnivorous trees and wildlife shrubs. He also utilizes GPS soil sampling and VRT fertilizer application; and uses no-till and strip-till crop production.
Clay County
David Blair is a grain farmer using corn and soybeans in rotation. He farms in the Lower Eel River Watershed. His conservation practices impact the Lafferty Ditch, the east side of the Eel River, east of White Oak Creek and east of Connelly Ditch. Blair has improved the quality of the water that leaves his farm by installing waterways, and no- tilling his farm land.
Clay County
Greg Wegner has an organic grass-based dairy operation. It is located at the upper end of the Birch Creek Watershed that is part of the Upper Eel River Watershed. They use management intensive grazing to feed their 80-cow milking herd. They are on a six to seven-year cropping rotation. They rotate 30 acres of organic corn which is used for silage to feed the cows in the winter. This also helps to establish new pastures in the fall.
Clinton County
Jeff and Kent Need are part of a multi-generation family farm. They primarily raise corn and soybeans in rotation. Most of the farm lies near the Campbell's Run Creek Watershed. They recently introduced cover crops into the mix as a way to further conserve the soils and nutrients. By moving completely to no-till farming over the past 10 to 15 years, the Needs have drastically reduced the soil, nutrient and chemical runoff into nearby waterways. There is a visable difference during heavy rains in the runoff coming off of their fields. Other conservation practices such as grassed waterways and rotation of crops have been practiced by their family for generations.
Crawford County
Shannon and Robin Haney are livestock farmers. They currently have 25 cows, 20 registered Polled Herefords and five commercial cows. We sell replacement heifers and bulls. They also sell some cattle commercially. Their operation is located in the Turkey Fork Watershed. The cattle are fenced out of the woods which drain into Turkey Fork.
Daviess County
Tom Graham operates a 3,300-acre farm lacated around Washington. He is the sixth generation operator of Graham Farms, Inc. This farm covers everything from high clay bottoms, to sandy upland, covering many differnt soil types. They raise corn, soybeans and wheat. They no-till 1,200 acres a year. The Prairie Creek-Hawes Ditch and Lower White River services most of Graham Farms’ land. Tom actively no-tills, conservation tills, and uses tile and eroision control structures to reduce erosion. Decatur County
Dennis Dickman and his wife, Mary, and their daughter Sarah, operate a grain and livestock farm. Their operation consists of approximately 800 acres, about 700 acres are cropland, and the remaining is pasture and woodland. The farm is located in the Sand Creek Watershed of the Upper East Fork of the White River. Dennis is an avid no-tiller. The Dickmans use grassed waterways, filter strips, waste and nutrient management on their farm to improve water quality, erosion and soil health. They also utilize filter strips to control erosion, sediment and chemical runoff from their fields. Their operation includes a waste storage facility so that animal waste can be applied when conditions are most favorable. Dennis also has a fertilizer storage facility which includes a mixing and loading pad in case of any accidental spillage.
Decatur County
ATK Farms includes Alan (in the photo) and Teresa Kramer and their two children who operate a grain and livestock operation southeast of Greensburg. Their farm includes 600 acres of crops. They also purchase feeder cattle that are pastured during the summer months and then fattened for market. The Kramer's crop rotation includes corn, soybeans and wheat. The farm is located in the Sand Creek Watershed of the Upper East Fork of the White River. Alan uses waterways, filter strips and CRP buffers to prevent sediment from reaching Sand Creek. No-tilling also provides crop residue which reduce runoff and erosion.
DeKalb County
Denny Zeisloft’s family farm began in 1922. The farm today is primarily a 1,200 acre grain farming operation. It operates using both a corn - bean and corn - bean - wheat rotations. Since experimenting with no-till drilled beans in the very early 90’s, production farming is now completed utilizing 100% no-till for both corn and soybeans. The farm also operates under the guidance of a nutrient management plan. Utilizing this plan, regular soil testing is conducted so that fertilizer and herbicides are applied in a manner that protects both the environment and the bottom line. Third generation Denny has continued the farm's conservation interest by experimenting with cover crops. Through a Clean Water Indiana cost-share grant provided by the DeKalb County SWCD he aerial seeded Cereal Rye into 50 acres of soybeans last fall. The Zeisloft’s also buffered all of their streams with filter strips and installed grass waterways.
