kansasagland.com
Winter 2014
Sorghum is giving fourth-generation farmer Earl Roemer a “new life.” Southern Plains Co-op’s Brenham elevator is one of just a few locations across the state binning food-grade milo. Agblog: McPherson County’s Katie Sawyer writes about how GMO technology feeds the world – potentially one “Super Banana” at a time.
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December 2014
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Where there is value, there is business opportunity – even on the rural Kansas plains. Sure, for me, the perfect snack is a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread. However, it seems a growing sector of the American public can’t eat gluten products. But this quarter’s Agland isn’t about the gluten-free debate. Instead, it is about value-added agriculture and a fourth-generation Kansas farmer who saw an opportunity to take the milo he grows on his farm and find a niche market for an ancient, naturally gluten-free crop. No, milo isn’t a superstar in Kansas like corn and wheat, nor has it seen the same research dollars or private investment in the past. But in a state where farmers grow more sorghum and in an area where the Ogallala Aquifer continues to decline, Scott County-area farmer Earl Roemer is investing. He is marketing the sorghum he grows as flour – for both the wholesale and retail market. Nu Life Market, which he began in 2004, has seen sales grow by 150 percent in the past three years, thanks to the gluten-free movement. But he is not the only one capitalizing on
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
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Jan. 5 – Planning for Farm & Ranch Succession, Iola, http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/kams Jan. 10 – Planning for Farm & Ranch Succession, Pratt, http://www.ksre.ksu. edu/kams Jan. 12 – 2014 Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Wichita, (316) 660-0100 or zsimon@ksu.edu Jan. 13 – Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Pittsburg, (620) 724-8233 or jcoltrain@ksu.edu Jan. 14 – Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Emporia, (620) 341-3220 or brees@ksu.edu Jan. 15 – 2014 Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Ottawa, (785) 229-3520 or dhibdon@ksu.edu Jan. 16 – Farm to School Workshop – Hutchinson – ddysart@ ksde.org or http://www. farmtoschool.org/ Jan. 16 – Planning for Farm & Ranch Succession, Manhattan, http://www.
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ksre.ksu.edu Jan. 17 – Planning for Farm & Ranch Succession, Emporia, http://www.ksre. ksu.edu Jan. 20 – Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Salina, (785) 3095850 or tmaxwell@ksu.edu Jan. 21 – Predator Calling and Trapping Seminar, Erie, (620) 224-38826 Jan. 21 – 2014 Farm Bill: Making the Decision, McPherson, (620) 241-1523 or jjames@ksu.edu Jan. 22 – Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Pratt, (620) 6726121 or mploger@ksu.edu Jan. 23 – Farm to School Workshop, Manhattan, ddysart@ksde. org or http://www.farmtoschool.org/ Jan. 26 – Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Goodland, (785) 890-4880 or dbelshe@ksu.edu Jan. 26 – Succession Planning – Garden City, (620) 272-3670 or coltrain@ksu.edu Jan. 26 – Hiring and
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Motivating Employees, Garden City, (620) 272-3670 or coltrain@ksu.edu Jan. 27 – 2014 Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Scott City, (620) 872-2930 or jbeckman@ksu.edu Jan. 28 – Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Liberal, (620) 624-5604 or kharrison@ksu.edu Jan. 29 – 2014 Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Dodge City, (620) 227-4542 or aburns@ksu.edu Jan. 30 – Regional Farmers’ Market Vendor Workshop, Hays, registration site Feb. 3 – Alternative & High Value Crops for SW Kansas, Garden City, (620) 272-3670 or coltrain@ksu.edu Feb. 5 – Planning for the Future: Who Gets the Farm?, Garden City, (620) 272-3670 or coltrain@ksu.edu Feb. 5-6 – Women Managing the Farm Conference, Manhattan, janet. barrows@frontierfarmcredit.
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AGRICULTURE BRIEFS Gavilon acquires elevator in Silica Gavilon Grain announced it has acquired a 981,000-bushel grain facility in Silica. The Silica elevator primarily handles wheat, corn, milo and soybeans, with 60-car shipping capabilities on the KansasOklahoma railroad. “Kansas grain continues to drive demand by our commercial food industry customers that want high-quality wheat,” said Mike Barrett, regional vice president of North American Grain. “We look forward to extending our storage, marketing, cross-country trading and risk management capabilities offered in Wichita and Abilene to our customers and producers in central Kansas. Our local expertise is backed by Gavilon’s strong global network.” The Silica facility is Gavilon’s third grain elevator in Kansas, located 100 miles southwest of its shuttle facility in Abilene and 100 miles northwest of the company’s largest grain elevator in Wichita. For information about Silica cash bids or other business inquiries, call Neil Schwemmer, area manager, at (316) 522-4871. Gavilon is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and employs 2,000 people at nearly 300 facilities and offices worldwide. For more details, visit www.gavilon.com. Sponsor of 3i Show awards scholarships DODGE CITY – The Western Kansas Manufacturers Association,
sponsor of the 3i Show, awarded scholarships to students for the 2014-15 school year. The scholarships are for freshman students who are residents of western Kansas, have graduated from a western Kansas high school and are U.S. citizens. Preference is given to students enrolling in industrial engineering, pre-engineering or business administration. Winners are: Eduardo Martinez, a Dodge City High School graduate, $500 scholarship at Barton Community College; Edward F. Castillo, a Dodge City High School graduate, $500 scholarship at Dodge City Community College; Steven Fisher, a Scott Community High School graduate, $500 scholarship at Northwest Kansas Technical College; Brady Graves, a
Liberal High School graduate, $500 scholarship at Seward County Community College/ATS; Martin Gough, a Scott Community High School graduate, $700 scholarship at Fort Hays State University; Jeffery Bogner, a Garden City High School graduate, $700 scholarship at Kansas State University; and Jeffrey Richmeier, a Thomas More Prep High School graduate, $700 scholarship at the University of Kansas. Scholarships are still available at Colby Community College, Garden City Community College and North Central Kansas Technical College. Scholarships are funded by the annual 3i Show belt-buckle sales. Visit http://3ishow. com/3ishow/merchandise for ordering information.
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Ad sales representatives: Southwest Kansas, call Robin Phelan at 620-275-8500, ext. 225 Northwest Kansas, call Mary Karst at 785-628-1081, ext. 118 Central Kansas, call Dave Gilchrist at 620-694-5700, ext. 200 On the cover: Bret Chilcott launches an AgEagle aircraft from a launcher in Neodesha, Kan. Photo by Sandra J. Milburn/The Hutchinson News.
BY AMY BICKEL
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A promising crop in Kan.: Sun is shining on sorghum
com or http://www.womenmanagingthefarm.info Feb. 6 – Farm to School Workshop, Oakley, ddysart@ksde.org or http:// www.farmtoschool.org/ Feb. 10 – Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Phillipsburg, (785) 543-6845 or codym@ksu.edu Feb. 11 – Farm Bill: Making the Decision, Hays, (785) 6289430 or scampbel@ksu.edu Feb. 17-18 – MAST: Management Analysis and Strategic Thinking, Manhattan, (785) 532-1504 or rvl@ksu.edu Feb. 20 – Farm to School Workshop, Girard, ddysart@ksde.org or http:// www.farmtoschool.org/ Feb. 28 – March 1, Farmers’ Market Conference, Manhattan, registration site March 3 – Planning for Farm & Ranch Succession, Hays, http://www.ksre.ksu. edu/kams
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sorghum. Sorghum checkoff funding is currently working to increase crop yields and improve seed technology. Dollars are also spent on expanding markets, increasing demand and developing new uses. Moreover, says Roemer, sorghum uses half the water of corn. Milo, it seems, has a growing, bright future. Roemer’s company has created more than 20 jobs so far, with prospects to double by next year. And Scott County – like more than 70 other rural Kansas counties that saw population declines after the 2010 census – is seeing growth. The 2013 population estimates show a 2 percent increase in population, although Roemer’s fledgling business is just one of the reasons. Hopefully, the rural revival on the plains continues in other areas of rural Kansas. Maybe more homegrown entrepreneurs like Roemer will have the opportunity to return to their communities and start up businesses, whether they are agriculture-related or something else. Kansas Agland Editor Amy Bickel’s agriculture roots started in Gypsum. She has been covering Kansas agriculture for more than 15 years. Email her with news, photos and other information at abickel@ hutchnews.com or by calling (800) 766-3311, ext. 320.
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December 2014 Page 3
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KANSAS AGLAND
December 2014
The Hutchinson News
‘Mining’ a milo treasure Earl Roemer, Nu Life president, holds a head of black grained sorghum on Oct. 21. The darker the grain seed the more nutrients the grain contains.
Scott Co. farmer seizes on sorghum’s potential, as does K-State University BY AMY BICKEL Kansas Agland
S
COTT CITY – Farming on the High Plains of Kansas, Earl Roemer sees change as opportunity. Sure, he has followed in his ancestors’ footsteps – the fourth generation to farm the land in Scott and neighboring counties. In
addition, just like his father and grandfather, Roemer’s fields include sorghum. However, over the years, Roemer saw a business venture from the crop generally associated with feeding cattle. As a growing number of consumers change their dietary habits, Roemer has been capitalizing on the gluten-free movement. From a large, unassuming building on the outskirts of Scott
Photos by Travis Morisse/The Hutchinson News
Roemer talks Oct. 21 about how his company uses sorghum to produce gluten-free products as a growing number of consumers change their dietary habits. City, Roemer is turning his sorghum crop – or milo, as it is commonly called in the Midwest – into flour. He sells it to big food companies and also produces his own, gluten-free retail products that will begin hitting grocery-store shelves in January.
Roemer talks about the gluten-free and non-GMO products the company produces in the Scott City plant, on Oct. 21.
That’s quite a change from a decade or two ago. While roughly 100 million people around the world were eating grain sorghum every day, few were consuming it in the United States. Yet, in the last three years, said Roemer, his sales have augmented by 150
percent. It is estimated that one in 133 Americans have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects digestion, according to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. Those afflicted have to avoid gluten in their diet, which is found
in wheat, rye and barley. Another growing segment say they just feel better without gluten in their diet. Sorghum, said Roemer, is one of the gluten-free alternatives available in the soaring marketplace.
See SORGHUM / Page 6
The Hutchinson News
KANSAS AGLAND
December 2014 Page 5
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December 2014
KANSAS AGLAND
Nu Life Market in Scott City produces several gluten free products such as the all-purpose flour and the sunflower spread.
Photos by Travis Morisse/The Hutchinson News
Black whole grain sorghum flour is one of the products that the Nu Life Market produces in its plant in Scott City.
Sorghum From PAGE 4 “I didn’t have a clue it would grow like this,” Roemer said of when he began doing research in 2004. “But we definitely saw an opportunity. “The position of the industry is for huge growth for dedicated non-GMO products and also gluten-free. Sorghum fits that. That is why we are having such a huge demand.” A growing market These days, from the Scott City business Roemer calls Nu Life Market, he and his staff are shipping
Nu Life Market produces a popped-sorghum snack food with this industrial-size oven.
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out flour across the nation and even to other countries. Sometimes a truck leaves with 40,000 pounds at a time, heading to well-known companies that Roemer can’t divulge. However, because of demand from Americans, these companies continue to add sorghum products to their business lineups. There are cereals, cake mixes, pancake batter and countless others. Roemer estimates that more than 100 products on grocery-store shelves have sorghum in them, and 90 percent contain flour milled at Nu Life. Efforts to add sorghum to consumers’ diets started about a decade ago, with Kansas State University leading the charge to better develop sorghum flour and
food products. Early products “tasted like cardboard and the texture was like sand,” Roemer said. “Through K-State, they were able to develop something that makes a better baked product,” Roemer said, adding he works closely with university scientists. That includes Fadi Aramouni, a food science professor who has been with K-State for 25 years. Early research determined that a specific particle size of sorghum flour has the best effect on flour characteristics. Then Aramouni and his students began developing products, including award-winners. The American Association
See SORGHUM / Page 7
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
December 2014 Page 7
Sorghum From PAGE 6 of Cereal Chemists honored students with top prizes for a popped sorghum with raspberry and jalapeno flavoring, along with an orange and pineapple tea. In 2009, K-State students won first prize for a gluten-free sorghum waffle cone at an international product development competition. This November, Call Hall’s Dairy Bar on the university campus began serving the sorghum cone, which comes in chocolate and cinnamon. ”I love them,” Aramouni said. “Some people like them better.” Roemer, too, has a test kitchen at Scott City where an employee does recipe and product development, sometimes for large food companies that buy Nu Life flour. The university also continues to do product development with milo and is currently working with three bakeries on about 40 different sorghum-based products. Aramouni expects the market for sorghum as food to continue to grow. “I’m excited because Kansas produces so much sorghum,” he said, later adding of diet trends, “Some things have come and gone away fast, but this one seems to be around for a while. And if we eventually get to the point that it goes away, sorghum will be positioned to stay around, not because it is gluten-free but because it is a good product.” Finding a market on the High Plains Take a drive down K-96 toward Scott City, and it is evident agriculture dominates the landscape. It is the perfect place to start a value-added agriculture company, said Roemer as he stood in one of his fields of milo. Moreover, it is helping boost the area’s economy. ”We’re vertically integrated,” he said. “We take a raw agricultural product from the very beginning and add value to that grain.” In turn, it helps bring population to dwindling rural Kansas, as well as jobs for the young people who venture to college and want to come back home and use their degrees. “One thing that has given me a lot of satisfaction is being able to provide opportunity to young college graduates – primarily from K-State – giving them the opportunity to utilize their degrees, to come back here to a small community and do their job,” Roemer said. He admits it hasn’t been easy. He incorporated Nu Life Market in 2004, largely doing research and development. The growth really started about three to four years ago, he said. He credits his ability to tap into the marketplace because of his business model. It incorporates young talent, along with high-tech systems and stringent quality-control measures. Roemer compares it to manufacturing medicine. Everything is precise, from design to sterilization. For instance, the flooring at
Photos by Travis Morisse/The Hutchinson News
Nu Life employees move containers full of sorghum in part of the storage area of the plant in Scott City on Oct. 21. Nu Life is similar to other big food companies. It has a silver ion in it, which has a negative effect on pathogens like E. coli and salmonella. Meanwhile, each production room has isolated heating and air-conditioning systems to prevent cross contamination. Employees also go through a high level of food safety training, said food safety director Asha Prasad. She said the company received its FSSC 22000 certification for food safety – a stringent program that typically takes three years for a company to achieve. Prasad, who has a doctorate in food safety, had Nu Life certified in eight months. ”It is the highest level of food safety,” Roemer said. “It is very difficult for any commercial food manufacturing company to achieve this high-level audited food safety certification, and we are very proud of this accomplishment.” Besides processing the grain, the farming side also is very strict, he said. Equipment must be free of gluten. There also aren’t any crop production products applied to the plant after it flowers. Milo is binned in a facility used only for milo. All products are sampled, as well, for gluten, said Roemer. That includes when it is binned and before it is shipped to customers. The company also touts being dairy-free and peanut-free, and thus it tests for those as well. Nu Life is also audited by major companies that bring in their own quality-control teams to the production line. Roemer’s company continues to grow in employees. Recently, he added more office and production space. New equipment has helped speed things up. By December, Roemer expected to go from milling 1,000 pounds of flour an hour to milling about 20,000 pounds an hour.
See SORGHUM / Page 8
Roemer discusses how the company makes gluten-free products like the sunflower spread made with the machines behind him on Oct. 21.
NU LIFE PRODUCTS At present, much of Earl Roemer’s milled sorghum goes to big food companies that use his flour to make their own gluten-free products. Roemer, however, does sell retail, including sorghum bran, flour and white pearled sorghum grain, from his online business, www.nulifemarket.com. His flour products include white, burgundy and black sorghum. Developed by Texas A&M, black sorghum has several health benefits. For instance, it is high in antioxidants, with levels higher than even blueberries. Also high in fiber, it is good in products like breads that have a dark color. Recently, Roemer redesigned his labeling, using the same company that branded Starbucks packaging. In January, Nu Life Market sorghum products will be available for purchase at several large retail centers. “Our retail products will first be offered in the Midwest region of the U.S.,” Roemer said.
Nu Life also makes a sunflower spread, marketing it to people with peanut allergies.
When in production, employees process 1,200 pounds an hour. Besides retail, a few companies
use his spread in their own products, including one in Colorado that makes cookies.
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KANSAS AGLAND
December 2014
The Hutchinson News
Milo could aid water woes Though corn competes, ‘cousin’ grows more popular, may benefit western Kan. BY TIM UNRUH Kansas Agland
Grain sorghum could be among the keys to reducing the massive mining of water in western Kansas, once it’s deemed economically desirable. Long an ugly step-cousin in the family of Kansas staple crops, grain sorghum – more commonly known as milo – is growing in popularity as a source for livestock feed, ethanol and, perhaps, human food. It can be raised under irrigation for a third less water than other feedstocks, according to the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association. But there is reluctance among some farmers for the hit they claim they take on revenue. While paychecks vary from year to year, corn is still king in western Kansas, where the Ogallala Aquifer is depleting at an alarming rate. “My approach on this whole thing, when it comes to water, is creating alternative markets. HARSHBERGER It’s gotta be market-driven,” said Gary Harshberger, a farmer using irrigation in the Dodge City area. He also is chairman of the Kansas Water Authority board. Corn is on top “because we have a demand for it,” he said. “Until this point, there really hasn’t been the demand for milo, other than export markets.” ‘Feeders like corn’ The grain, a staple human food in other cultures, is poised to take its place among the commodity leaders as a primary crop that’s planted on the best of land, and not the typical marginal soils, said Sarah Sexton-Bowser. She’s a field staff member for the United Sorghum Checkoff Program and the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission. “It certainly will yield on the higher end, but we need to see it managed as a primary crop,” she said. “Sorghum needs investment from private industry to attack some issues.” Given its drought tolerance, sorghum needs better genetics and good management expertise. Researchers proved long ago that milo,
Sorghum From PAGE 7 The company also added new grain-cleaning equipment that can clean 20,000 pounds of grain an hour. He also expanded into the popped-sorghum market, adding equipment in the fall.
