WESTMORELAND CONSERVATION DISTRICT AWARDS FRYE FAMILY AS 2020 FARMER OF THE YEAR |
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Photo credit: Westmoreland Conservation District |
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The Westmoreland Conservation District (CD) in Westmoreland County, Pa., has been recognizing outstanding conservation farmers since 1953 with its annual "Conservation Farmer of the Year" Award.
Each year, the CD's Board of Directors votes to choose the awardee based on recommendations provided by the district's agricultural specialist. The award recognizes a farmer's outstanding application and use of conservation best management practices promoted by the district's programs and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). These farmers often go above and beyond this criteria and serve as dynamic advocates for sound conservation practices benefitting soil, water, the economy, quality of life and the future.
The 2020 award was given to the Frye Family of Unity Township. Uniquely, they are one of only three farmers within the district who have been recognized with this award twice, first in 1983, and now, in 2020. The Fryes are dairy farmers with a family farming heritage in Westmoreland County that goes back to 1795. On their 180-acre dairy farm, the Frye Family implements conservation best management practices, including contour strips, diversions, riparian buffers, stream crossings and stabilized heavy use areas for dairy cattle, as well as specialized farm building gutter systems to control roof runoff.
Ralph Frye, Jr., and his wife Anne manage the farm with their sons Jason, Todd and Chad and their families. The Fryes have recently ventured into value-added cheesemaking to help make their farm more viable in the future. Their artisan cheesemaking operation is very unique for the region and is described by Jason Frye in the award video.
"Our overall slogan for all of the Westmoreland CD programs is 'helping people use resources wisely,'" said Mark Jackson, Westmoreland CD's visual communications specialist. "Our district's relationship with the Frye Family is a fine example of that."
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Q&A WITH NACD'S FORMER NORTHERN
PLAINS REGION EXECUTIVE
BOARD MEMBER BEVIN LAW
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Bevin Law (pictured left) of Kansas served as the Northern Plains Region NACD Executive Board member for two full terms from 2017-2021. NACD interviewed Bevin in January 2021 to hear his perspective about his time on the board, and what he’s experienced and appreciated over the years of work with conservation. The Northern Plains Region is grateful for the time and energy that Bevin dedicated during his time on the NACD Executive Board. “We are glad for his commitment, and we wish him well in his future conservation district activities,” they wrote.
Tell us about your background.
My great grandparents homesteaded in Graham County, Kan., in 1877 in the town of Hill City. My granddad, dad and mom all grew up as farmers in Hill City. I have farmers on both sides of my family. My grandma on my dad’s side wound up with two 80-acre plots in Clay County, which is 180 miles east of Hill City. When my dad and mom got out of World War II, my grandma wanted them to come back and live on those plots, and that’s how we wound up here.
The two 80-acre plots weren’t homesteaded, they were bought in 1912. I didn’t know that previously, but I found out after doing some research into a Farm Bureau program for 100-year-old farms. We’ve always been members of the Farm Bureau, and I was always interested in the Century Farm Program. I didn’t think that we would qualify for the program until I actually looked into it and found out that my Granddad Dixon bought the place in 1912. So, we did qualify, and we just got that sign from Farm Bureau a couple of months ago recognizing our place as a century farm. We are proud of that.
My wife Trudy and I were married in 1976, and we bought a farm about a mile to the north. My dad passed when I was 13, and my mom remarried after he passed. After some time, my mom and her husband moved off the farm and into town, so then my wife and I moved back to the farm we’re on now. So I’ve lived on the farm where I was raised for most of my life. We have two kids: a son, Thad, who farms with us and a daughter, Lacey, who works for Disneyworld in Orlando, Fla. We’ve gotten a lot of interesting feedback from Lacey. She learned a good work ethic on the farm, and that’s served her well in Florida.
When did your connection to conservation start?