Dubois County
Jerome Buening operates a 262 acre family farm. Since 1945 it was a dairy farm until it a registered Angus beef herd was started in 2005. They now have 45 cows. They presently raise and sell feeder calves and breeding stock. The 262 acres are utilized as cash rent acres, 12 acres is classified forest and 20 acres are woods. They also have 2.1 acres of waterways, 4.2 acres of filter strips and 60 acres of hay pasture. It is located in the Bruner Creek Watershed. The Buenings keep all of theair main ditches clean and clear. They use no-till to help take care of the water supply. They also utilize filter strips along all major ditches and have 16 dry dams, a lake and 2.1 acres of waterways.
Dubois County
Lloyd Prusz is a corn and soybean farmer. The farm lies mostly in the Sugar Creek Watershed. A typical year would have approximately 240 acres devoted to these crops. They keep between 35 and 40 beef cows. With all the rolling hills and wooded tracts, it is a perfect way to make these acres productive. They sell them as feeder cattle. Some of the highly erodible land is dedicated pastures and hay fields for the cattle. On most of the highly erodible land (HEL)-acres in crop production, they installed dry dams to collect runoff rain water. These temporary holding ponds allow the water to sit for several hours before entering local streams. This allows sediment to settle and stay in the field, keeping the river cleaner. They also utilize no-till on crop acres.
Franklin County
Tim and Jeff Hofer are no-till farmers using a corn and soybean rotation along with cover crops. The farm in the Duck Creek-Headwaters Watershed. They use grass waterways and field tiles, no-till, and fall seeding of cover crops . . . all to maintain their conservation-minded management philosophy on the farm.
Franklin County
Anthony Moning farms in the Bull Fork Salt Creek Watershed. He is a livestock, timber and hay producer. Moning raises Angus cattle. He utilizes no-till, cover crops and tree plantings in his conservation best management practices.
Gibson County
Mark and David Marvel produce commercial and food grade yellow and white corn and commercial soybeans and soybeans for seed production and wheat. The farm is located in the Patoka, Wabash and Black River Watersheds. The Marvels improve water quality through better nutrient management techniques such as the use of nitrification inhibitors, banding of nutrients below the surface, and side dressing where it fits. Use of conservation tillage has reduced nutrient and sediment load. Water and Sediment Control basins, waterways, and buffer strips all keep soil in place. They also utilize some water table control stands on tile outlets to reduce nutrient loss through the tile's outlets. They are beginning to work cover crops into the mix where they fit.
Hendricks County
Owen Hack is a grain, livestock and hay producer. He farms in the West Fork/White Lick Creek Watershed. Owen uses several best management practices to reduce erosion and manage manure, reducing the impact to the stream and improving water quality.
Howard County
Brad and Steve Winger farm approximately 3,400 acres of corn and soybeans along with their sons in Howard County. The Winger farm is located in the Wildcat Creek Watershed. Grassed filter strips, water and sediment control basins (WASCOBs) and cover crops are part of their farming conservation practices.
Huntington County
Steven Hiner is a grain farmer. He utilizes a corn, bean and wheat rotation and uses mulch tillage and no-till beans. He farms in the Huffman-Bolinger-Walter Drains of the Clear Creek / Eel River Watersheds. Steve uses filter strips along streams to reduce nutrients from flowing into the stream. He also has installed grassed waterways to reduce erosion of soils in which prevents sediment entering the streams.
Jasper County
Carroll Tysen has a grain farm along Hodge Ditch. He farms 500 acres of corn and beans and is considered a mulch till farmer. The farm has been in the family since 1947and the Tysen’s son is currently taking over the operation. The Tysens have over 39 acres of filter strips, which covers almost all the ground they farm along open ditches.
Jay County
Darrell & Paula Borders farm in the Little Salamonia Watershed. They are grain and livestock producers. They use filter strips/quail buffers along ALL ditches and streams. The livestock have always been fenced away from ALL ditches and streams and waterways constructed in all viable areas.
Brad Miller, Jay County SWCD Supervisor, accepted the award on behalf of the Borders.
Jay County
Brian Kunkler farms in the Bailey-Zimmerman Watershed along the Salamonie River. He uses creek and wood buffers for wildlife enhancement. Kunkler has also installed filter strips along all Salamonie River ditch banks and installed waterways.
Knox County
Jim and Joe Farris are a father/son operation consisting of 450 acres. They raise corn, soybeans, wheat, tomatoes and sweet corn. Joe backgrounds around 20 to 30 calves a year on pasture. The farm is located in the Upper River Deshee Watershed which is a tributary of the White River. They have no-tilled since 1985 as a way to help address their erosion problems and lower input costs. They have used waterways, WASCOBs, filter strips, and nutrient and pest management to help control erosion and nutrient and pest runoff.