Mike Corn/Kansas Agland
A Gove County farmer makes his way through a field of milo in 2014. like corn, can put weight on cattle, said Christopher Reinhardt, an associate professor and feedlot specialist for Kansas State Research and Extension. “We can make milo almost as effective at finishing cattle as corn is when we steam-flake either grain,” Reinhardt said. “The only difference is corn carries a little more fat content, therefore a little more energy. If they were priced the same, corn would have a slight advantage, to a tune of 1 or 2 percent.” Corn is “everywhere,” Reinhardt said, and available. “If there were a lot of milo and corn were limited, we definitely could use milo,” said Reinhardt. “Corn is the gold standard for our grain industry, our grain exports. Corn is preferred, from a farming standpoint.” Breaking down barriers is the challenge, Harshberger said. “Cattle feeders like corn. It’s what they’re used to,” he said. “We’ve got to get over some of these preconceived notions.” Fiscal factors That could be changing. Time and continued groundwater depletion in western Kansas should
As growth continues, Roemer expects his employee base to double to nearly 50 by next year. He’s still a lifelong farmer. However, he admits he doesn’t sit on a tractor much anymore. His son-in-law, Chance Bezona, and daughter, Katie, are operating the farm. It has been an exciting experience, he said. “It’s been a progression,” Roemer said. “A lot I have to attribute
File photo/The Hutchinson News
This milo in a field south of Haven is seen in 2011. clear more acres for water-conscious crops, such as milo and triticale, said Vance Ehmke, a Lane County farmer. “There is clearly gonna be less corn,” he said. “The economics are in favor of growing milo.”
See MILO / Page 12 to luck. Timing is everything in a business, and without consumer demand we wouldn’t be able to do these things.” Kansas Agland Editor Amy Bickel’s agriculture roots started in Gypsum. She has been covering Kansas agriculture for more than 15 years. Email her with news, photos and other information at abickel@hutchnews. com or by calling (800) 7663311 Ext. 320.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
December 2014 Page 9
Food-grade sorghum gaining with farmers BY AMY BICKEL Kansas Agland
Sorghum – it’s what’s for dinner. And for the past three years at the elevator in the ghost town of Brenham, farmers have been hauling in loads of food-grade sorghum. It’s one of just a few locations across Kansas that is taking food-grade varieties, largely a white sorghum that is good for milling into flour, said Bobby Martin, general manager of Southern Plains Co-op. “We have a waiting list,” Martin said of area farmers who want to participate. It’s a program that has grown every year, he said. The first year, about 12,000
bushels of white sorghum was binned at Brenham. The next year it surpassed 100,000 bushels. This year Martin expects to reach that same total, if not more. The milo is then shipped in 2,000-pound bags to a supplier in Texas who turns it into flour. The supplier had contacted Southern Plains about the opportunity, Martin said. It took a little while for the program to catch on, he said. And it is not as simple as planting and cutting a crop the conventional way. “They have conditions,” Martin said. For instance, fields should be clean of weeds and shatter cane. Combines have to be
cleaned and free of gluten. For those who get the system down, growing foodgrade sorghum is beneficial, he said. “There is a premium for the farmer,” he said. Unlike conventional red milos used for feed, white milo is bred specifically for the food market. It provides a better product for consumers, Martin said. Red milos typically leave a pink color to products. Pink bread, after all, is not a big seller. “The biggest piece for us is we know the breeder and he has been breeding milo for a long time,” Martin said, adding that sorghum “is not genetically modified. We know all the farmers who raises it.
Crop has global need as gluten-free market grows BY AMY BICKEL Kansas Agland
Currently, food-grade sorghum accounts for only 3 percent of the grain sorghum grown in the United States, but it’s a niche market that continues to grow, said Doug Bice, director of high-value markets with the National Sorghum Checkoff. Sure, the market might not mean much for Kansas’ staple crop of wheat, a celiac’s nemesis, as Kansas grows more wheat than any other state in the nation. But Kansas also leads the nation in grain sorghum production – a crop for which proponents like Bice have been working to expand markets both internationally and domestically. For years, however, sorghum hasn’t been as popular as other crops, including corn, which garnishes more research dollars and private s investment. Yet there are signs of growth for
the primeval crop. For starters, sorghum is more drought-tolerant than corn – using about half the water – which makes it a viable alternative to help with the state’s declining Ogallala Aquifer in western Kansas. Bice said checkoff dollars are now going to crop improvement, renewable fuels and other avenues for sorghum. For instance, he said, sorghum is used to make products like packing peanuts, wall board insulation and kitty litter. Meanwhile, while sorghum has long been in use domestically for the feed and fuel industry, in the past few years international markets have opened for sorghum, largely in China, which is purchasing it to feed livestock, including poultry. Higher corn prices forced China to begin purchasing U.S. sorghum, with the first shipment arriving in fall 2013. Bice said China now
is opening its markets to Argentina sorghum, largely because of the short U.S. supply, which will create competition for U.S. farmers. Bice said they are only one-quarter into the marketing year, but already two-thirds of the crop that was exported last year has been shipped out. “Even if they took all the sorghum in the United States, we could not feed all the ducks in China,” he said. Now, sorghum is the latest trend in the food industry. While less than 1 percent of Americans are diagnosed with celiac disease, countless others contend they are “gluten-sensitive” and are taking gluten out of their diet. The gluten-free market size was just $0.6 billion in 2004, according to Packaged Facts. By 2012, gluten-free food and beverages reached $4.2 billion and are poised to grow to nearly $6 billion next year.
“We’d like to see acres grow every year.” In Scott County, farmer Earl Roemer, who mills all his milo crop into flour at his Nu Life Market, said this is the first year he has expanded his “farm to fork” program to include a handful of other farmers. Like at Brenham, all farmers are required to follow Roemer’s food safety guidelines, which includes
making sure combines are free of gluten as well as implementing certain protocols during the growing process. Roemer also has 125,000 bushels of grain storage at his plant to help with quality control. Such procedures help create confidence with consumers that programs like his do everything they can to provide a product free of gluten, he said.
“It is an audited program,” he said. “We’ll even test the grain as they are harvesting.” His growers range from farmers in Nebraska to west Texas. With the expansion to other farmers, he will be able to add a line of certified organic sorghum products, he said. One of his farmers grows about 9 million pounds of certified organic milo.
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 10 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
From Vegas to harvest, the season’s been a whirl I
don’t know about you, but it makes me a little sad to see Christmas advertisements before Thanksgiving. Call me old-fashioned, but it seems like they start earlier every year. Black Friday used to be the official start of Christmas shopping, but I believe stores were gearing up for the holidays in October. We really need to think about what is the real reason for the season. Back here on the farm, wheat is planted and it looks really good. I got a good stand with some very timely rains, and I am experimenting in some seed treatments at planting. It’s not cheap, but when you think about it we need to give the seed every chance at producing a good crop, so why not start it off at the very beginning? I will let you know how much of a difference it makes at harvest. I left a check strip in a couple of fields to prove to myself if
From Honey May farm
Mike Rausch it made a difference. Fall harvest finally finished in November. We really had a hard time drying down milo, for whatever reason. We had some very cool and damp mornings this fall that really stretched out the harvest. Yields were not what I expected. I guess I just felt it looked better before I started cutting. Planting dates were critical this year. If you planted very early, yields were very good, but if you were a little late, they seemed to fall off a bit. Double-crop milo did OK if you caught a few rains. And a few miles seemed to be the difference. We
have some friends who farm less than 10 miles away, and I think they caught a couple of inches we didn’t get and their yields were quite a bit better than where I farm. We seemed to have some standability issues here, also. The variety planted, when you planted and when you got rains seemed to be the reasons. I also think I might have some compaction problems in a couple of fields, so I am going to rip those fields when the time is right. Overall, I was satisfied, although I am looking forward to next year. There are a couple of neighbors who have some standing milo as I write this, and it might be late December before they can cut. I hope we don’t have any ice storms or very wet snows until they get done or they could lose a whole year’s work. Not good. We got the cattle off grass in late September and have
moved them to a dry lot. I was really impressed with the gains off pasture. The cattle did very well over the summer with a little creep feed that we used. It seems to have paid off very well in gains. I’ll put that in my list of things to do again next year. Of course, the cattle prices make the decision a little easier. Who would have believed cattle prices would be this high? But it’s simply supply and demand. We have reduced numbers from the last several years of the drought, and numbers haven’t caught up yet. A lot of farmers’ years of good genetics went to the sale barn because cattlemen didn’t have feed to supplement pastures or didn’t have water even if they had feed. After retiring from milking cows less than two years ago, I decided to rest the pasture here at home simply because it was overgrazed from 30
years of dairying. I could turn the cows out with full stomachs after milking and they would still graze the pasture hard. Fall and winter are time to go to meetings, it seems. Between Farm Bureau, seed and crop meetings – along with educational meetings on the new Farm Bill and throw in Ag-Biz Council meetings and township business – I hardly have a free night. But I feel you have to be engaged to understand what’s happening in today’s world. It also gives me a chance to exchange ideas with fellow farmers, and it gives me time to think back on what I did this year and what I would like to change for next year. For instance, why did my milo seem to fall down and is there anything that I can do differently? In August, my wife, Nancy, surprised me on my birthday with a trip to Las Vegas. I’ve never been there.
It was a fun trip. We went with some friends and spent a couple of days looking at the sights and sounds of Vegas. I couldn’t believe all the people there. I saw “Elvis” several times, and I believe it when people say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas: I just could not believe all the idiots I saw there. However, it was fun and I am looking forward to going back someday, just to make sure that the things I saw I didn’t imagine. In closing, I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year! I hope your coming year is filled with peace and much joy. Mick Rausch and his wife, Nancy, farm near Garden Plain in western Sedgwick County. Their operation includes raising corn, milo, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat, and Rausch has several native grass pastures he bales for hay.
In cold snap, hope for moisture, fewer regulations arises W
ow, what a change in weather! On Monday, Nov. 10, the morning was windless and mild, so I decided to grind roughage. At 9 a.m. it was 70 degrees, but the wind changed to the north and got strong. By sunset that night, the temperature was 20 and still dropping. What a way to welcome the first cold spell. We actually got down to 6 degrees below zero one night during the week before Thanksgiving and have had some snow flurries but no measurable amount of moisture. The fall crops are all in and the machines are put in storage. The feed is all baled but still in the field. My fall crops were better than last year but not anything outstanding. There have been good yields around, but mainly in areas that received rain in May. We were very fortunate that we never had hail as some did in the area. There are a few still waiting on some corn to dry down. The wheat drilling went
Kansas Agland columnist
Lynn Kirkham very well. We had great moisture to plant in. The stands look good and there was some growth before this cold spell, enough that there are cattle out on the drilled wheat in areas. That is something that we haven’t seen in this part of Kansas for several years. I have even heard some comments that they hope the wheat doesn’t get too big. Most of the calves have been weaned. We weaned our calves on Oct. 18. They were bigger than I had guessed. That is always a good feeling. We sent the steers and heifers that we didn’t keep for replacements to the feedlot. We sold a percentage of them to the feedlot owner. Since we grew more grass this
year, we kept back a few more replacement heifers than last year. Hopefully we can gradually build the herd back to where we were before the drought. We have two milo fields fenced and ready to put cows in. I’m not really looking forward to hauling water in freezing weather, but I may have to if it doesn’t warm up. The cows will be only a few miles from the house, so if the weather gets bad we can bring them home quickly. From talking to the neighbors, most are hoping for good winter moisture. That is something we haven’t had for several winters. It makes doing chores rougher but sure helps the spring crops and the grass. With the elections over and control of the Senate in different hands, many out at this end of the state are hoping for fewer of the regulations, which keep putting a burden on the farming and ranching communities. We are also glad we don’t have to listen to
and watch all of the ads on the radio and television. We are entering the time of year to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.
Our farm and ranch would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a joyous new year. Lynn Kirkham, his wife and youngest daughter
and her husband farm and ranch in western Logan County. He started ranching and farming with his father in 1972 and bought his uncle’s farm and ranch in 1975.
The Hutchinson News
KANSAS AGLAND
December 2014 Page 11
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 12 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
Milo From PAGE 8 Kansas Farm Management Association figures showed that milo held an edge of nearly $2 an acre versus corn on net return to labor-management in 2013 – $59.48 to $57.82 an acre – in northwest Kansas. Ehmke peered deeper into those numbers and found that irrigated corn growers in northwest Kansas spent $903 to fetch a yield of 194 bushels to the acre, while the milo growers spent $458 an acre for a yield of 88 bushels to the acre, and a tad more profit. So, for just that one crop year, milo cost less to grow and provided more income. “I will guarantee that the grain sorghum used one helluva lot less water than that corn did,” Ehmke said. Some biases To be fair, one of the clear benefits to corn is in weed control. Roundup-ready corn “made management simple and increased productivity,” said Ehmke. “We do not have Roundup-ready sorghum.” But thanks to a developing resistance to spraying Roundup herbicide, he said, some are being forced to return to the more complicated and costly methods before the Roundup-ready breakthrough. Ehmke, who is also a certified seed grower, was recruited by a seed company a few years back to sell a certain brand. When Ehmke inquired what his profit per bag would be, the company representative told him he would make $5 to $7 for each bag of milo seed and $20 to $50 a bag for corn. “Seed companies want you to raise corn because
File photo/The Hutchinson News
Adam Baldwin cuts milo in a combine while his father, Dwight Baldwin, drives a grain cart in one of their fields near Inman on Oct. 22, 2013. lower insurance value, and this is a big incentive to plant corn.”
Tim Unruh/Kansas Agland
Vance Ehmke is shown. they make more money,” Ehmke said. “Biases are strongly incorporated into farm policy and insurance policy. Sorghum has a much
Milo and ethanol Milo markets are growing, however. Sorghum is beginning to appear in U.S. food products, particularly as a substitute for wheat for those who can’t tolerate gluten. It’s also used in ethanol production. Western Plains Energy, in Gove County, can make ethanol from either commodity, said Derek Peine, general manager. But it costs a little more to process milo and the grain yields less ethanol than corn. “When we’re buying,
SORGHUM RECIPES Sorghum Flour Waffles Ingredients 2 eggs (separated) 1¾ cup rice milk ¼ cup corn oil 2/3rd cup Nu Life Market’s White Sorghum Flour 2 tablespoons sugar 4 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder 1/3rd cup potato starch 1¾ teaspoon xanthan gum 1 teaspoon salt Instructions Beat egg yolks, stir in rice milk and oil. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, potato starch, xanthan gum and salt (for best results, whisk together before adding to liquids); stir until all lumps are gone. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into batter. Bake and serve according to your waffle-iron instructions. Thin & Crispy Sorghum Pizza Crust Ingredients 1-1/3rd cup Nu Life Market White Whole Grain Sorghum Flour 2/3rd cup potato starch 4 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon cream of tartar 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons xanthan gum ½ cup shortening cup rice milk Garlic powder or granules Olive oil Instructions Preheat oven to 450°F. Put dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk briskly to mix. Add the shortening to the dry ingredients in small chunks. Using a pastry fork, cut shortening into the flour mix until it is a crumbly texture. Add rice milk. Mix together until dough forms a
sticky ball. Knead dough on a floured surface. Continue to work dough, adding flour if necessary. Dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hand. It will have a slightly silky feel. Roll dough into a ball and place on an ungreased pizza pan. Flatten dough and pat toward edges of pan. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Gently roll the edges over to form a ridge. Bake for 12 minutes at 450°F. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Deep Dark Chocolate Sorghum Cupcakes Ingredients 2 cups sugar 2 cups Nu Life Market Black Whole Grain Sorghum Flour ¼ cup tapioca starch ¾ cup baking cocoa ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder 1 cup potato starch 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon xanthan gum 2 eggs 1 egg white 1 cup dairy-free rice milk ½ cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup boiling water Instructions Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, potato starch, salt and xanthan gum. Add eggs, egg white, rice milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Remove mixer; stir in boiling water. Pour batter into prepared pans (greased and floured). Bake about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely before frosting. Makes about 27 cupcakes Source: Nu Life Market
we’re looking at the price of corn today versus the price of milo, and we make our decision on those economics,” he said. “Going forward, based on economics, we expect to use predominantly corn.” What could tip that balance in milo’s favor is if ethanol plants can achieve advanced biofuel status. That requires using
non-corn-based starch, and a renewable form of energy. If that occurred, Peine said, sorghum producers would see increased demand for their grain, and the plant would receive an economic incentive for making an advanced biofuel over the traditional fuel-grade ethanol. Milo easily fits that requirement, he said. The
problem is the energy mandate. “In the western twothirds of Kansas, we could use more and more milo. It’s the other piece that’s difficult to achieve,” he said. “We’re interested in participating and doing what we can to save the water resources of the state.”