I was born in 1953, and some of my earliest memories are from building terraces on the neighbor’s farm and on our place. My dad was diligent about getting all his farm ground in terraces and waterways to stop soil erosion. The next big step we took in that process was going to no-till, so we weren’t tearing up the topsoil and making it more prone to erosion. We work to leave the topsoil in place with some cover on it. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been promoting that “soil was meant to be covered,” and that’s what the approach is with no-till and cover crops. We’re working to keep that cover on the ground, because it’s really important.
We started with a partial version of no-till on our farm. For quite a few years, we no-tilled wheat into soybean stubble in the fall, or no-tilled milo into soybean or wheat stubble ground. I always had it in the back of my mind that it would be hard to control the weeds in wheat without deep tillage to bury the weed seeds. But in 2000, we bought a tried and true no-till drill and have been using it to maintain cover on the ground. Since 2000, we’ve only done no-till.
It always caught my eye when we were plowing, discing and chiseling all the time that we always had to work on the terraces every year to keep them in shape. Since we’ve started to no-till, we don’t have to plow terraces; the ground stays in shape better.
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MAINE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS MAKE GOOD USE OF
DEMONSTRATION FORESTS
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Maine conservation districts make good use of demonstration forests and provide high value to landowners and communities. Located in York, Oxford, Somerset and Piscataquis counties, these sites demonstrate best forestry management practices, active timber management, forest ecology and responsible stewardship, while also providing educational tools for students, private woodland owners and professional foresters.
A close look at the demonstration forests reveals a melding of the past and present. Most often, they have a story to tell of historical events and the individuals whose inspiration and/or land donation led to their establishment as a tool to reach out to the public with educational opportunities. For some founders, the plan was to move a step beyond simply using sustainable forestry practices to providing proof of concept via demonstration to other Maine forestland owners.
Sid Emery Demonstration Forest, York County
In 1947, wildfires swept through Maine over the course of several weeks, burning more than 200,000 acres and forever altering some towns. Large parts of forest and agricultural land in southern Maine were destroyed, amounting to 55,000 acres. Much of the land was abandoned, and the state took it over.
For 39 years, Sid Emery, a soil and water technician with the York County Soil and Water Conservation District (YCSWCD), planted many thousands of seedlings to reforest the burnt earth. Emery was largely responsible for creating the 140-acre demonstration forest in Lyman, Maine, that bears his name.
“Along with District Supervisor Alden Gile, the Sid Emery Demonstration Forest was truly a labor of love," explained Melissa Brandt, executive director of the YCSWCD. "Both spent many thousands of volunteer hours planting trees, managing trees, cutting trails and planning."
View the full story here.
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NACD'S PRESIDENTS
ASSOCIATION VIDEO SERIES:
STEVEN MEEKS, VIRGINA
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As part of our 75th Anniversary celebration, NACD is proud to present our Presidents Association Video Series. In early 2020, we sat down with Presidents Association members, who reflected on their time with the national association, the importance of conservation districts and locally-led conservation, their vision of NACD's legacy and more.
This edition features Steven Meeks of Virginia. Meeks serves as the Virginia representative for NACD's Board of Directors and holds more than 30 years of experience with conservation districts. He is a member of the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), the second district founded in Virginia in 1939. When he's not serving as district director, Meeks also works as a historian, working on collecting information about Virginia's involvement in conservation over the years.
"Being a historian and looking back at what we had, you know, 80 years ago is remarkable," Meeks said. "It's the progress we made, the education we provided to farmers, the tools we've given them to take care of the land and how to be good stewards of the land."
"I think it's a great milestone, the 75th anniversary of NACD," Meeks said. "I'm hoping to be a part of some of the activities myself. I think that's truly a great milestone, which is a good opportunity to tell the world all the good things conservation districts have done on a local level."
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Interested in submitting a story? We're still accepting stories for this special 75th Anniversary newsletter all year round!
You can submit stories as many times as you want. Please provide a short summary of what you are submitting, your contact information and your district/state association's information, and NACD will reach out to you for further information.
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