Kosciusko County
A.J. Brown and Sons (photo is of the Brown family including son, Stanley, grandson Neil, matriarch, Dorothy, son, Scott) was established in Kosciusko County by Alton and Dorothy Brown in 1956. It is currently operated by Dorothy and her sons, Stanley (and Elaine) and Scott (and Kim) Brown. Now the third and fourth generation proudly are involved in the primarily grain operation consisting of corn, soybeans and winter wheat. The North farm is located in the Tippecanoe River Watershed. The remaining farm is located in the Eel River Watershed. The Browns were the first in their area to purchase a no-till planter in 1984. They also incorporated the use of cover crops on 100% of their acreage, installed numerous grass waterways, implemented semi-annual soil testing to control nutrient runoff through variable rate fertilizer applications, and test stalk nitrate levels each fall to ensure proper nitrogen use. They also conduct an annual test plot testing a variety of cover crops and cover crop mixes.
Kosciusko County
Ron Longyear’s farm is located in the Tippecanoe River Watershed, seven miles south of Warsaw. The corporation is primarily engaged in crop production. Ron uses crop rotation each year, producing corn and soybeans followed by annual rye grass seeding. All production since approximately 1995 utilizes no-till methods with manure management practices and minimal commercial fertilizer usage. The degree of slope on the 76.5 tillable acres required the installation of grassed waterways to reduce erosion causing washouts. In 2009, Ron started using GPS to plat out soil types from soil tests and to utilize for fertilization planning, seed types and seeding rates. Last year, he began using variable rates for fertilization and seed placement to obtain maximum yields, while not depleting the nutrients from the soil.
LaGrange County
Floyd Miller raises hay and corn for his own use. He has dairy heifers and horses. Healso raises veal calves. His farm is located in the Little Elkhart River Watershed / the Rowe-Eden Ditch. Miller installed gutters on his barn and connected them to a tile to avoid barnyard washoff. He also fenced off his ditch.
LaGrange County
Ervin Yoder’s farm in the Little Elkhart River Watershed consists of 145 acres. He milks 35 Holstein dairy cows plus keeps all offspring heifers for replacements. He also has 14 horses and keeps 50 replacement gilts for his neighbor. He is installing fences and filter strips on both sides of the ditch running through his property, and also is installing water lines to his pastures with Heavy Use Areas for water tanks. He is in the process of installing a vegetative treatment area for the milkhouse and parlor waste water this summer.
Lawrence County
Justin Hawkins’ farm is located in the East Fork White River Watershed. The Hawkins’ raise commercial cattle, harvest hay, and have a small fruit orchard and vegetable garden. The farm is located in the Pleasant Run Stream which is a tributary of Salt Creek. The East Fork of the White River runs through the farm. Justin has implemented numerous conservation practices including High Use Area Protection for feeding, high use roadways, geotech fabric and gravel at all major gateways on the property, CP29 with a livestock tank on the major pond, rock and gravel at major stream crossings, livestock exclusion along the entire stream, timberstand improvements, invasive species removal, cover crops, legume seeding, and rotational grazing.
Martin County
Gary and Mike Gibson are a father/son team who farm 700 acres of corn and soybeans. They have 100 beef cows and also buy and feed out feeder cattle. They also have 350 acres of hay and pasture ground. Their operation is located in the White River Watershed. We farm along Plaster Creek. We utilize tile, filter strips and dry dams.
Miami County
Ray Hanaway The Hanaways utilize primarily a corn and soybean rotation. They farm in the Flowers Creek and Washonis Creek regions. The Hanaways have improved water quality by using various NRCS recommended best management practices. These practices improve water quality by reducing sediment and nutrient inputs into the Eel River, which hosts numerous endangered aquatic organisms.
Newton County
Steven Eilers farms approximately 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans, along with hay, and maintains around 175 acres of CRP and CP33 set aside. His operation is located in the Iroquois River Watershed. Eilers no-tills approximately 75 percent of his acres and incorporates filter strips along all ditches.
Newton County
Jeffrey Plott farms in the Iroquois River Watershed. He is a grain farmer utilizing crop rotation and no-till, as well as grassed filter strips, wetlands and buffers in his conservation toolbox. He also created a nesting habitat for game birds and leaves corn and beans standing for supplemental feeding.
Orange County
Carrol Walters is a grain farmer in the Patoka and Lost River Watersheds. His land is divided within both watersheds. Grassed waterways, grass filter strips, water and sediment control basins (WASCOBs), erosion control structures, no-till planting / seeding, and cover crops are the conservation measures he utilizes in his operation.