See MILO / Page 13
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
December 2014 Page 13
No pirate tale: Blackleg a bad but avoidable menace to herds A
long, long time ago, a vicious menace sailed the high seas. This was a pirate the likes of none other in recorded history. He sailed silently and took precious cargo from unsuspecting ships. Many faithful captains of fortified flotillas fell victim to this scalawag when they least expected. This pirate was known as Blackleg. To my knowledge, there was not actually a famous pirate called Blackleg. Instead, there is a sneaky livestock clostridial disease known
Milo From PAGE 12 ‘Good fit’ out west About 40 percent of the milo raised in the United States was exported last year to places such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East where it’s consumed by both livestock and humans. Another 30 percent is used to make ethanol and feed cattle through distillers grain, and about 2 percent encompasses domestic human food, said Bowser, of the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission. Milo also is used in construction products, birdseed and pet food. Looking ahead, milo could be poised to snatch irrigated acres in western Kansas as demand grows and groundwater
as blackleg. Clostridia is a family of diseases caused by spores present in numerous soils and digestive tracts of many animal species. Spores can live for years undisturbed and be of little
consequence to livestock. Often, the healthiest, largest and best-gaining animals are the ones afflicted. When blackleg does strike, it takes silent and swift action. Typically, the first symptom is four legs in the air. If you are fortunate to catch a calf beforehand, consider yourself lucky. Be on the lookout for bruises in muscles, swelling around the legs, limping or generally depressed behavior. Spring or other times of rapid forage growth
tables fall. “The market distortion is coming from the government’s subsidy for crop insurance that’s heavily weighted for corn, especially for dry land,” said Tanner Ehmke, Vance’s son. He farms in Lane and Gove counties. “We’ve seen a lot of kamikaze corn planted into land with no moisture, and they’re going to get some very lucrative insurance settlements,” he said. Grain sorghum has a case, said farmer Harshberger. “I don’t prophesy that milo’s gonna replace corn, but it’s darn sure a good fit out here,” he said. When you factor in the cost of pumping water, low commodity prices are currently in milo’s favor, Vance Ehmke said. “Farmers are not stupid, and at the end of the day they are doing what makes them more money,” he said. Alternative crops, such as triticale – the Ehmkes are
seed producers for that crop – will become more popular, too, Vance Ehmke predicted. Triticale is irrigated during cooler months and it’s harvested sooner because it’s not reaped for seed, thus saving water. The plants are ground and fed to cattle as ensilage. Conditions are ripe for water supplies to influence planting less water-intensive crops. “The worst thing you could do in terms of water was having eight-dollar (a bushel) corn. The most effective way of curtailing water is making it very unprofitable to use,” Vance Ehmke said. “Three-dollar-and-50cent corn is a powerful law.” Tim Unruh is an agricultural journalist with the Salina Journal. He grew up on a diversified farm near Deerfield, the son of a grain-elevator manager and a teacher. He can be reached at (785) 822-1419; email tunruh@salina.com.
Kansas Agland columnist
Anthony Ruiz
help transport soil-borne spores up to grazing height, where they are consumed by livestock. Also, drought conditions where animals are forced to graze close to the ground can cause spores to be ingested. Consult with your local veterinarian for treatment options. Ironically, the cost of blackleg prevention is minuscule. For cents, livestock operators can prevent this disease with a vaccine. It is not uncommon to visit with longtime cattle raisers
who simply forgo blackleg vaccines because, they say, “I haven’t had a problem with blackleg in years.” Popular blackleg vaccines are sold in seven- and eightway combinations. The mix covers a variety of other clostridial diseases and tetanus. Visit with your personal veterinarian or local extension agent to see which vaccine fits your needs. Blackleg is often dismissed as a non-problem. That is when this scalawag silently takes precious livestock
inventory from unsuspecting producers, viciously menacing unsuspecting animals in your herd. Blackleg the pirate may be an old sailor’s story, but blackleg the clostridial disease is not. Protect your animal investments on the seas of grass that Kansas is known for to prevent this scourge from robbing your treasure chest. Anthony Ruiz is the Central Kansas Extension District livestock agent, based in Minneapolis. Email: anruiz@ksu.edu.
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The Hutchinson News
‘Super banana’ shows tech’s value to ag M
ost of us have the luxury of spending this holiday season celebrating with food, feasts and family meals. Technology and a rapidly advancing agriculture industry have allowed farmers to provide a safe, affordable food supply that provides for our country and millions outside our borders. But it is the same technology that has caused some consumers to begin questioning the safety and long-term effects of genetically modified crops. We have all read about individuals and organizations, including the United Nations, who truly believe that the solution lies in separating technology and food production.
Kansas Farm Bureau
Katie Sawyer While that would appease the GMO opponents, what many naysayers don’t realize is that technology has allowed farmers to not only feed the world but to simultaneously deliver nutrient-enhanced crops that are key to childhood development and combatting curable diseases in many developing nations. Starting in the 1960s, scientists began using technology to boost the
nutritional value of commonly consumed foods. Golden Rice was developed by researchers and delivers up to 23 percent more Vitamin A when compared to white rice commonly grown in Southeast Asia. (A lack of Vitamin A dampens a child’s immune system, leaving it susceptible to a multitude of common ailments, including blindness.) That discovery, dubbed the Green Revolution, proved to be only the first of several technological advancements that have improved basic food staples and helped subsistence farmers feed growing populations. The work continues, and today scientists are preparing to test Vitamin A-enhanced bananas that,
if successful, will be grown by farmers in Uganda and be a primary tool in reducing infant deaths and blindness. Time magazine recently included this discovery as one of its 25 Best Inventions of 2014. “These bananas could potentially solve a major health problem,” James Dale, an Australian biogeneticist, told Time. While some Americans question this newest use of technology in agriculture, mothers across sub-Saharan Africa will look to these simple bananas as a life-saving solution for their babies and children. Technology isn’t just being used to enhance products; researchers at Kansas State University are
participating in the federal Feed the Future initiative, which aims to remove the hurdles to common production issues in developing nations. Technology is the driver of the solutions, but sometimes the research leads to low-tech outcomes, like using insects to do work that chemicals or machines might have done. The marriage of technology and agriculture has done more than create GMO crops; it has delivered life-saving products and solutions that feed and nourish millions across the globe. If the agriculture industry loses the ability to insert technology into the equation, the result will be a world with more sick, hungry and
malnourished people. When consumers and organizations advocate for the end of technology in food production, they are essentially removing a valuable tool for saving lives and filling plates this holiday season. Katie and her husband, Derek Sawyer, farm and raise cattle in McPherson County. Katie works full-time off the farm but advocates for agriculture through her involvement in Kansas CommonGround, Kansas Farm Bureau and her blog, which can be found at www. newtothefarm.wordpress. com. She is also the co-host of “That’s My Farm,” aired every Friday on AG AM in Kansas. Follow Katie on Twitter at @Sawyerfarm.
Bureau looks to continue leading on vital issues T
his is the last piece you’ll see from me in the Kansas Agland publication, at least as president of Kansas Farm Bureau. Our annual meeting marked the last time I’d lead this state’s largest farm organization. Richard Felts, a Montgomery County farmer, was elected to lead Kansas Farm Bureau, and I know he’ll do a great job. KFB is poised to lead in the important issues that affect our livelihoods. I truly enjoyed my time serving as president. Together, we accomplished many things. We worked hard to build strong relationships with those who represent us in Topeka and Washington, D.C. We saw policy wins in taxes, transportation, water, eminent domain, property rights and rural development. If you’re in the business of farming and ranching, you know how important it is to engage with our elected officials. I’ve said that many, many times, and it still rings true. Our urban-centered legislature isn’t going away
Kansas Farm Bureau
Steve Baccus anytime soon. We’ve also focused heavily in the legal arena. Kansas Farm Bureau is leading a coalition to stop the “endangered” listing of the lesser prairie chicken. If radical environmentalists succeed in forcing the federal government to list the lesser prairie chicken as an endangered species, farming, ranching and energy development in 39 counties in western Kansas will be drastically altered. Private property rights will be set aside, rural towns will suffer, and county tax bases will shrink as working land is taken out of production. And we’re starting to grow our relationships in another area: We’ve come to understand the value of connecting with consumers – those moms who
have questions about the food they’re feeding their families. They want to hear from farmers and ranchers. They want to hear why our food in America is safe, and they want to know the story behind it. We know why we make the decisions we do, but we need to do a better job of sharing that with the consuming public. It’s not something that comes easily to most of us, but it’s vitally important that we step up and try. As I think back about my time at the helm, it comes down to people. It takes time to be an advocate for our industry. It means you take time away from your operation to attend meetings, engage on topics that matter, and educate yourself on issues that affect your livelihood. It’s not going to get any easier, and I know Kansas Farm Bureau will continue to lead on important issues and in the arenas that matter. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank some important people. I want to
thank my wife, Pat, for her patience and support. She has been there throughout my tenure as president, and I couldn’t have done it without her. I also want to thank Les Johns. Les is the person who ran the day-to-day operation of my farm.
I simply could not have taken the time required to do this work with Farm Bureau if I didn’t have Les at home taking care of my entire farming operation. I’m looking forward to spending more time with Pat and on my farm, and
I know the bureau and the industry are in good hands. Merry Christmas! Steve Baccus is a retired president of Kansas Farm Bureau and had served in that capacity since 2002. He and his wife, Pat, farm in Ottawa County.
The Hutchinson News
KANSAS AGLAND
December 2014 Page 15
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The Hutchinson News
Beef prices spur rustling risk Branding, change in routine urged to protect cattle; small herds nationwide play part in market BY TIM HORAN Kansas Agland
With the price of cattle at an all-time high, area farmers and ranchers could see an increase in cattle thefts, said Anthony Ruiz, livestock production agent for the Central Kansas Extension District. “There is always going to be a contingency of people that are looking to make a quick buck in rural Kansas, which most of Kansas is,” Ruiz said. “There are cattle there, and to some people that is going to be a quick $100 or $1,000.” The Farmers & Ranchers Livestock Commission’s market report in late November had steers selling for between $1,300 and $2,000. “Right now we are looking at record prices,” Ruiz said. “That’s a lot of money.” Cheyenne County Sheriff Cody Beeson said he is investigating the theft of 12 to 14 recently weaned Black Angus bulls and heifers. The cattle were reported missing Nov. 19 from a ranch south of Wheeler owned by David Ritter. The cattle, each with a
yellow tag in the left ear, were in a pen with other cattle. “It was a quick grab-and-go,” Beeson said. The cattle were valued at an estimated $20,000. Beeson advised ranchers to beef up security. Another incident It wasn’t the only recent incident involving cattle. On Sept. 23, someone illegally dumped a load of cowhides in the 2600 block of Mohawk Road, north of Canton. Capt. Doug Anderson, of the McPherson County Sheriff ’s Office, said several leads have been pursued. “They haven’t panned out,” he said. “We don’t have any cattle missing.” Ruiz said the hides could indicate the cattle were stolen. “But that isn’t your run-of-the-mill rustler,” he said. “That’s a pretty sizable chunk of meat. ... That’s taking it to a whole new level. Most people would want to take it to the sale barn, get quick cash and be gone.” Branding advised Ruiz advises ranchers to register a brand and brand the cattle, making it more
difficult to sell stolen cattle by simply removing an ear identification. That would require thieves to remove the cowhides. However, Mike Samples, manager of Farmers & Ranchers Livestock of Salina, said brands are not checked in Saline County. He said, though, that he will report cattle theft. “If people inform us, we keep an eye out. If there is something suspicious, we try to curtail it,” he said. “We try to do everything we can.” Change routines Ruiz said ranchers should change their routines and not feed at the same time so potential thieves can’t take advantage of a schedule. “Another thing is to install some deer cameras,” he said. “Take a look at who’s coming onto your property. Any way you can be vigilant to know what’s going on at your operation when you’re not there will help.” Cattle numbers down Ruiz said the cow herd nationwide is as small as it has been since the 1960s, which is driving up prices. He said there are a couple
of reasons for the drop in numbers. “We have become so much more effective in producing pounds,” Ruiz said. “We have better genetics. We have larger calves at weaning time. We have all these technological advances, and at the end of the day we have fewer and fewer actual
heads of mom cows producing calves.” Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas also have been dealing with drought for several years. “This year, we experienced an almost national drought,” Ruiz said. “Out west they got really dry and they had to ship cows.” He said the agriculture
census shows there were 24,578 head of cattle in Saline County in 2012 compared with 34,581 head in 2007. In Ottawa County, there were 41,602 head of cattle in 2012, compared with 48,787 in 2007. Tim Horan is a reporter at the Salina Journal. Email him at thoran@salina.com.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
December 2014 Page 17
KC co-op, China firm to build milk-powder plant BY STEVE EVERLY Kansas City Star
China’s taste for imported milk is making a splash in Kansas. A Chinese company and the Dairy Farmers of America, a dairy cooperative based in Kansas City, have announced an agreement to build a $100 million plant in the state that will squeeze out 88,000 tons of tmilk powder a year. The plant’s location was not disclosed, but it’s thought that western Kansas is the lending contender because that’s where most of the state’s milk production is located. Industry observers greeted the deal as a milestone in this country’s interest in grabbing a bigger share of China’s surging demand for dairy products. Milk powder, without the weight and spoilage issues of fresh milk, is suitable for export. “It’s kind of our growing up,” said Alan Levitt, vice president of communications for the U.S. Dairy Export Council. “To put up a plant geared to exports is very significant.” The Kansas City cooperative, owned by 13,000 dairy farmers, disclosed little about the deal except to confirm the partnership with Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group and that it’s an outgrowth of a strategic partnership formed two years ago with the Chinese company. Rick Smith, president and CEO of Dairy Farmers of America, said Yili, the leading Chinese dairy processor, was an impressive and fitting partner. “Today, we have committed to a historic initiative to bring DFA and Yili even closer together,” he said in a statement. The partnership calls for Dairy Farmers of America to contribute $70 million and the Chinese company $30 million to build the plant, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited a filing at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In December 2013, Dairy Farmers of America opened a milk-powder plant in Nevada. That facility, which doesn’t have a partner, has about half the capacity of
File photo/The Hutchinson News
Dairy employees move some 2,500 cattle through this milking facility during each shift. The dairy runs 24 hours a day. the one proposed in Kansas. The Nevada facility has roughly 45 employees. China has been dogged by quality problems with food. In 2006, tainted infant formula killed six babies. Inferior pork produced in the country was seen as one of the reasons it acquired Smithfield Foods in 2013. But a growing population, along with the money for a shifting appetite, has China scrambling to supply enough milk. “The story in China is demand,” said Pamela Ruegg, an associate professor of dairy science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The university is creating a curriculum for a $400 million dairy training center in China that will include dairy farm management to help the country increase
its milk production. But Levitt, of the Dairy Export Council, said China will still have a long-term need for imports and it wants to diversify where those come from. It has relied on New Zealand for 60 percent of those imports, but a drought last year caused problems. The U.S. has seen its exports to China rise, but they have not been so much for milk as in a byproduct like whey. The plant should also be a boost for Kansas dairy farmers who have 137,000 cows and provide $592 million to the state’s economy. “Anything that helps demand is certainly going to help hold up prices,” said Robin Reid, extension associate for agriculture economics at Kansas State University.
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Page 18 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
Pouring work into a plan Group envisions bringing historic Dodge City building back to life as a distillery BY KATHY HANKS Kansas Agland
DODGE CITY – Atop a hill where outlaws once were laid to rest, an aging beauty will soon get a facelift. Several western Kansas farmers are turning Dodge City’s former city hall into Boot Hill Distillery. If all goes according to plan, the business could open as early as the middle of July 2015. Back in the 1870s, the land was Boot Hill Cemetery. Then, from 1878 through 1927, the property housed a public school. But by 1929 a Spanish-revival colonial-style building was built on the spot and it became Dodge City’s Municipal Building. The structure at 501 W. Spruce St., however, has been standing empty and in disrepair for a number of years. Chris Holovach, of Scott City, along with Roger and Hayes Kelman, Sublette, have invested in the Boot Hill Distillery. Hayes Kelman, 23, a fifth-year K-State senior majoring in agriculture and business, plans to be the distiller of the whiskey made from the corn grown on his family’s farm in Haskell County. “We will provide everything, as much as we can, from farm to bottle,” Kelman said. While any grain will work, Kelman said the primary ingredient at Boot Hill Distillery will be corn. What moved the project forward was a Community Development Block Grant awarded in late August for $190,649 to stabilize and repair the building, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The work will include tuck-pointing the brick walls, roof repair and the removal of asbestos. The funds will be matched with $63,560 in private funds. The grant was awarded under the commercial rehabilitation category of CDBG funding. To receive funds, a project must benefit low- and moderate-income individuals,
Photos by Megan May/The Hutchinson News
A broad view of what will be the distillery room at Boot Hill Distillery in Dodge City is seen on Aug. 27.
The site of a new distillery in Dodge City is seen on Aug. 27. Originally, the property was the Boot Hill Cemetery. Later it became a public school and eventually it was the city municipal building. remove or prevent slum or blight condition, or eliminate an urgent need created by a disaster when local funds are unavailable,
said Melissa McCoy, project development coordinator for Dodge City. CDBG commercial rehabilitation funding helps
Other rooms in the distillery will be used for a tasting room and gift shop.
cities improve the quality of their downtown commercial districts by assisting private property owners with the rehabilitation of
blighted buildings. The intent is to reverse the blight and encourage adjacent property owners to improve their buildings. “Boot Hill Distillery will be a great asset for tourism and downtown revitalization,” McCoy said. Immediate plans were to gather bids for refurbishing the tile roof, tuck-pointing the bricks and removing the asbestos. “As soon as the asbestos is taken out, we’ll move in equipment,” Hayes Kelman said. Kelman explained that they chose Dodge City to locate the distillery because of its rich history. The town was built from whiskey. An early businessman, G.M. Hoover, constructed a sod bar to sell his whiskey. Centrally located with a commanding view of the city, the municipal building
was designed by Mann and Company, Hutchinson architects and engineers, back in 1929. It was built to house not just municipal offices, but also to serve as a police station and fire station. Local firemen used to live upstairs in the nowempty building while on duty. Downstairs, where firetrucks once parked, the vats for distilling will be housed. Other rooms in the former city hall will be used for a tasting room and gift shop. The site also contains three commemorative markers, a statue of a cowboy, and two Corinthian column lamp posts. It was nominated for its local significance in the areas of government, social history and architecture.
SeeDISTILLERY /Page19
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The Hutchinson News
December 2014 Page 19
Manufacturing site open Customer request for baler part spurred plan for area plant that’s seeking workers BY JOHN GREEN
Markle said. “Many equipment manufacturers would prefer just to assemble the machines, rather than manufacture the parts,” Markle said. “A lot of manufacturers are asking us to do it turnkey. All the major ag manufacturers would be
AGCO, New Holland, Vermeer, some other third parties for John Deere. It’s a great growth area.” They also anticipate signing some industrial equipment manufacturers that use belting in their processes, like log plumes or elevator belts. “Anything with a belt,” Markle said. “It’s exciting to me,” said Markle, who was manager at the former Master Machine Co. in Hutchinson for 30 years, then managed Precision Patterns another decade. “Though it’s a startup operation, I’ve been doing business with these customers for a number of years.” Markle acquired the 34,000-square-foot insulated former Collins Industries building in 2001 through receivership. The brightly lit building, he noted, has heating, air conditioning and a vacuum air system. It also has a large break room and office area. Their capital investment will be $2.5 million to $3 million, he said. The plant will make various sizes of tubing, both in circumference and length, then weld balls on the ends of the steel tubes to hold the
our customers, including
rollers in place.
Kansas Agland
When area businessman Jim McMurry got a request from one of his customers to consider manufacturing a part for its hay baler, he contacted longtime friend and business associate Ed Markle to talk about it. Five months later, the two men have a building, equipment on its way and their first order – worth more than $1 million. Now the pair, who combined have more than 50 years’ experience running manufacturing companies, are looking for workers to staff Prairie Rollers LLC, 1700 E. Essex Road. The plant at the Hutchinson Air Base Industrial Tract will make steel idler bars and drive rollers. McMurry is owner of Prairie Belting Inc., an Anthony business that makes drive belts for balers, conveyors and other agricultural uses. It’s at that plant he occasionally adds a rubber coating to steel rollers manufactured by others that Prairie Rollers will now create. McMurry, who managed Cessna Fluid Power in Hutchinson for 20 years before it became the Eaton plant, also owns Nance Manufacturing in Wichita,
A roll-belt round baler forms a bale by moving hay through a series of belts and rollers Several sizes of the drive rollers and idler bars are to be manufactured by Prairie Rollers
Source: New Holland Agriculture
Jim Heck/The Hutchinson News
a company that manufactures lathes and CNC machines and does other precision machining. Nance will make a lot of the equipment for the new plant, and production of the new products will start there until the Yoder-area plant is up and running. Within most production agricultural equipment, belts and rollers drive the
equipment and perform its functions, Markle explained. The rubberized rollers drive the belts, while uncoated steel rollers, called idler bars, change the belt’s direction inside. A large hay-baling machine, for example, has a couple of drive rollers and at least five steel idlers. The rollers can be found in combines, swathers and bailers,
said. A 1927 statue of a cowboy stands above a plaque that bears these words: “On the ashes of my campfire this city is built.” The model for the statue was local cowboy Joe Sughrue, Dodge City chief of police from 1933 to 1936. They plastered his entire body to make a mold that clogged his nostrils, preventing him from breathing and nearly killing him. Distilleries come in a variety of sizes, from the tiniest to large spaces the size of Wal-Mart. It was the location of the 1,200-squarefoot building that sold the buyers.
Hayes Kelman’s plan was always to go back to the farm, and now the plan is to farm and make whiskey. From putting the seed in the ground to growing it and harvesting it, he’ll be able to control the quality of whiskey from the beginning to the end. Kelman learned how to distill through classes. “It’s the same as making beer with one more step,” he said. He will graduate from college in May, just months before the distillery is set to open. Meanwhile, he continues to multitask with classes and the business of building a distillery.
k
Distillery From PAGE 18
The site also contains three commemorative markers, a statue of a cowboy, and two Corinthian column lamp posts. It was nominated for its local significance in the areas of government, social history and architecture. The group of statues at Fourth and Spruce, to the east of a mission-style building, may not be in the best condition, but that might be what makes them so fun to discover, McCoy
The first year, they expect to employ 14 to 17 workers, adding more incrementally, including sales staff, as sales grow. “Conservatively, we’ll add four or five a year,” Markle said. “But if it goes like most things ag, it could double quickly.” The first order, said Daryl Markle, Ed Markle’s son and plant operations manager, has already grown from 800 to 955 rollers. They need machinists, welders and “all aspects of a machine shop,” McMurry said. “For some indirect positions, we’ll look at any skilled person,” he said. “We know what the work ethic in Hutchinson is and what the town is like,” McMurry said. “There are good resources to draw from. I partnered with Ed because of his background in machining. I couldn’t go wrong having him design it.” McMurry and Markle are co-owners of the company, with Markle as chief executive officer and McMurry as chief operating officer. John Green is business editor at The Hutchinson News. Email him at jgreen@ hutchnews.com.
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 20 December 2014
File photo/The Hutchinson News
A Case IH combine unloads its wheat into a grain cart outside of Pleasantview on July 2.
Farmer settles fuss over seeds Wheat organization brought case over transaction for protected Everest variety BY AMY BICKEL Kansas Agland
The Kansas Wheat Alliance said Dec. 1 that it has accepted $10,000 to settle a claim against Weir, Kansas, farmer Paul Simpson for an alleged infringement of selling the Everest wheat variety without authorization. Such actions are a violation of federal law. The Plant Variety Protection Act protects the property rights of the breeding work done by private or public entities. Farmers have the right to save and replant seed of most wheat varieties when they buy certified seed, but they don’t have the right to sell the progeny as seed. However, when farmers purchase illegal seed, they lose the right to save and replant their own seed. “Almost all of the popular wheat varieties in Kansas are PVP-protected,” said Daryl Strouts, the alliance’s president, in a press release. “There has been an ongoing effort to educate farmers since 1970 about the U.S. Plant Variety Protection
Act.” Education efforts include the mailing of 50,000 brochures annually to producers in the central plains. “If farmers don’t know about PVP, it’s because they don’t want to know,” Strouts said. Meanwhile, Strouts said in the release, many farmers buy certified seed, which supports the seed industry. “By purchasing certified seed, farmers support public and private research programs, which provide them with significant advancements in access to improved wheat varieties at a much faster rate,” he said. Thus, royalties can go back to universities like K-State for further wheat research. Groups have ramped up efforts to stop “brown-bagging” in the past decade. In 2010, the alliance, along with the K-State Research Foundation, took legal action against two eastern Kansas farmers for allegedly buying uncertified wheat from a grower, then planting the wheat for reproductive purposes.
A year before that, the Kansas Wheat Alliance filed a lawsuit against an Oklahoma farmer for a similar accusation. That lawsuit was settled a month later, with the farmer agreeing to pay the alliance $50,000 in damages, as well as destroy all the disputed seed. “If the wheat industry is ever going to catch up to the advances made in corn and soybeans, it will have to begin with farmers purchasing more certified seed each year,” Strouts said. The alliance reported in the release that 80 percent of the wheat grown in Washington state is planted with certified seed each year, along with 50 percent in Colorado. It allows those states to access improved wheat varieties at a much faster rate. Kansas and most of the southern plains have planted only about 25 percent certified wheat seed since the 1980s. While there have been improvements in wheat varieties, they have been greatly outpaced by the improvements in corn and soybeans.
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KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
From Kansas ... with love Web allows rural venues to be Santa for wider customer base BY AMY BICKEL Kansas Agland
MODOC – To make a little extra money a few years ago, Tonja Williams dug into the cookbook for old family recipes and began whipping up bonbons, toffees and other treats. She tweaked the recipes to her liking, then began to sell them to her co-workers at a Scott City elementary school. When her son was earning money to go on a missions trip, she marketed her products through Facebook to help him fundraise. “Within two and a half weeks, he had his money, and we had donations for other people trying to get their money together,” she said. Her baked goods were a hit. So, in January, Williams, whose husband farms, turned their single-car garage near the tiny town of Modoc in Scott County into a food production kitchen. She
started a Web page for her fledgling bakery business – Tonja’s Toffee – and started selling the products on the Internet, at craft shows and through other avenues. Now, amid the Christmas season, her sales have augmented for toffee, bonbons and peanut brittle as corporations buy her gift baskets and her retail outlets demand more product. Internet traffic is increasing, as well. For rural entrepreneurs like Williams, distance would have been a roadblock for growth a decade or so ago. But even in Modoc, Kansas, technology is spiraling cottage industries. “The Internet has totally changed how people do business, how they shop,” she said. “Sometimes they want to buy something not everyone has access to.” Moreover, with Christmas approaching, she isn’t the only one banking on holiday sales in rural Kansas. Mark Galloway, who sells
coffee at his Lindsborgbased Blacksmith Coffee Roastery, markets his product to about 60 retail locations in Kansas, as well as online. Meanwhile, in Clyde, a young couple decided to venture home to the farm and began growing and selling popcorn. “I think there are definitely more opportunities out there than ever for people to sell product online for an international audience,” said Galloway, who noted that the Christmas season is his busiest time. “That is exciting for rural America.” Stacy Mayo, director of the state’s From the Land of Kansas brand, said the program that relaunched in 2013 continues to see more startups enrolling as members. Recently, the program launched a “Shop Kansas” campaign for Christmas.
See GIFTS / Page 23
KANSAS GIFTS Why not “shop Kansas” this holiday season? Kansas entrepreneurs have a wide variety of products, from food to artisan coffee to even handcrafted wares. Here’s a list of just a few we put together, although there are many others not listed. If you know of one in our coverage area, please email abickel@hutchnews.com. Barbecue Knackies has roots in Inman and a restaurant in McPherson. Kay Knackstedt started a small commercial bakery in her home in 1990. Then, due to customer requests, she started catering on a part-time basis. Steve, Kay’s husband, was pouring sauce and basting ribs in the evenings to help. According to their website - bear-b-cue. com - he secretly went to work in the kitchen developing a “house” sauce. In order to meet customer demand, the sauce was bottled in easily accessible “bear” bottles with flip top lids. Thus the name Bear-B-Cue. Caffeine fix In a little town known for its Swedish heritage, Mark Galloway and his wife, Nancy, have discriminating taste when it comes to coffee. Tucked away in Lindsborg’s old blacksmith shop, Galloway is forging coffee rather than metal. At the site, called Blacksmith Coffee Roastery, the
Galloways market their coffees to dozens of independent grocers and coffee shops in Kansas, as well as online. The end result isn’t just any old cup of coffee, after all, Mark Galloway is known to tell customers - it’s a hand-forged premium concoction using beans from across the globe. http://blacksmithcoffee.com/ Wine and more Growlers of beer make a great gift, says Marci Penner. And Kansas has many breweries. Kansas has roughly 16 breweries, including Liquid Bread Brewing Co. in Hays and Hank is Wiser Brewery in Cheney. Meanwhile, she added, Kansas’ growing wine industry also is a good Christmas option. Kansas has nearly 25 wineries. To find your favorite, visit http://kansasgrapesandwines.com. Outdoor cookbook Wichita Eagle outdoor writer Michael Pearce put together this excellent fish-and-game cookbook. “Michael Pearce’s Taste of Kansas Outdoors Cookbook” is a detailed book by Pearce, with help from several co-workers at The Eagle. According to The Eagle, Pearce put half a century of cooking knowledge and 10 years of his nature photographs into the book. The $19.95 book is available at The Eagle’s customer service counter, 825 E. Douglas, or customercare.kansas.com/books.
December 2014 Page 21
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 22 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
Food for thought Group of touring bloggers gets agriculture-based perspective of what we eat BY AMY BICKEL Kansas Agland
Watching cattle graze in a McPherson County pasture, food and mom blogger Annie Shultz admitted she had never set foot on a working family farm with cattle and crops. But now the mother of three from Manhattan hoped she could dispel some myths to some of her foodie followers who are also generations removed from the farm and post critically about conventional farming practices. After all, she said, what she had seen so far on the Kansas Farmer Bureau and Kansas Soybean Association blogger tour didn’t raise concerns. Instead, she said, she met farmers passionate about farming. She learned more about the high-tech and capital-intensive techniques they use to operate. “I wanted to do this tour because when I’m online talking to other parents, they are emotional about food choices,” Shultz said during the blogger tour in mid-October, adding that a recent blog post about touring a hog facility conjured up a discussion on the pros and cons of farrowing crates. Many farmers, however, are no longer being reactive in a world where social media and other outlets can spread misinformation quickly. Instead, as McPherson County farmer Derek Sawyer puts it, he’s trying to enlighten a group that has never been on a farm or really knows how food is produced. And, he said, he didn’t hide anything – including the reasons he uses antibiotics, hormones and genetically modified seed.
“Too many people close their eyes and make uneducated decisions,” said Sawyer, whose farm was one of the stops on the three-day tour across Kansas. “For too many generations we tried to hide – not put ourselves out there,” he added. “But that can’t be done anymore. We have to step out and tell people what we do and why we enjoy doing it.” It’s why the Kansas Farm Bureau, along with the soybean association, decided to have a tour, said Meagan Cramer, with KFB. The idea started when the organization had a half-day tour for bloggers at a small operation near Kansas City. But the bloggers wanted to know more, including how bigger, conventional farmers in the more rural areas of Kansas operate. Bloggers are paid a small stipend as long as they blog, honestly, about their experience. “We want it to be genuine,” Cramer said. “We haven’t told them what to say or talk about these things.” Cramer said she hoped a few myths were dispelled during the tour. For instance, despite concerns from some about hormones in meats, federal law doesn’t allow added hormones to pork and poultry, according to the American Meat Institute. Moreover, no food can be “hormone-free” like some organic producers tout. It can be free of added hormones, but it is not hormone-free. Meanwhile, said Sawyer, an 8-ounce steak still has a few nanograms of estrogen whether there are added hormones or not. Hormone implants double that amount, but
Photos by Amy Bickel/The Hutchinson News
Derek Sawyer stands in his soybean field talking to food bloggers who were part of the Kansas Farm Bureau and Kansas Soybean Association agriculture tour across Kansas.
Sawyer tells food bloggers and others about his cattle operation during the tour. Sawyer discussed why he might use antibiotics on the farm. it is still far less than one 8-ounce serving of cabbage, which has 5,411 nanograms of naturally occurring estrogen, according to the American Meat Institute. And, Sawyer added, noting that he knew his audience was women, don’t even bring up the amounts in birth control. For most, the experience was an eye-opener. While touring a field of milo, one blogger asked what milo is and what it is used for. Sawyer said his
Cindy Hopper, Topeka, left, takes a photo of milo held by LaShonda Woodard, Kansas City.
milo largely goes to a local ethanol plant. Topeka blogger Cindy Hopper walked through a patch of soybeans, snapping pictures. Her first connection with a farm came through her husband, who grew up on a farm and inherited a farm near Salina. They have someone farm their land, she said. Her husband, whom she
met at Bethany College, is passionate about the land, she said. “When you grow up on a farm, you have a sensibility of the land and what it can bring,” she said. “Just a connection to your environment.” LaShonda Woodard, Kansas City, said her grandmother had a small farm in Oklahoma, but it sold when she was in early high
school. Knowing only a little about farming, she met Cramer at a social media blogger conference and decided to go on the tour. She left the tour impressed with farmers’ dedication and care for their crops and livestock. At all stops, she said, she felt welcomed to the farm.