Perry County
Brad Harth has three tracts of land that are all managed as tree farms. Each tract is enrolled in the Classified Forest program and managed under those guidelines. All tracts owned by Harth drain into the Anderson River Watershed except the High Water Road tract which drains into Bear Creek and then directly into the Ohio River. A 32 acre tract includes five acres of pasture pasture present when Harth bought the property. This was planted in poplar,ash,oak and Virginia pine in 1994. Forest Stand Improvement practices are used on all sites to maintain tree health, vigor and disease resistance. Grapevine reduction and tree thinning are aggressively practiced and the nominee accompanies the District Forester on all regular inspections. Green certification guidelines are utilized in all practices.
Perry County
Stanley Steckler operates a diversified pasture-based livestock operation. The farm is located in the Sprinkle and Oil Creek watersheds. With all of Steckler’s land remaining in a sod base, the water is filtered and the soil stays on the farm. He farms using organic principles.
Pulaski County
Harold Johnson’s farm consists of corn and soybeans and approximately five acres of filter strips. It is located in the Tippecanoe Watershed. Swingle and Ringen are the two ditches located on the property. The Johnsons have installed 45 acres of filter strips for the past 10 years.
Pulaski County
Sammy Jones’ farming operation is a fourth generation dairy farm that now milks with two robotic milkers. The farm is located in the Tippecanoe River Watershed. In 2003, they were the first robotic milkers in Indiana and there were only 10 robotic dairy farms in the nation. They have a milking herd of 135 dairy cows and sell breeding bulls to other dairy farms. The operation consists of 554 acres: 65 acres are owned, 155 acres are share cropped and 334 acres are cash rented. The ground drains into Indian Creek and ends up in the Tippecanoe River. The quality of the water is improved by having year round cover.
Scott County
Francis McGuire (photo is Francis and his wife, Joann) raises cattle and goats. The goats are full-blooded Kiko that are grazed in rotating paddocks alongside Hereford cattle. He also raises pasture and hay. The operation is located in the Muscatatuck Watershed and the South Fork Blue River; Pigeon Roost Creek-Headwaters . McGuire built three ponds and fenced out livestock. He installed hundreds of feet of gravity-fed waterlines for water tanks in each paddock. He also built several grassed waterways and installed creek crossings with creek exclusions from livestock. He maintains lush, green grass on all of the open fields. In the wooded area he has installed rocked stream crossings. He also installed heavy use area protection pads for his livestock.
St. Joseph County
Mike Burkholder is a corn and soybean farmer in the Kankakee River Watershed. The Aldridge Ditch runs through the property. Filter strips are in place along the ditch to prevent run-off from reaching the open water and filter excess sediment and nutrients as well. Burkholder has no-tilled farmed for over 10 years now. The results are stronger soil structure and health, as well as kept residue on the soil surface, all of which help prevent erosion and filter water maintaining a high water quality on his fields.
St. Joseph County
John Dooms has a grain and dairy operation with a corn and soybean rotation, as well as alfalfa and hay. The farm has been no-tilled since the 70's and uses low-pressure conservative irrigation on 400 of the approximately 800 acres of crops. It is located in the Kankakee River Watershed. Grass filter strips are along side the ditch on the farm to prevent runoff entering the watershed. Where filter strips are not in place, the field has a buffer zone of non-worked ground between the crop and ditch allowing room for sprayers and other equipment to keep from polluting the water directly. Practicing no-till farming also promotes higher water quality as residue matter and improved soil structures help prevent erosion and filters water of pollutants. John also uses a nutrient management system that helps him manage the quantity of potential pollutants that could reach the watershed.
Starke County
James Kopchik is a corn and soybean farmer in the Yellow River Watershed. He utilizes filter strips and surface drains in his operation to help improve and maintain soil and water quality.
Starke County
Gary Medesi is a corn, soybean and mint farmer in the Kankekee River Waterwhed. His farm is located along the Monon Ditch. Medesi also uses filter strips as a best management practice.
Sullivan County
Gary Ready is the fifth generation to farm the land located in the Mariah Creek Watershed. Currently at about 1250 acres of corn / soybean / wheat rotations, Gary began no-tilling in 1978. He became a very active no-tiller in the 1980s and by the 1990's he was at nearly 100% no-till: a single landlord "just isn't open to no-till corn." Much of Gary's ground has not been worked for over 20 years. Ready is strict in his use of the term no-till. Attentive to ephemeral erosion, Ready uses a grader to blade any gullies. He has begun experimenting with cover crops. Not one to be easily convinced, he took a spade to a test plot of annual rye - "no bigger than it was, that stuff had tremendous roots."