See FOOD / Page 23
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
AGRICULTURE BRIEFS Seminar will focus on farm succession GARDEN CITY – K-State Research and Extension will hold a “Planning for the Future: Who gets the farm?” seminar from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 5 at Clarion Inn in Garden City. The seminar will be hosted by Finney County Extension, Scott County Extension, Wichita County Extension and Gray County Extension. Speakers include: Dr. Ron Hanson, Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of NebraskaLincoln; Debra Bolton; Gordon Dowel; and Kevin Herbel. The costs are $40 per person, which includes handouts; additional family and/or students are $20 per person. Additional handouts are $10 each. Registrations must be received by Jan. 25. Late registrations (after Jan. 25) are $50. For more details, contact the Finney County Extension office at 501 S. 9th St., Garden City, KS 67846; call (620) 272-3670 or email coltrain@ksu.edu. State fair honors ranching families The Kansas State Fair
Supreme Drive was the backdrop for the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation Wall of Honor Awards. The Wall of Honor is a program managed by the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation to recognize Kansas ranching families. Recipients are recognized on the Wall of Honor, located in the Prairie Pavilion. Standing on the green chips to receive this honor was Jim Houck. Houck is described by some as the epitome of the American cowboy. A man full of never-ending wisdom, he is quick to share his many wild adventures with anyone who will listen. Houck’s ranch, Rock Creek Ranch in Allen, started out as a small operation with roughly 600 acres. Today Jim, his wife, Jean, and son Jeff manage nearly 3,500 acres of prime pasture in the Flint Hills and several hundred head of Simmental and commercial cows. “The foundation identifies individuals who are leaders within the industry and have displayed characteristics that are above reproach,” said Pat Koons, Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation Wall of Honor chairman. The mission of the Kansas Fairgrounds
Foundation is to raise funds for the renovation, preservation and beautification of the historical Kansas State Fairgrounds. Servi-Tech names new president, CEO Servi-Tech is pleased to begin a new era of making the planet more productive with its announcement of Greg Ruehle as the new president and CEO. Ruehle will begin his position in January after the retirement of Mitch Counce, who has served as president and CEO RUEHLE since 1992. “I am thrilled to be joining Servi-Tech, a company that I believe is uniquely positioned to provide leadership to agriculture now and into the future,” Ruehle said. “As an expert in agronomy, lab analysis and precision agriculture, Servi-Tech fills a growing need for unbiased data and advice.” Ruehle was raised on a diversified, family-owned grain and livestock farm in northwest Iowa and still provides management oversight
today on behalf of his family. He is a graduate of Texas Christian University’s Ranch Management Program and has a degree in animal science from Oklahoma State. He has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience, including with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Washington, D.C.; Nebraska Cattlemen; and the American Shorthorn Association. Ruehle comes to Servi-Tech from the Independent Professional Seed Association, where he has served as chief executive officer since 2005. “We are fortunate to have someone of Greg’s caliber carry on the outstanding leadership that Mitch Counce has provided since 1992,” read the statement. Servi-Tech, the country’s largest agronomic firm, was organized in 1975 by three farmer-owned cooperatives to provide technical service for agricultural producers in southwest Kansas. Servi-Tech provides consulting to about 2,000 farmers across seven states and over 1 million acres. Servi-Tech Laboratories has agricultural customers in all 50 states and over six countries.
December 2014 Page 23
Gifts From PAGE 21 Christmas, she said, “is when they get a lot of gift sales, companies buying corporate gifts. There is a lot of opportunity in the holiday market.” But it also creates more competition, admitted Lindsborg’s Galloway, noting that he competes with many others who have “backdoor” sales via the World Wide Web. “The Internet allows anybody to open a shop,” he said. “Even if you are in a rural community, the challenge is getting seen online because others are doing the same thing you are.” Still, he said, he sells internationally, marketing to finicky coffee aficionados who often will pay more for shipping than the cost of the coffee. One of Galloway’s exotic coffees costs $64 for a half-pound. The state Agriculture Department’s program, however, works with companies on marketing, including through social media, Mayo said. In a storefront in Norwich, Sharon Rowan said she and her husband
Food From PAGE 22 “We were on their porch, breaking bread,
Amy Bickel/Kansas Agland
Food bloggers stand in Derek and Katie Sawyer’s milo field. The bloggers are part of a Kansas agriculture tour, sponsored by the Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Soybean Association, which is aimed at educating mothers removed from the family farm about where their food comes from.
ON THE NET Cindy Hopper’s Skip to My Lou: http://www. skiptomylou.org/ Annie Shultz’s Mama Dweeb: http://mamadweeb.com/ LaShonda Woodard’s Fashion Plate KC: http:// www.fashionplatekc.com/
Jim’s honey business sees the biggest sales from October through December. Jim Rowan has raised bees for 58 years. He sold honey out of his home, but 12 years ago he decided to open a Rowan’s Honey Shop in the Kingman County town. They ship a lot via the Internet, especially for gifts, but Rowan added that a majority of their business is people coming to the store. They sell traditional honey, as well as honey barbecue sauce, honey horseradish mustard, jams and jellies, lip balm, soaps and other items. Back on the farm near Modoc, Williams, who teaches part-time Title 1 reading at the Scott County elementary school, was busy making toffee. She has a couple of high school girls who help her, as well as a daughter, who is a senior. Her husband also helps in his spare time, she said, adding that she drives trucks and tractors during his busy season, and he works in the kitchen and mails orders during hers. “I have several orders for Christmas boxes that I have to get filled,” she said. “I just sent him to town with a shipment.”
eating lunch with them,” she said about a stop at a family’s hog farm in northeast Kansas. “I just like that they are passionate about what they do, that they really love it. To find out where your food comes from and then meet the people who grow it, it makes you appreciate what they do even more.”
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 24 December 2014
New Farm Bureau president is Montgomery Co. ag man KANSAS AGLAND
MANHATTAN – Richard Felts, a Montgomery County farmer, was elected president of the Kansas Farm Bureau, replacing Steve Baccus, who has served in the position since 2002. Currently, the Felts farm is a diversified grain operation with wheat, corn and soybeans. They also grow out breeding stock for a major swine company and maintain a small cow herd. The partnership is operated by Felts, son Darren, a brother, Larry, and Larry’s son-in-law. Nemaha County farmer Jeff Grossenbacher was elected as vice president during the annual meeting in Manhattan recently. Others elected to the board of directors include: George Pretz, Miami County;
•
Richard Felts, Kansas Farm Bureau president, is seen here.
• • • •
Bob Voegele, Cowley County; Doug Zillinger, Phillips County; Joe Jury, Gray County; Gerald Franklin, Sherman County. Nearly 400 Kansas Farm Bureau members
attended the meeting, which included wrapping up business and debating and adopting policy, along with the election of a new president. Topics of discussion at the 96th annual meeting included protection of private data, expanding opportunities for Kansas agriculture, endangered species, transportation funding and energy. Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran thanked Baccus for his service to the industry during his tenure with the state’s largest farm organization. Baccus had been on the KFB board of directors for 17 years. Baccus talked about the past accomplishments, as well as looked to the future, in a goodbye column for Kansas Agland. To read Baccus’ blog, visit www. kansasagland.com.
Report states Kansas has 2.9 million irrigated acres THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WICHITA – A new government report shows more Kansas farms put more acres under irrigation last year than in 2008, when the last survey was taken. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Nov. 14 that its survey showed 5,243 Kansas farms were irrigating 2.85 million acres of crops last year. That compares with the 2008 survey when 4,508 farms were irrigating 2.57 million acres. The agency says Kansas farmers spent an average of $56.73 per acre last year to irrigate crops from wells. The average depth of wells in the state was 103 feet. Most acres were also irrigated with sprinkler systems in Kansas.
Travis Morisse/The Hutchinson News
An irrigation system waters a corn field on July 1, north of Sublette.
The Hutchinson News
Let’s cut through iffy bid to ax meat Eliminate meat from my diet? No way. Just the thought of it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Be honest: Have you ever thrown a couple of pounds of linguine on the grill and watched it cook while you sipped a fine burgundy or single-malt scotch? Don’t get me wrong; I love vegetables. I eat them with every meal. However, I consider them a side dish – essential, but for me the main course is meat, whether it is beef, pork, lamb or chicken. I love fresh fish, too. When it comes to eating, the truth is, nothing compares to the smell, sound and taste of a steak sizzling over an open fire. Kansas City Strip. T-bone. Porterhouse. Ribeye. Thick. Juicy. Delicious. Fist-sized pork chops aren’t bad, either. And don’t forget a grilled leg of lamb. Superb dining. Unfortunately, a widespread general consensus on red meat can be summed up in two words: “Eat less.” This has triggered a decline in the
AGLAND COLUMNIST John Schlageck consumption of red meat and a drop in income for livestock producers. Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve their health and that of our planet. It was founded in 2003 by marketing professional Sid Lerner. When it comes to making decisions about the food I eat, I prefer to consider the findings of someone who has conducted scientific research on what makes a healthy diet. The question here becomes whether the concerns about red meat are scientifically sound. The U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests eating two to three servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts each day. The key is to choose lean cuts of meat and trim the fat from the meat before or after cooking. No matter how you cut it, all lean meats are high in nutritional quality. Beef,
pork and lamb have been recognized as healthy sources of top-quality protein, as well as thiamin, pantothenic acid, niacin and vitamins B6 and B12. Red meats are also excellent sources of iron, copper, zinc and manganese – minerals not easily obtained in sufficient amounts in diets without meats, according to food guidelines by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Lean meats eaten in moderation as part of a varied diet, including lots of fruits and vegetables, are not only healthy but also essential. Just as important, beef-steak, pork roast and lamb chops taste good. Fire up the grill. Writing this column has made me hungry. John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwest Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion. He is editor of Kansas Farm Bureau’s publication Kansas Living.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
Courtesy KFAC
Dianna Deniston is shown working with students.
Area teacher receives award for combining agriculture, math BY ANGIE HAFLICH Kansas Agland
Last November, students at Victor Ornelas Elementary School got hands-on with math using some real-world tools. Milo, soybeans, corn and pumpkins became the figures in a formula for a little out-ofthe-box learning that has since been recognized with a state award. “It was hands on, students were engaged, the interest level was high,” Dianna Deniston, instructional coach at Victor Ornelas Elementary, recalled. “The presenters were very informative, and we had ‘real farmers’ helping out. The environment we set up had an agricultural richness that students embraced.” Seeing the kids so engaged was its own reward, but the event has also earned Deniston a real-life reward, the 2015 Janet Sims Memorial Teacher of the Year by the Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. It recognizes teachers who instill a passion for learning about agriculture in their students while integrating the education into pre-existing curricula. All the Ag Math Day activities fit Common Core
standards, Deniston said, and were tailored to the level of the learner. “It was a big honor to receive the award,” she said. “We live in an agricultural community and kids see farming all around them here – combines, tractors, sprayers, trucks hauling grain and livestock – it’s all around us and our kids know so little about it. So this is just a good opportunity to have the relationships developed with the kids and the farmers.” Deniston will be honored with the award at the Bookmark Art and Teacher of the Year celebration during Kansas Ag Month in March 2015. As KFAC’s Teacher of the Year, she will have the opportunity to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Louisville, Ky., in June 2015. The High Plains Journal is sponsoring her trip. “(Dianna) is definitely a role model for her peers and very deserving of the award,” said Cathy Musick, KFAC executive director. “KFAC applauds teachers who implement agriculture into their classrooms. It’s encouraging to see creative examples of knowledge gained during summer institutes applied in a school district.” The award is named in
honor of Janet Sims, who died in 2007. She was on the KFAC board of directors. “I think that was one of the areas where she really wanted to raise awareness and get more educators involved in combining agriculture with real-world learning,” Deniston said. Deniston came up with the idea after taking a KFAC course at K-State. She was looking for ways to use agriculture to teach math and, with the help of Jennifer Gerber, Finney County Farm Bureau coordinator, Ag Math Day began taking shape. “Jennifer was the one who was able to bring in all the farmers and all the resources, and then I took that and put the math part in with it,” Deniston said. The school had its second ag math day in November. The learning opportunities go beyond math, Deniston said. “We’re also going to be doing an activity showing how farming is a team effort,” she said, “to help the kids understand that the farmer isn’t out there by himself or herself, but that there are so many businesses depending on the farmer, and that the farmer depends on them.” Angie Haflich is a reporter at the Garden City Telegram.
Special to Kansas Agland
Older children measured the circumference of pumpkins while younger kids ranked them from smallest to tallest at a pumpkin patch station.
December 2014 Page 25
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 26 December 2014
Irrigation issue in central Kan. stirring concern
The Hutchinson News
One of two center-pivot irrigation systems installed recently north of Miltonvale is seen in this photo.
BY TIM UNRUH Kansas Agland
MILTONVALE – Folks have noticed drilling rigs poking holes in the central Kansas prairie, and they’re wondering about the ramifications of transforming pastures and dryland fields into irrigated cropland. Those with the power to permit drilling insist controls are in place to protect the water supply so neighbors aren’t harmed when farmers add wells. Increased drilling in areas such as Cloud and Ottawa counties is part of a trend, said Lane Letourneau, water appropriation program manager for the Kansas Division of Water Resources. “We’re seeing irrigation development in areas of Kansas that weren’t before,” he said. Requests for drilling permits in central Kansas are increasing, he said, as are efforts to capture surface water in the state’s northeast region. “One thing that drove it, we think, was the higher crop prices,” Letourneau said, “as these guys had a little money ahead.” Dwindling supplies As water officials from across Kansas gathered in November at the Governor’s Water Conference in Manhattan to discuss meeting current and future needs, recent development will surely be on the mind of Martha Tasker, Salina’s director of utilities. Much of the reason for Gov. Sam Brownback’s call to action at the water conference last year was to address dwindling supplies in irrigation-laden western Kansas. Many of the meetings Tasker attended addressed the overdevelopment of irrigation in some areas. She farms in Ottawa County, where new irrigation development is evident. “I wonder if they’re making the same mistake again. You just have to wonder that when you look out across the way,” Tasker said. “We’ve got what we’ve got. We know it can be used up. We’ve seen it happen.” Irrigation increasing Some of the new irrigation is close to farmer Rod Yonally. He can count eight center pivot irrigation systems within 2 miles of his farmstead north of Miltonvale. The most recent two pivots were built this year and haven’t been put into operation. Yonally is concerned about how the demand on underground supplies from nearby irrigation will affect his ability to water his cattle. Or bathe. When his cattle herd is brought closer to home for the winter, tanks are filled from the same domestic well that supplies his home.
Photos by Tom Dorsey/Kansas Agland
Dryland farmer and rancher Rod Yonally takes a break from drilling wheat near Miltonvale to talk about the increase in water-well drilling close to his home. “It’s got to the point to where if we were watering livestock, you didn’t wash a load of clothes or take a shower,” Yonally said. “Our water table has gone down in each of the last six years. It is progressively getting worse.” Yonally said that when he moved back to his family homestead about seven years ago, there were no issues with his well. He doesn’t claim to be a hydrologist but forms opinions based on the evidence at his disposal, and he believes that irrigation is having an effect on underground water supplies in his area. “The only proof I have is my well,” he said. “I’ve got some good friends who irrigate, and I’ve asked those guys. They claim the water you irrigate with is from a different water table altogether. “We agree to disagree in a very friendly manner.” Yonally doesn’t irrigate, nor does he intend to pursue the practice, but he doesn’t blame those who do. “I don’t begrudge anybody trying to make money. That’s what we’re all trying to do,” he said. “Nobody’s pulling any shenanigans. They’re all legal, in my opinion.” He would prefer stricter regulations. “You can’t tell me what happened in western Kansas isn’t going to happen here. Nothing lasts forever,” Yonally said. No need to panic There is no reason to panic, Letourneau said. “People are more and more educated about water,” he said. Many of the systems going in throughout central Kansas are meant to supplement crops during dry periods, he said, and not necessarily achieve the full irrigation necessary for crop requirements.
“The statute says we shall appropriate water if there is no impairment and it meets the public interest,” Letourneau said. Recharge considered But the amount of water that’s sucked out of the ground can’t exceed what is considered safe yield, and that won’t affect other wells operating nearby. The state calculates safe yield based on the amount of water available to recharge an underground water source within a 2-mile circle. In this area, Letourneau said, the recharge would be 1,340 acre feet, as determined by the U.S. Geological Survey. An acre foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land one foot deep, or 325,851 gallons. In this scenario, Letourneau said the Division of Water Resources would deem there are 1,000 acre feet available, leaving 25 percent to protect domestic use and base flow. “For example, if the first application came in, if they requested any amount up to 1,000 acre feet, it would be approved,” he said. Once the 1,000 acre feet are exhausted, any further irrigation development would exceed safe yield and applications from then on are dismissed. Another requirement is that wells are spaced at least a quarter-mile apart for those pulling from shallow wells in the alluvial aquifers, and farther apart for deeper wells. Domestic wells are protected through well spacing and from the 25 percent not appropriated. Applications increase The DWR received 22 applications in 2012 to drill irrigation wells in Ottawa, Cloud and Clay counties. Two were dismissed and
seven were approved. The other 13 remained pending review for processing. In 2013, there were 22 applications. Six were dismissed
and nine were approved. The other seven applications will remain on the books, Letourneau said. Normally, 90 percent of
the applications are for irrigation, he said. Of the 28 applications filed this year from those three counties, 10 were dismissed and 11 were approved. The rest will stay under consideration. “As you can see, that dismissal number is starting to go up. It’s telling us that either well spacing is not being met, or it’s failing to meet safe yield,” Letourneau said. Salina’s Tasker said she has no reason to doubt the state’s decision to allow more water-well drilling in central Kansas. “I hope folks in Topeka are calculating safe yield and using lessons learned in the past to do the right thing now,” Tasker said. “I believe that they have learned from the past and are making every effort to do the right thing.” Tim Unruh is an agricultural journalist with the Salina Journal. He grew up on a diversified farm near Deerfield, the son of a grain-elevator manager and a schoolteacher. Tim can be reached at (785) 822-1419; email tunruh@salina.com.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
Sheridan Co. water effort works, official says, but rain’s vital, too
December 2014 Page 27
Salina weather summary September temperatures
Se Sept. ept. mo moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
N Normal mean
Deviation
Inch Inches hes
Norm Normal
Deviation
81.4
58.9
81.9
58.4
70.2
70.2
0
4.14 4.1 14
2.70
+1.44
October temperatures
Oct. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
72.5
47.3
69.0
46.0
59.9
57.5
+2.4
1.56
2.27
-0.71
BY MIKE CORN
November temperatures
Kansas Agland
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
52.1
26.6
54.0
32.9
39.4
43.9
-4.5
0.13
1.25
-1.12
ULYSSES – Mitchell Baalman was 26 when he first took his seat at the table on the board charged with managing water resources in northwest Kansas. He’s 40 now, and he’s still a member of the board of Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4. “Nothing was getting done,” he told members of the Kansas Aqueduct Study Advisory Committee meeting in Ulysses in November. Ultimately, the board and its former manager, Wayne Bossert, started promoting the idea of a locally governed management district, an idea that finally took shape when the Kansas Legislature passed legislation allowing it. From that idea came the Sheridan 6 Local Enhanced Management Area, and a plan to reduce water use in an area stretching essentially from Hoxie to the Thomas County line. Water use in the area was cut by nearly 20 percent. But it took plenty of education, he told the group. Not just for area irrigators within the area, he said. “I had to educate myself,” Baalman said. Irrigators in the area now covered by the five-year LEMA had been applying anywhere from 15 to 16 inches of water to crops. Now, they’re limited to 11 inches of water each year, although they have the flexibility to use more in a single year knowing they’ll have to cut back in another. “That’s what works in Sheridan County,” he said. “We’re making money up there in Sheridan County. It’s working. I guarantee it working.” But, Baalman said, it also has to rain. This year, he said, most farmers in the Sheridan 6 district applied about 10 inches of water, which was boosted by good rains. “There were some great yields up there,”
Nov. moisture
Hays weather summary September temperatures
Sept. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
82.1
54.5
81.7
54.9
68.3
68.3
0
5.94
2.05
+3.89
October temperatures
Oct. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
72.1
42.1
69.2
41.4
57.1
55.3
+1.8
2.12
1.58
+0.54
November temperatures
Nov. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
52.7
22.1
55.0
27.9
37.4
41.4
-4.0
0.05
0.89
-0.84
Garden City weather summary Courtesy Fort Hays State
Mitchell Baalman
September temperatures
Sept. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
83.2
54.6
82.4
52.8
68.9
67.6
+1.3
2.71
1.42
+1.29
October temperatures
Oct. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
74.8
42.6
70.0
39.5
58.7
54.7
+4.0
1.78
1.22
+0.56
November temperatures
Nov. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
55.7
23.5
56.1
26.9
40.1
41.5
-1.4
0.03
0.54
-0.51
Hutchinson weather summary September temperatures
Sept. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
83.5
57.1
81.7
59.4
70.3
70.5
-0.2
2.29
2.90
-0.61
October temperatures
Baalman said. That’s why he said he thinks irrigators need to “think outside the box.” Mike Corn is a veteran reporter with the Hays Daily News. To contact Mike, email him at mcorn@dailynews.net.
Oct. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
76.0
46.5
69.8
47.5
61.2
58.6
+2.6
2.85
2.46
+0.39
November temperatures
Nov. moisture
Average high
Average low
Normal high
Normal low
Mean temperature
Normal mean
Deviation
Inches
Normal
Deviation
56.2
24.3
52.3
34.3
38.8
44.3
-5.5
0.31
1.11
-0.80
Source: The National Weather Service
Amy Bickel and Jim Heck/The Hutchinson News
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 28 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
A wheat problem? Winter will shape the outcome T
hanks to super-optimum planting conditions and a very long, mild fall, we have some of the best top growth and best-looking wheat stands I have ever seen. But can you have too much of a good thing? Clearly, there are some very good things from having the thick, lush top growth. Remember the dust storms from this past spring? From that perspective, we got what the doctor ordered. The ground is very well protected – and in a lot of cases, you can’t even see the ground. It reminds me
Wheat and More ... or Less
Vance Ehmke of what things are supposed to look like in April. But, as former K-State Extension wheat specialist Jim Shroyer points out, “bigger is not better” at this time of the year. Still, a lot of that wheat did get awfully big – especially in western Kansas.
As such, it has put a lot of pressure on surface moisture supplies. And, as we all know, if we have sharp dips in temperatures, the cold will move more easily into dry soils, which can lead to winterkill or injury by damaging the plant crown. If the topsoil were wetter as it is with smaller wheat, that’s less of an issue. But in either case, what we didn’t want to see was a very sharp transition from very mild growing conditions to much-lower-than-normal temperatures. In looking at fields recently, we have
lost a lot of top growth. In many cases, the only living tissue left is the bottom 3 or 4 inches of the plant. Beyond that, the leaves are dead and will eventually turn brown. They’re already dried out. Shroyer says that, with luck, the wheat had time to become properly hardened off through a gradual reduction in temperature. I’m not betting too big on that, but Jim also says the situation could have been a lot more dangerous if the wheat had been under drought stress or if we had loose, fluffy soils in
combination with the severe temperatures. “That was the case last year, especially in central and south central Kansas,” he says. “Also, having a well-developed secondary root system will help the crown below the soil surface stay alive.” He adds that losing the top growth isn’t a problem: “There is no yield reduction because of this.” While Shroyer is concerned about the lush growth in combination with the dramatic drop in temperatures, he says things may work out just fine.
“Let’s hope we get some winter moisture to re-wet the ground and then to have normal cool, but not super-cold, temperatures. What we don’t want to see is dry weather combined with temperatures going from very warm to bitter cold throughout the rest of the winter,” he concludes. Vance and Louise Ehmke grow certified seed wheat, rye and triticale on their Lane County farm, which was homesteaded in 1885. For more on Ehmke’s pennings, visit www.kansasagland.com.
Milo harvest not exactly picture-perfect, but there’s next year I
have shared many a time about the beauty of a rich rust-colored milo field under the light of the harvest moon as deer watch the combines harvest the grain sorghum. And how it is one of my favorite moments of the year to cut milo with my husband and daughter. It is a slower pace than wheat, less hullabaloo. Well, this year is not like any of the past years I have witnessed. We began the first week of October. With only 500 acres, we should have finished in 10 days. I
Kansas Agland columnist
Michele Boy had cleared my schedule, so we were ready to go. Our first field was 35 bushels an acre. Three days later, our first field was done. A little disappointing, but it was great to cut something. We moved to the second
field. Our first truckload was 85-bushels-an-acre grain! How do you like them apples? Pretty neat. With a skip in our step, we were rolling. Combines cut, trucks rolled through the elevator, and you could feel the enthusiasm. And then we stopped. It was dewy. It was just going to delay us a day or two. Then the grain was wet. Then some of it wasn’t ripe. Two weeks later, we pieced here and there. In the middle of November, snow was on the ground and we were
just finishing. We waited and waited and waited. Piecing through the fields became the norm. Back and forth across the county with a combine, a grain cart, a service truck and a grain truck just to find the pieces that were ready. You would think we had thousands of acres to cut. On our final day, I asked my husband if we were going to cut today. He replied, “Well, it’s 16 degrees out. I’m going to go see if the combine starts. Then I’ll
let you know.” This city girl has never paid so much attention to weather. Temperature, wind speed, humidity, forecasts and wind chill all play a role in our working life. Our magical fall harvest never really went picture-perfect. I never cut or drove a truck. My daughter got to ride through the elevator a few times and had lunch in the field with her grandparents while I went to a meeting in town. I never saw a deer or the harvest moon. One of the
crew got to see my favorite image, a buck, doe and fawn under the harvest moon at last light. As I read this to my husband, he says I am making a Terry Redlin canvas come to life. Well, maybe next year for me. Writer/photographer Michele Boy is a transplanted New Yorker living with her husband and young daughter on their Hamilton County farm. For more from Boy, visit www. kansasagland.com.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
Close ties equal solid future for farm family BY JOHN SCHLAGECK Kansas Farm Bureau
ELLSWORTH COUNTY – In 1876, Wilhelm Splitter moved his family, livestock and farming equipment by rail from Wisconsin to central Kansas. About this same time, 17 other families moved to this general region of the state to homestead the prairie. All 18 families moved to the fertile plains of Kansas with a desire to build a community based on a Baptist tradition. The next year the small village of Lorraine was established. European immigrants like the Splitters built their farms on the sound tradition of close-knit families and their faith – cornerstones that remain nearly 150 years later. Today, Matt and Janna Splitter farm the same soil Wilhelm homesteaded five generations ago. Matt returned to the family farm in March 2010 when his father, Melvin, died. Following in his father’s footsteps was no easy task. Melvin expanded the family farm, broke out pasture land, began irrigating and planted a new crop, soybeans, in this part of Kansas back in the late ’70s. When Matt returned to farm, he was just 24 years old and a new graduate from Kansas State University. Fortunately he could depend on the counsel of his mother, Janet, and in-laws, Jerry and Kelly Cullop. Neighbors also offered support and encouragement. Throughout this whirlwind learning experience, ideas, instruction and his father’s example continued to guide the young farmer. “Growing up, I didn’t always think about farming,” Matt recalled. “I didn’t figure I’d ever need what my father told me when I was 16 and counting the hours until Friday night.” With or without thinking about it, these firsthand learning experiences from his father returned – fertilizer rates, plant populations, monitoring crop disease and pests – all vital tools he would need for
success on the farm. One of his early epiphanies occurred at about 2 a.m. when an irrigation system stopped. While trying to fix it, Matt wished for the wisdom of his father. “I wanted to ask Dad so badly,” he said. “I couldn’t, and it was at that point I realized we’d have to figure these challenges out ourselves.” It was during experiences like this that Matt knew he could depend on his fatherin-law. “I’m proud of Matt and the way he stepped right in when he returned to farm,” Jerry Cullop said. “I understood he would learn on his own and I tried to stay out of it. I encouraged him and when he did ask, we’d talk.” While there is plenty of science involved with farming, Jerry likes to view this profession as an art. “Every individual has to know when and how to farm,” he said. “Everyone must make decisions and do it themselves. Still, we must all learn from our experiences and the counsel of family, friends and neighbors.” The Cullops believe their daughter, Janna, brings a solid family and vocational background to this new generation of Splitter farmers. They’re excited she’s part of the family. Janna grew up with an understanding and appreciation of agriculture. Her parents are first-generation farmers near Sterling. Like her husband, Janna started in 4-H in grade school. “We’d known each other since I was 7, but Matt didn’t ask me on a date until he knew I was in high school,” Janna said. “We were high school sweethearts.” Blessed with a solid foundation of family, friends and community, Matt and Janna have left their mark on the Splitter legacy. Things have changed considerably during their six short years on the Ellsworth and Rice County farm. Matt and Janna farm wheat, corn, soybeans and grain sorghum on dryland and irrigated acres. Custom work remains a large part
of their operation. They do custom everything, from tillage to planting and harvesting. They do not handle livestock, but do manage some grass they rent for grazing. “Custom work allows us to keep our machinery running,” Matt said. “The more ground we can cover with the equipment, the more we can lower our cost per acre.” Like so many young farmers and ranchers today, the Splitters have embraced technology and incorporated it into the family operation. As the Splitters and Cullops work together more, Matt is helping Jerry embrace the newer technology. At the same time, Janna retired from her vocation in lending at the Lyons State Bank to become a full-time record-keeper, payroll officer and mother of daughter Laikyn, who just turned 14 months. Janna’s contribution to the family farming business has allowed Matt to transition full time to the management side of the operation. Two employees work full time as well. “When Matt returned, he brought new ideas into the farming mix,” Janet said. “I decided to sit back and let this new generation take over. They’re the future of our family operation.” Ask Matt and Janna why they’re farming and what they see in the future and they’ll tell you they’re laying the foundation for this next generation. “We want to give our children every chance to grow up right and contribute to society,” Janna said. “Growing up in rural Kansas on a farm will provide a strong foundation for this.” The Splitters also believe this agricultural environment allows them to associate with like-minded people – individuals with the same values and goals they embrace. “We’re surrounded by quality people including our banker, equipment dealers, Kansas Farm Management, Crop Quest,
seed dealers and our attorney, “ Janna said. “We trust these people and there is a loyalty that runs both ways.” Being a part of this living community, the Splitters understand the importance of contributing and volunteering. They serve in many organizations, including the local extension council, co-op, county Farm Bureau, church. Name an organization and they participate. Serving on these different boards allows them the opportunity to see different perspectives. In turn, this allows them to become more diverse in their thinking and accepting of varied viewpoints. “When all is said and done, it boils down to treating people right,” Matt said. “Like we want to be treated. Each day we get up, try to do the best we can. We’re blessed to have a strong family, friends, neighbors and community where people live and stick together.” John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. He is editor of the Kansas Farm Bureau publication Kansas Living. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwest Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion.
December 2014 Page 29
Calving schools in Jan. to look at vital issues producers face BY KANSAS STATE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
COLBY – With calving season just around the corner, K-State Research and Extension will host calving schools in five locations, with a focus on challenges producers can face during this critical period. Veterinarian Dave Rethorst, with the Beef Cattle Institute, will discuss topics like signs of calving, differences between normal and abnormal calving, and managing a difficult birth. “Producers have a significant investment in each cow and getting her to a full-term pregnancy. Losing calves at or near birth is an economic loss, but it is often a personal loss, too, and can leave producers asking themselves ‘what if ’ type questions on how they might have saved a particular calf,” said Sandy Johnson, extension livestock specialist based at K-State’s Northwest Research-Extension Center in Colby. “Continued sharpening of our skills when it comes to saving calves is time well spent for anyone that calves cows.” In addition to calving
issues, producers can direct questions on any topic to Rethorst or K-State Research and Extension beef specialists Justin Waggoner and Sandy Johnson. Dates, locations and K-State contact information for each school: Jan. 6 – Inman – 5:30 p.m. – Community Building – Darren Busick, darrenbusick@ksu.edu or (620) 662-2371; Jan. 7 – Protection – 11:30 a.m. – Legion Hall – Aaron W. Sawyers, asawyers@ksu.edu or (620) 582-2411; Jan. 7 – Johnson – 5:30 p.m. – 4-H Building – Jeff Wilson – jjwilson@ ksu.edu or (620) 492-2240; Jan. 8 – Atwood – 11:30 a.m. – 4-H Building – Jo Argabright – joargabright@ksu.edu or (785) 626-3192; Jan. 8 – WaKeeney – 5:30 p.m. – 4-H Building – Scott (Bronc) Barrows, rsbarrow@ksu.edu or (785) 743-6361 There is a charge to attend at some locations, so check with the local contact for details. All locations request an RSVP by Jan. 2 to the appropriate office so planners can ensure adequate meals and materials.
• • • • •
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 30 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
Above: William McCallum and his family received a soil conservation award, and they have succeeded in protecting their property from river-bend erosion by tapering the slope down to the water’s edge, installing rock in the water and planting trees above the rocks. Erosion had stopped, leaving the land and nearby house basically unthreatened by the river’s encroachment. Left: The group also toured the new DS&O facility in Solomon.
Farmstead tour puts spotlight on good stewards Kansas Agland columnist
Mark Pettijohn
T
he Saline County Conservation District conducted a tour of four farmsteads, including my own, in the northeast part of the county earlier this fall. Our farms were recognized for various conservation efforts. Officially called the Bankers Award Tour, the group met for coffee and rolls before loading a bus and traveling to witness each accomplishment. We stopped by my farm fields first. I received a water-quality award. Rapeseed, radishes and turnips were sown into corn two weeks prior to harvest. Another field of double-crop sunflowers was visited that had seven species of cover crops including buckwheat, radishes, turnips, cowpeas, hairy vetch, soybeans and mung beans. These companions aided flower production by keeping weeds out, shading the ground and supplying nutrients. The cover crops also reduce erosion, aerate
Photos by Mark Pettijohn/Kansas Agland
Mark Pettijohn talks to visitors during the Saline County Conservation District Banker’s Award tour. Pettijohn received honors for his best management practices regarding water quality. the soil, mine nutrients and supply organic matter. A third field on my farm we visited had been planted to an even more diverse mix, which included more grasses following wheat
harvest. The plan for it is corn in 2015, so strip tilling will occur this fall yet. After my farm, we stopped at a field along the
See TOUR / Page 31
The group toured four different farm operations, all of which received awards for their good stewardship.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
Tour
From PAGE 30 Smoky Hill River, farmed by Pat Ryan. William McCallum and his family received a soil conservation award, and they have succeeded in protecting their property from river-bend erosion by tapering the slope down to the water’s edge, installing rock in the water and planting trees above the rocks. Erosion had stopped, leaving the land and nearby house basically unthreatened by the river’s encroachment. After that, we went to a pasture along Humbarger
Road where Morris Rasher, who received the grasslands award, had kept trees and weeds out, successfully, allowing free and healthy range of several cattle. The stand of grass was tall and healthy despite the lack of moisture. Maintenance of the acreage had eliminated competition for the grasses that the cattle desire. Our last stop was at Joyce Fent’s house. Fent received the wildlife habitat award. She had several acres of trees cleared in two directions from a hilltop where she lives. Native grasses were now flourishing and game habitat had increased. The expansive view was enhanced from her property and showcased her efforts quite nicely. According to Mrs. Fent,
the area was supposed to be grass and not trees, so she undertook the act of tree clearing. The group also toured the new DS&O facility in Solomon. Much was learned about the state-ofthe-art facility and the hosts were quite upbeat about the modern building and the potential it has for the community. The Bennington State Bank and the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce catered Hog Wild barbecue and the group enjoyed a nice social hour. Mark Pettijohn is a notill farmer in Saline and Dickinson counties. He has an accounting degree from the University of Kansas. He has three children – Gareth, 14, Chloe, 13, and Lincoln, 11.