Tippecanoe County
John Hack is in a partnership farming operation covering 310 acres in both Tippecanoe and Fountain counties. The operation is principally a corn-soybean rotation, with some pasture that is used for a six-head feeder calf operation. It is located in the Wabash River, Elliott Ditch, Wea Creek, and Big Pine Creek areas. Dean Craig farms the row-crop ground and has been no-tilling beans and corn since 1996 on Hack Farms. The operation is 100% no-till. The farm also includes grassed waterways, wildlife habitat, filterstrips, and HEL ground that is in full compliance with USDA standards. John has improved water quality through the installation of filterstrips, habitat buffers, grassed waterways that are maintained annually with mowing to help improve flow and infiltration, and rock riprap terrace to slow water runoff on HEL ground.
Vermillion County
Brian and Darrell Morgan are part of a three generation grain operation. The farm is located in the Coal Branch of the Vermillion River. They raise about 1,000 acres of corn, 1,000 acres of beans, and 100 acres of wheat each year. They are 100% no-till for all crops. Two years ago Brent returned to the farm; and Darrell’s and Brian’s father, Earl, helps with the operation. They have tiled their own fields that feed into the ditch and then went 100% no-till corn and soybeans. They also have installed filter strips along both sides of the ditch and grassed waterways in every location their District Conservationist recommended.
Wabash County
Robert Hettmansperger Bobby raises corn, soybeand and wheat in both Wabash and Miami Counties. He is heavily involved in seed production and has a strong interest in wildlife habitats. His farms are located in the Engleman Creek Watershed. Bobby uses waterways, wascobs, controlled drainage systems, filter strips, and CP33 field borders. Bobby does not use atrazine on his acres and utilizes no-till practices,as well as nutrient managment plans and cover crops.
Washington County
Brian Motsinger’s farm is located on the Middle Fork Blue River. The farm consist of 163 acres including 65 acres of cropland, 31 acres of pasture, 4.8 acres of CRP filter strips and riparian buffers. He also has a cow / calf operation. Critical area plantings addressed gully erosion in pasture fields. Brian utilizes an access road and Heavy Usage Area Protection (HUAP) in specific locations in the pasture instead of rutting up pastures in the winter and flipping manure and mud off of tractor tires going back and forth from bale storage areas. Also, HUAP allows him to scrape and haul manure on pasture fields that need nutrients. He also installed pipeline and fountains to help with pasture rotation. Brian utilizes no-till on fields. Additionally, he incorporated riparian buffers and installed fencing to exclude cattle from the Blue River. This reduces organic nutrients from the water and removes the source of soil turbidity in the stream.
Washington County
James, Ronald and Jack Strickland (Mack Strickland, seen in the photo, accepted the award for his brothers) work as a team farming 859 acres. They no-till 335 acre corn and 320 soybeans. The Blue River meanders and joins Blue River South Fork in the middle of their farming operation. During the spring season flooding is a challenge and delays planting due to flooding. The Strickland Brothers are very conservation minded and taking care of the natural resources is important.
White County
John Fielding is a corn and soybean farmer in the Lake Shafer area along Caranhan/Timmons Ditches, Pike Creek - Houston Ditch, Lake Shafer - Keans Creek and Williams Ditch. He utilizes vegetative filter strips, cover crops and continuous no-till on his farm.
Whitley County
Dan Michel farms a total of 1,750 acres in a corn - soybean - wheat rotation. He has been working with cover crops in the fall to help prevent erosion and to hold nutrients in place not allowing them to get into our wter systems. There are many open ditches and sub-surface county drains are involved with his operation. Everything has grassed filterstrips protecting the banks from erosion and nutrients from getting into the water.
Whitley County
Tom Henney has 850 acres of corn and soybeans, all produced as no-till crops. He farms in the Thorn Creek, Blue River and Tri-Lakes Watersheds. He is 100% no-till. All open ditches have a minimum of
20 -feet wide filterstrips, waterways, and water and sediment control basins (wascobs). Grassed areas not suitable to farm are managed to protect water quality.
INDIANA ASSOCIATION OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
Our mission is to represent Soil and Water Conservation Districts as one voice, and to assist the leadership of local SWCDs through coordination and education for the wise use and management of our natural resources.
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