December 2014 Page 31
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 32 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
Center eyes rural residents who need insurance BY TIM UNRUH Kansas Agland
Salina Family Healthcare Center is reaching out to rural residents who are shopping for health care. The center at 651 E. Prescott is out to help “navigate” folks through the Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment, which began Nov. 15 and continues through Feb. 15. For those enrolling between the first and 15th of the month, coverage starts the first day of the next month. Between the 16th and the last day of the month, coverage starts on the first day of the second following month. Thus, those who’d enroll on Dec. 16 would see coverage start on Feb. 1. “This is specifically pointed to rural people,” said Steve Henoch, outreach and enrollment specialist at Salina Family Healthcare. “Our target audience this year is rural farmers and ranchers, day-care
Navigators can help Navigators, such as Henoch and Christina Bachman, the other outreach and enrollment specialist at Salina Family Healthcare, are available to assist with enrollment by calling (785) 825-7251. “We offer a free service to help them. It’s health care literacy,” Henoch said. “Farmers and ranchers struggle to find insurance that’s affordable. Christina and I have enrolled 50 or 60 in the area (in recent months) who didn’t have anything more than catastrophic health insurance.”
Before ACA, commonly known as “Obamacare,” health insurance rates for farmers and ranchers were high, thanks to the “risky occupations” in agriculture, said Deb Wood, Extension family resource management agent in Salina. Folks should at least take a look at what is available now, she said. “There are options that are maybe more affordable, and there are probably a number of people who may not be aware of that,” Wood said. “There are tax credits available to help pay for premiums. If a family is between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level, you can take them in advance.” The plan “does present some opportunities for those who have not had access to health insurance before,” she said.
1,000+ enrolled in ’13 Last year, Henoch and Bachman enrolled more than 1,000 in the Salina area.
Program in jeopardy? Wood acknowledged some of the campaign rhetoric prior to the
providers, salons, beauty operators, real estate agents, part-timers and those people who have lost insurance from an employer who no longer offers it,” he said.
November election from national politicians who promised to kill Obamacare if Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate. The GOP did win that majority in the election. If the ACA is eliminated, she said, health care insurance workers will deal with it. “As an Extension educator, all I can do is help people make informed decisions based on the law today,” Wood said. “If the situation changes, we’ll be scrambling, trying to learn what we need to to know about the new laws.” The November election results offer Republicans and Democrats the opportunity to work together “and improve the health care law,” Henoch said. Many plans available Marketplace Insurance Programs through Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas and Coventry Health Care of Kansas are billed as a simpler way for
uninsured Americans and their families to purchase health insurance, according to a news release. Some 36 different plans are available. A Silver plan, for example, can cost from $69 to $71 a month. Some can get deductibles as low as $250, with out-of-pocket expenses not exceeding $500 a year, Henoch said. Once deductibles are met, insurance covers 60 percent of costs in the Bronze plan; 80 percent (BC/BS) to 70 percent (Coventry) for the Silver; 80 percent from both carriers in the Gold plan, and for the Platinum, 90 percent. Henoch said Coventry offers plans with zero deductible and out-of-pocket maximums at $1,500 a year. The plans from both providers include varying levels of common benefits, such as ambulatory care, doctor visits, hospitalization, prescription drug benefits, mental health, substance and alcohol abuse
counseling and inpatient care, coverage for maternity, newborn care and pediatrics, vision and dental. To find out if the Health Insurance Marketplace would work for you, simply fill out an application. First steps include calling Salina Family Healthcare at (785) 825-7251 or going online to healthcare.gov. Photo identification, Social Security numbers and income predictions for 2015 are required. “It’s the same as if you called BC/BS or Coventry yourself,” Henoch said, “but through the Marketplace there might be options for tax credits and cost-sharing reductions on deductible and out-of-pocket maximums.” For other locations to enroll, visit www.healthcare. gov and click on Find Local Help. Tim Unruh is a veteran agricultural journalist with the Salina Journal. Call Tim at (785) 822-1419 or email tunruh@salina.com.
Fair’s Bison Arena plan would turn venue into an ag hotspot BY AMY BICKEL Kansas Agland
The Bison Arena used to be the showplace for grand champion cattle and other livestock at the Kansas State Fair. While age is catching up with the WPA-built structure, fair officials are working on a plan that aims to make it a showplace again. Fair board members dusted off a plan first proposed two years ago that would repurpose and renovate the arena built in 1937 – largely used for a few shows and demonstrations during the fair – into a 21st-century agriculture technology center. And there is no need to worry for those concerned how the state government, with a tight budget, would fund the nearly $1.5 million proposal. The concept – if realized – could mean seeking out private funding from large agricultural companies wanting to spread the same message about production agriculture, said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey, who also serves on the fair board. Agriculture, after all, is Kansas’ backbone, McClaskey said during a recent meeting in Wichita. “We’ve needed a primary agricultural building for a long time,” said McClaskey, whose team approached the fair with the concept in 2012. “The feeling is that we need a place that is ‘ag-centric’ that tells the story of agriculture and the importance to the Kansas economy.” A design of the building by Hutchinson’s Landmark Architects shows a northwest entrance into the arena. The building would have concrete floor for exhibit space, and a larger “Agriland” children’s education area both inside and outside, which currently is in the Pride of Kansas
Building. Ideas also include a farmers market area, along with a From the Land of Kansas store. Kansas also only has a few commercial test kitchens across the state, McClaskey said, and, seeing the demand at those kitchens, there is a need for more. Many momand-pop companies use test kitchens to do commercial runs on food products they plan to sell. McClaskey said she would also like to see education on biosciences as part of the center, as well as information on genetically modified organisms and livestock care. “A mythbusters approach: ‘Here are all the things that you know about ag and here is the real story,’ ” she said. McClaskey’s team came up with the idea a few years ago when they learned the fair was trying to figure out what to do with the building, which is in need of repairs. The State Fire Marshal, in fact, has asked the fair to look at sprinklers for the building, as well as revamping the exit doors, in the near future. Landmark estimates the exit-door project at $116,000. The sprinkler estimate is $328,000. The fair board left the arena out of the $29 million master plan that was approved by lawmakers in 2001. It’s one of the few structures on the fairgrounds that hasn’t been remodeled, said board member Brad Rayl, the fair’s building committee chairman. McClaskey said a plan for the Bison Arena, however, is needed so they can sell the project to companies that might be interested in investing. “I think some of the commodity groups would be crying dollars to invest in a project like this,” she said. Board members explored other ideas, too – such as
expanding the Pride of Kansas Building, which already has a large agriculture segment. Fair Board President Ron Hinrichsen, Westmoreland, said that with agriculture being the largest part of the Kansas economy, he could see big companies investing in the project. “With sustainability, feeding all these people by 2050, Monsanto, John Deere, I really believe these entities will invest in something like this,” he said. Fair Manager Denny Stoecklein said he will get with the fire marshal’s office to let them know a project is on the radar with the hope of having a start on some of the inspector’s concerns, such as exit doors, by 2017. Outdated Expo Yet the fair has several other projects that need completion and cost millions of dollars. Board member Monica Lair, Piqua, expressed concern about investing in a new structure “when we can’t maintain the ones we have.” Included in the recently approved fiscal 2016 budget, Stoecklein said, he plans to ask lawmakers in January for $6.836 million to renovate or rebuild the 1960s-era Expo Center. About $1.2 million of that is funding that the state neglected to give the fair as part of a statutory requirement to help finance the fair’s capital improvement fund. Fair officials asked for $4.8 million last year to repair the 50-year-old structure, but the request was not funded. The Expo Center, which includes an indoor arena, is situated on the grounds near Plum Street, just west of the open-air Expo II arena built in the last decade under the fair master plan. Constructed in 1964,
it was used 35 times in 2013, or 112 days. It is one of the fair’s most-used buildings in the offseason, second only to the Encampment Building. Organizations
and others largely rent it for horse shows, rodeos and other livestock events. The Bison Arena was used just five days for nonfair events in 2013, although
fair officials have said the building would get used more with an overhaul. The Expo Center also was not part of the 2001 master plan.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
December 2014 Page 33
3i Show will make switch from July to October BY AMY BICKEL Kansas Agland
DODGE CITY – The 3i Show is changing its date – moving it from July to a fall exhibition. Eddie Estes, president of the Western Kansas Manufacturers Association that puts on the show, said that the decision was made after significant consideration was given to exhibitor feedback as well as crop schedules, other farm show dates and multiple other factors. “We always evaluate every year the show and exhibitor comments and the farmers and ranchers that attend,” Estes said. “That is the reason we came up with the conclusion to move it back to October. “All we ever want to do is the right thing for the exhibitors and their customers. The new dates reflect the considerations of the exhibitors and farmers, ranchers and producers that attend the show.” Previously the show was in April before moving to May and, finally, in 2012, to July and to a new location. Instead of rotating it between Garden City and Great Bend each year, organizers built a permanent location at Dodge City. The Ford County Building Commission broke ground for the 179,000-square-foot Western State Bank Expo Center in
File photo/The Hutchinson News
People survey different pieces of farm equipment at the start of the 2010 3i Show. November 2011, using $9.8 million in bonds to pay for the project. Estes said at the time that roughly 90,000 square feet is concrete, with the remaining a dirt floor
that can house livestock and demonstrations. Outside, there are about 1.5 million square feet in exhibit space. The show will continue
being held at the Expo Center. Future 3i Show dates will be the second Thursday through Saturday each October. Show hours will remain 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
daily. Fall is a busy time on the farm, but surveys of exhibitors helped organizers set a new date, said Estes. “We were trying to come
up with a time that things would be a little milder,” Estes said of the weather. “Also, (exhibitors) can have demonstrations during that time that we can’t have during the summer. Next year’s date is Oct. 8-10. In 2016, the show is Oct. 13-15. The 3i Show has always been a showcase for the latest technology – standing for industry, implements and irrigation, said Estes. The July show had more than 800 companies represented. Back in 1949, the show featured the latest in openaired tractors – machines like the John Deere B and the McCormick-Deering WD 9 – that brought Kansans out to the forerunner of the state’s biggest farm show. The official show began in 1953 in Hays, then skipped a year in 1954. Later in the decade, the show began to rotate between Great Bend and Garden City.
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 34 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
K-State Salina official touts drones’ potential uses BY TIM UNRUH Kansas Agland
A growing industry that’s expected to be a big job producer is still revving up in Kansas, but educators at Kansas State University Salina say there are huge possibilities for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The evolution of government rules and regulations is among the holdups, said Mark Blanks, the university’s UAS program manager, but the rules are changing. “Things the (Federal Aviation Administration) might have said ‘no’ to are now ‘maybes,’ ” he said. Once regulations are defined or refined, perhaps as early as this month, business gains and product development could mushroom. The economic effect in Kansas is expected to reach $489 million, and 2,500 new jobs are expected to be created by 2017. “The possibilities here are huge,” Blanks said, referring not only to Kansas, but Salina, where enrollment in UAS courses is doubling every year. About 60 people are majoring in the field at K-State Salina. “This program is one of the best, if not the best, in the country, doing training and research,” Blanks said. He spoke Nov. 13 to more than 100 who attended a K-State Salina Civic Luncheon.
Tom Dorsey/Kansas Agland
The evolution of government rules concerning Unmanned Aircraft Systems is among the holdups in expanding their use, said Mark Blanks, K-State’s UAS program manager, but the rules are changing. Top UAS program The university didn’t offer a class in unmanned systems until 2007, and four years later it began offering a bachelor’s degree. For unmanned aircraft systems education, Blanks said, “This is the top place to come in the nation, if not the world.” K-State UAS program graduates with bachelor’s degrees who are deployed overseas are earning more than $100,000 a year
working in the UAS field, Blanks said. Those working in the United States “are making far more than their peers in manned aviation.” To earn a bachelor’s degree to be a UAS pilot, Blanks said, you also need to have a private pilot’s license and instrument rating. Based on the number of recent tours given to prospective students, K-State could exceed 60 UAS majors by next fall, said Kurt Barnhart, associate dean of
Courtesy Kansas Health Institute
The Ladder Creek farm site in Greeley County is the largest hog-growing facility in Kansas. These five barns are part of a 120-barn facility owned by Shawnee Mission-based Seaboard Farms. Each barn houses up to 1,100 pigs. The operation is located 12 miles north of Tribune on Highway 27 and east on 12 Mile Road.
Seaboard seeks to open new hog farm in Greeley County near Colorado border
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Seaboard Foods, based in Shawnee Mission, has registered its intention to open a large new hog finishing operation, Ladder Creek West, in Greeley County, near the Colorado border. The operation would have 110 buildings, containing a total of about 132,000 pigs. Waste from the operations would go into a lagoon for treatment and then be spread on fields, according to the filing with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The facility has not been approved by KDHE, according to the agency. Seaboard will have to submit an application, which includes engineering plans, nutrient management plan and various other plans. The plans would need to be reviewed to ensure they meet all state and federal requirements. No plans have been submitted yet. The company already has a large hog finishing operation, Ladder Creek, in the county. That operation opened in 2010 and is in the process of expanding. If
the new operation opens, Seaboard could house up to 330,000 hogs in the county. The county has a population of just 1,300 people, according to the Census Bureau. Jack Arnold, a supervisor for Greeley County, told Tribune News Service in late October the new project would have supporters who applaud the roughly $2 million in new taxes it would bring in, and some opposition from nearby farmers who dislike having to compete with the hog operation for water.
research and engagement. “It’s not letting up,” he said. “It’s exceeding our expectations.” Better, cheaper, smaller Blanks takes no issue with calling the high-tech aircraft “drones.” “I have a problem with the connotation of blowing up houses or spying,” he said. “That’s not what we’re about here.” There is a rapidly growing list of applications. “We talk about the
system, the air vehicle, a ground system and the air link to talk to the vehicle,” Blanks said. Even for the hobbyist, the technology is getting better, smaller and cheaper. Components that were developed for smartphones can be used in unmanned aircraft systems. Blanks mentioned quadcopters equipped with cameras and a global positioning system and that thousands are being sold by Amazon.com each month. Flight times have grown from minutes to an hour, depending on how much you’re willing to spend. Sensors have moved from point-and-shoot cameras mounted on an aircraft to extremely small gears. “That’s the trend right now. They’re being miniaturized to go on small aircraft,” Blanks said. Printing in the field With three-dimensional printing, an unmanned aircraft can be produced quickly. “Possibly someday, a soldier could print an aircraft in the field,” Blanks said. Trends in computer software are “really making a difference,” he said. Farmers can not only scan fields for problems, they can pinpoint areas needing concern. Drones can be used to inspect wind turbines and electric lines.
“For every single industry, there is going to be some kind of application for UAS – air, ground and maritime,” Blanks said. “The biggest is agriculture.” He said the technology could someday put traditional aerial surveying out of business. Rules a hurdle But rules are still a bane. For a hobbyist flying a small unmanned aircraft lower than 400 feet outside of populated areas within a visible line of sight, there are a lot of possibilities. Commercial entities need exemptions from existing rules, he said, and getting an exemption can take months. The Federal Aviation Administration has already changed how it identifies hobby users and a commercial operation. “As soon as you’re flying over a farming operation, that’s not recreation,” Blanks said. Regardless, Kansas has a “bright future” concerning UAS, he said. “We have a lot of opportunity here, with a lot of tax revenue and jobs,” Blanks said. “It’s a large percentage of an $82 billion global market.” Tim Unruh is a veteran agricultural journalist with the Salina Journal. Call him at (785) 822-1419 or email tunruh@salina.com.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
December 2014 Page 35
Farm succession conferences eye range of issues BY KANSAS STATE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
MANHATTAN – Dennis Metz admits it: He was resistant to some of the changes his sons wanted to make on the family’s dairy and crop farm near Wellington. In the late 1990s, Metz was growing crops and milking cows twice a day and thought it was a tried and true way to run a dairy farm. His sons, Dan and Jay, returned from college and
wanted to try milking three times a day – and to grow cotton. That crop wasn’t typically associated with Kansas, especially then. Pondering how much time and money had been spent on his sons’ education and how he’d seen other relatives struggle as one generation took over the business from another, Dennis relented. The family not only milked three times a day successfully for years until they left the dairy business, but also started
growing cotton, which they still do today, along with other crops. And Dan and Jay have taken over day-today operations at the farm with their dad’s blessing. The day sons or daughters say they’d like to take over the family farm or ranch can be a proud one, but it can also be fraught with communication challenges and legal pitfalls. To help Kansas farmers and ranchers with the succession process, K-State Research and Extension
and Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services, along with other agencies, will offer five “Planning for Farm & Ranch Succession” conferences around Kansas. The meetings are supported by a grant from the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Meeting dates and locations include:
• Jan. 5 – Allen Community College, Iola; • Jan. 10 – Pratt Community College, Pratt; • Jan. 16 – Kansas Farm Bureau Plaza, Manhattan; • Jan. 17 – Flint Hills Technical College, Emporia; and • March 3 – K-State Agricultural Research Center, Hays. The conferences are part of a larger effort to develop a comprehensive succession education and service program, said
Forrest Buhler, an attorney with Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services. A succession planning website is being developed which will include archived webinars, videos and other educational materials available to the public. For more details, visit http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/ kams or call 1 (800) 432-8222. The cost at each location is $60 per person for the first family member to register, and $40 per person for all other family members.
KANSAS AGLAND
Page 36 December 2014
The Hutchinson News
No more ‘tap’ dancing Governor re-emphasizes need for action at water meeting, stresses accountability
BY AMY BICKEL
Kansas Agland
MANHATTAN – Sam Brownback admits the past several months have been a “heavyweight boxing match” in terms of the governor’s election. A week after his re-election, Brownback stood at a podium overlooking 650 agriculture leaders and farmers from across the state, poised to take on another battle – water. It’s the economic lifeblood of Kansas, he said. However, in western Kansas the Ogallala Aquifer has been dwindling since the advent of irrigation in the 1940s and ‘50s. In eastern Kansas, the issue is sedimentation of streams and reservoirs. Brownback said he has been a part of plenty of water discussions over the years, including during his tenure as the state’s secretary of agriculture in the 1990s. The mood today, however, is different. Talking has to end. So, at the Governor’s Conference on the Future of Water in Kansas in mid-November, he and his staff unveiled the second draft of a vision plan for the state’s dwindling water supply. Brownback stressed action. In fact, he wants to see 75 percent of the plan’s firstphase projects implemented in the next year. “Our state’s future and future generations are dependent on this effort, and we must hold ourselves accountable,” he said. “At this conference a year from now, progress must be evident to maintain credibility with the public.” This vision isn’t one to be taken lightly, he added. “If we fail, if progress does not occur and implementation and goals are not being met, future generations will ask us why. So let’s make this work.”
The vision A year ago, Brownback unveiled his agenda, saying the state must move forward to preserve its natural resource. He made it clear that the issue is one he wants answered – and soon. The facts, after all, are straightforward: Kansas farmers and others across the state have, for several decades, been consuming groundwater faster than nature can recharge it. If Kansans continue down the current path, the state’s water resources could be nearly spent in 50 years. Roughly 70 percent of western Kansas’ Ogallala Aquifer would be depleted by 2064. Moreover, 40 percent of the area being irrigated now wouldn’t even be able to support a 400-gallon-a-minute well to pump water to a corn crop. Also within 50 years, 40 percent of the state’s
Amy Bickel/Kansas Agland
Gov. Sam Brownback listens after the conference on the future of water, held in Manhattan in November. Phillips
Norton
Smith
Jewell
Washington
Republic
Marshall
Brown
Nemaha
Doniphan
Waconda
Atchison
Cloud
Webster 11%
Graham
Mitchell
Rooks
Osborne
Trego
Ellis
15.75%
Kansas reservoirs Barton
Pawnee
Geary
McPherson
PercentEdwards loss of Ford capacity to datePratt
Butler
Woodson
3.8%
Sedgwick
Barber
Sumner
Harper
Cowley
39% Allen
Bourbon
Toronto
36.7%
El Dorado
5%
Miami Linn
John Redmond
Fall River
Cheney
Comanche
Anderson
Greenwood
Harvey
Reno
Hillsdale
5.5%
2%
Coffey
5%
Rice
Douglas Franklin
Chase
Marion
Kingman
7.8%
Johnson
Melvern
43.29% Wilson
Elk
Kiowa Clark
Osage
Lyon
Morris
Marion
Wyandotte
Clinton
Wabaunsee
16.4%
Stafford
Hodgeman
Jefferson
Council Grove Pomona 21.2%
Saline Ellsworth
33%
Leavenworth Shawnee
Riley
Dickinson
Kanopolis
Rush
Perry 18.3%
Pottawatomie
Milford
Ottawa
Lincoln
Russell
7.9% Ness
Jackson
41.35%
3%
Cedar Bluff
Tuttle Creek
Clay
Neosho Crawford
Elk City 27.6%
Big Hill 2.16%
Chautauqua
Montgomery Labette
Source: Kansas Water Office
JH/The News
Change in aquifer levels Cheyenne
Rawlins
Decatur
Norton
4
GMD
2010 2011 2012 2013
Sherman
0.50 of a foot 0.50 of a foot 1.39 feet 0.76 of a foot
Thomas
Wallace
Groundwater management districts
Goodland 1
Sheridan
5
Garden City 3
Graham
2
KANSAS Arrows show change in depth to water
GMD
0.71 of a foot 2.05 feet 1.54 feet 0.79 of a foot
Trego Rush
Barton
McPherson
GMD Greeley
Wichita
Scott
Hamilton
Kearny
Finney
GMD
2010 2011 2012 2013
Lane
Haskell
Morton
Stevens
Seward
Reno
2010 2011 2012 2013
Comanche
Harvey
0.68 of a foot 3.06 feet 1.63 feet 2.57 feet
Pratt
Ford
Clark
GMD
Stafford
2010 0.43 of a foot 2011 2.95 feet 2012 1.83 feet 2013Edwards 0.55 of a foot Kiowa
Meade
Rice
Pawnee
Hodgeman
Gray Grant
Source: Kansas Geological Survey
Ness
2.97 feet 4.26 feet 3.56 feet 2.30 feet
Stanton
Hutchinson
Gove
Logan
2010 2011 2012 2013
Cherokee
Sedgwick Kingman
Barber
Harper
Sumner JH/The News
reservoir storage space will be filled with sediment if nothing is done to stop it. “If we don’t have water, we don’t have a future,” Brownback said. “That includes people, economics.” Kansas Water Office Director Tracy Streeter said his team has held 250 meetings since January on the water vision plan, attracting more than 12,000 people who have given input on what should be included. The first draft was released in July. Streeter said his agency would take public comment on the second draft for the next few months, with a goal to release a final plan to the Kansas Water Authority and the Kansas Legislature in late January. Brownback said a key part of the vision is the focus on local control with flexibility. “I believe in local control,” he said. “I believe in establishing a matrix and
then working to accomplish them.” After all, Brownback said, the Ogallala’s makeup is vastly different. Some areas have several hundred years of usable lifetime left. Others, however, have just a few decades. This draft still aims to address the issue with a mixture of voluntary and regulatory measures. It also addresses advances in irrigation and seed technology, water management and new sources of water, such as water transfers from eastern Kansas to the western part of the state. One large change is the regional approach to solving the issue, which involves stakeholders in each region deciding solutions. The vision team went as far as to redraw the state’s basin boundaries – or regional-planning regions. The team added two new areas, which included dividing the southwest quarter of Kansas into two basin areas. Brownback said the areas would begin establishing goals over the next year. However, he said, these local stakeholder groups will be held accountable and the progress measured by this time next year. Meanwhile, at least two measures in the plan will be brought up to the Legislature next session, said Streeter. One is to rework the Local Enhanced Management Area program so it is more flexible and allows certain areas to be targeted differently. The other is the multi-year flex account program, which, implemented a few years ago, allows farmers to save their annual allotment for future years. Streeter said the new idea is at the end of the five-year program, allowing farmers to roll over water they haven’t used if they agree to re-enroll in the program. Only one LEMA is established so far, the Sheridan 6 project, a volunteer program that was approved in January 2013. For five years, water users in a 99-square-mile area of Sheridan County will pump about 20 percent less water out of the ground in an effort to extend the life of the Ogallala for future generations. Brownback, a fan of the program, said there should be “significant development of more LEMAs” underway by next year. Going with a flow Many in attendance thought the plan was a step in the right direction. However, they wanted to know more on how state officials planned to implement it.
See WATER / Page 37
Gov. Sam Brownback says future generations are dependent on action now.
KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News
December 2014 Page 37
Some act on saving water BY AMY BICKEL
removed irrigation from five farm quarters near the city’s well field. These steps have reduced the local aquifer demand by about 500 acre feet a year. Sheridan 6 – Farmers in a 99-square-mile area in Sheridan County approved a Local Enhanced Management Area. Going into effect in 2013, it allows an annual average of 11 inches an acre, or 55 inches over five years with a target water-use reduction of 20
shared that farmers saved more than the annual goal. Supreme Feeders – While stock water use represents less than 1 percent of the total statewide reported water use, conservation at a feedyard still plays a role in the region’s water supply. A few years ago, Supreme Feeders near Kismet received a letter from the state saying it had overused its annual water allocation and needed to be in compliance by the next year. The feedyard decided to implement water-saving measures. One effort was to try washing equipment fewer times a month while still maintaining cleanliness. It did the same thing in a few of the processing barns. Meanwhile, it implemented a water filtration system that filters the overflow from its water tanks to conserve water. The effort allowed it to recycle about 20 percent of the feedyard’s total usage, and it found it was using less than its appropriated amount by 200 acre feet. Supreme Feeders has saved more than 90 million gallons of water since implementing its programs, and is pumping 20 percent less from its water wells. FirstWater Ag – Formed in Atwood in 2013, the company develops customized zone control irrigation systems. This allows farmers
percent. After one year of data, the local Groundwater Management District No. 4
to water where they need it and when they need it. University research shows the technology has a water
Kansas Agland
Many Kansas farmers and companies already are taking action to conserve water. Here are some honored by the state at the Governor’s Water Conference in November. Owens Corning – The Kansas City fiberglass-manufacturing processor began looking at ways to reduce its footprint. Through three projects, it was able to cut plant water usage by 225,000 gallons a day. Fort Riley – In 2011, the fort received the honor of being selected by the Army as one of eight Net Zero Water Pilot installations. Net Zero installations have ambitious goals of reducing water usage by 50 percent by 2020. One project is a social marketing campaign to target specific water-using behaviors. In addition, the fort has installed low-flow showerheads, toilets and water faucets, as well as conversion from traditional turf grasses to drought-resistant varieties on the fort’s fairways. City of Hays – Hays, a community on the forefront of water conservation, has cut its per-person usage to less than 100 gallons a day – by far the lowest in the state for a regional center this size. Per person, Hays uses about 93 gallons a day. Some of its efforts include low-flow toilets and showerheads, as well as high-efficiency washing machines. Regulations are
Photos courtesy Kansas Water Office
Owens Corning has cut plant water usage by 225,000 gallons a day. in place prohibiting outdoor watering during the heat of the day, as well as prohibiting runoff from a property due to improper irrigation. In 2014, Hays adopted the Green Building Code, which mandates the use of water-efficient fixtures and best practices for all new construction and significant remodels. McCarty Dairy – McCarty Dairy, which has milking barns in Scott County, Rexford and Bird City, takes the water out of its milk before shipping to Dannon, where it is turned into yogurt. To reduce dependency on the Ogallala, the farm reclaims about
39,000 gallons of fresh water daily from the milk. Also, water used at the dairies is reused multiple times across the farm. NCRA and city of McPherson – At NCRA, a new $60 million water treatment facility will be completed by 2015. The facility will consist of microfiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis technology. It is designed to be a backwash reuse system. Once completed, NCRA expects to reduce water usage from the aquifer by 1,400 gallons per minute or about 2 million gallons a day. Meanwhile, the city of McPherson also recently
A FEW DETAILS OF THE WATER VISION PLAN The second draft of the governor’s water vision plan calls for projects to be completed in three phases. Phase one projects should be largely implemented in the next year, while phase two projects will be initiated in the next five years. Phase III programs are more long-range and might require research and stakeholder coordination before action can occur. Some of the high-priority areas to be addressed in the next year include: 1. Establish a governor’s subcabinet on water. 2. Target watershed practices
Water
From PAGE 36 For instance, said Sid Metcalf, an Oberlin farmer who is chairman of the Upper Republican Basin Advisory Committee, he wasn’t aware of the changes in the basin boundaries until he came to the mid-November meeting. “No one was notified,” Metcalf said, adding that when he asked about it later, a state official said the proposal was recently added. “I think it needs more work, but I think we need to start somewhere,” he said. Streeter said later in the day that the basin details
to help conserve sedimentation. 3. Appoint an education task force to educate K-12, community leaders and the media about water conservation. 4. Expand adoption of an online water-use reporting system. 5. Continue researching sorghum and other water-saving crops. 6. Develop career and technical education programming related to water resource management and technology to build the needed workforce. A few of the phase II projects include having a Kansas Water Day, gearing incentives to businesses that implement water were still being finalized, including how such boards would work, and wouldn’t take place anytime soon. Meanwhile, Keith Miller, a Barton County producer and irrigator who helped spearhead Kansas Farm Bureau discussions on the water vision across the state, said he was concerned about the need for more emphasis on sedimentation issues in eastern Kansas – including securing funding for a dredging project at John Redmond Reservoir. The state is planning the project for 2015. The reservoir is important in assisting in the cooling of the Wolf Creek Generating Station. Stevens County farmer Kirk Heger said his wells have declined over the
conservation and improving interstate cooperation and discussion. The state also still plans to restore water lost to sedimentation through dredging and other in-lake sediment management techniques. The plan also calls for the state to develop a water-right violation and enforcement process that is more constant, along with implementing more stringent fees for overpumping and other violations. “We ... need to look at our enforcement structure,” said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey. “That, even with the tweaks made a year ago, it is still not enough.” years. “But whose hasn’t?” he said of the southwest Kansas region that relies on the aquifer. Heger has expressed concern in the past about a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn’t take into account a farmer who already is working to conserve the resource or that each groundwater area is different. He said he liked the idea of local control. His only concern was making sure such efforts don’t overstep a local groundwater management district. He also wants such goals in the vision to be consistent with the goals of stakeholders. “This needs to be from the ground up, not the top down,” Heger said.
Richard Wenstrom, Kinsley, is known as one of the first large-scale irrigators who used soil-based irrigation scheduling techniques. savings of 8 to 20 percent annually, all the while allowing farmers to produce equal or better crop yields and reducing pumping costs. Richard Wenstrom – The Kinsley farmer is an innovator when it comes to finding ways to conserve water. Back in the 1970s, Wenstrom began gathering data and monitoring water use on his farm, making him one of the first to do so in Kansas. He is known as one of the first large-scale irrigators who used soilbased irrigation scheduling techniques. Wenstrom says that by irrigation scheduling, he saved 20 to 30 acre feet of water per pivot.
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This aging friend represents a valued way of life
T
he veterinarian had looked our old mare over, taken her temperature and listened to her heart, lungs and digestion. He was surprised to hear that she was 26 years old – an “old lady” among horses – until he looked at her teeth. This was not a part of the examination that Seelah relished, but in his calm, persuasive way the doctor prevailed on her to open wide and, while pulling out her tongue as far as it would go, he commented on the old molars ground down to stubs and those with sharp edges that cut into the horse’s cheek and made her eating painful and slow. “These need to be filed down,” he said, and I nodded glumly, thinking of my own dentist and how the poor mare would need anesthesia to submit to the proposed treatment. It would cost a fortune. Seeing doubt and concern in my face, the veterinarian finished his examination, let go of Seelah’s tongue and turned to me. He explained that old horses have a difficult time digesting hay they can’t sufficiently chew anymore before they swallow it. He claimed that filing down Seelah’s back teeth would make it more comfortable for my horse to chew but that she would do much better on a complete, pelleted ration that could
AGLAND COLUMNIST Andrea Nisly be digested even if not completely chewed up first. The work on her teeth would not take long and could be done right here and today. Farm veterinarians are like family doctors: It isn’t helpful to seek their advice if you don’t trust them and plan to at least seriously consider their proposed treatment. Our old horse had been losing weight in spite of her access to good oat hay and she seemed listless when we took her out to ride. I had every reason to trust our veterinarian, who had come out to check our dairy herd for years, had given good counsel on feeding and herd health, and had often been accurate when pronouncing pregnancies in the cows he examined. As it turned out, when the doctor returned from his truck with an impressive metal file in his hands, the procedure took no more than 10 minutes and required the horse to stick out her tongue again while the doctor rasped away at her molars and I hung on to her lead rope, listening to the grinding noises and watching Seelah’s grimaces of disgust. She was his last patient on our farm, after he completed the monthly
Andrea Nisly/Special to Kansas Agland
Seelah is doing fine on the Nisly farm. herd check and vaccinated our two farm dogs before visiting the horse pen. He packed up his gear and was soon speeding down our lane, on his way to his next appointment. I looked at my skinny, tired mare as I led her back into her pen where the gelding was waiting impatiently.
So she was too old to eat the hay she had lived on for many winters. Pelleted feed had to be bought from the feed mill, and it would be expensive. Could we afford to keep an unproductive farm animal that needed pelleted feed? Seelah was still a good riding horse and had added
greatly to the quality of my life over the 20 years of our acquaintance. She had delivered four healthy colts and had formerly contributed to the farm by bringing in the cows from pasture at milking time. I’d enjoyed riding her bareback out into the wide triticale field, hollering out my own version of a herding call where no one would hear but the sleepy cows that would get up and start lumbering toward the barn at the signal. Nowadays my husband climbs on the red fourwheeler parked in the yard and roars out to the cows at milking time. Having to milk 70 cows twice a day and, with the help of his brother, run the feeding and field work besides, he is always grateful when he finds ways to cut chore times a little shorter. Is it old age approaching in myself that makes me wish for fewer cows to milk, a smaller acreage to plant, and a slower pace in our work, which would allow us to enjoy the beauty of our fields and animals more often? It is no modern spirit that makes me nostalgic while contemplating my old horse standing by me in the sun, one back foot bent in repose. The modern, young spirit seems to ask for bigger farms, more efficient ways
and no sentimentality, measuring success in profitability, money. All around us, small dairy farms like ours have gone out of business, fields have been combined and dividing shelterbelts bulldozed to make way for irrigation systems. If it wasn’t for our Amish neighbors, there would soon be no real dairy cows grazing in the fields to admire for those Kansas children who are growing up on children’s books filled with images of cute farm animals and farmers in straw hats on beat-up red tractors. Ours is a way of life no longer looked on as desirable as we struggle to keep up with the times and bigger farms. However, we mean to hang on just a little while longer, producing food for ourselves and others, working for our cows and no one else and making our own decisions. Seelah stuck her nose through the fence and nuzzled my pockets. I scratched her ears and decided to go in, call the feed mill and order their pelleted horse ration. Originally from Switzerland, where she was an English teacher, Andrea Nisly came to Kansas 20 years ago to farm and dairy with her husband, Calvin, in Reno County. They have four children.
The Hutchinson News
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KANSAS AGLAND
The Hutchinson News