Meade, Kan. Couple Named Master Farmer, Farm Homemaker 3/1/04

MEADE, Kan. – Jack and Pat Painter look over their land in rural Meade, Kan. to rolling pastures, strong cattle and a stable farm business.

It’s a far nicer scene than the one the couple faced in the early- to mid-1980s farm crisis, when land prices dropped and interest rates were high.

Twenty-plus years ago, the Painters dug their heels in, believed in each other and took it “one day at a time,” Jack said.

“We were stubborn,” Pat said. “In farming, stubborn perseverance is an important thing to have.”

The Painters soon will be rewarded for their determination. On March 19, they will be recognized as a Kansas Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker during ceremonies at the Holiday Inn in Manhattan.

What is the Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker Program?

MANHATTAN, Kan. – It’s a growing, but select group – more than 350 Kansans who have been recognized for successes in their agricultural operations and service to their communities.

Who are they? They’re members of the Kansas Master Farmer Association and the Master Farm Homemakers Guild. The two groups were formed in the late 1920s to publicly recognize excellence in farming, homemaking, farm living, and rural citizenship.

Initially, the two organizations were sponsored by Kansas Farmer magazine, and recognition was given to individuals rather than couples.

In 1953, Kansas State University, through the Cooperative Extension Service, assumed responsibility for the selection process and setting up the annual banquet. From 1957 to 2003, the program was sponsored by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and K-State Research and Extension. In 2004, however, Kansas Farmer magazine joined with Extension to co-sponsor the program.

Farm couples are nominated by county Extension councils and Extension districts. The associate director of Extension appoints a committee to choose one couple from each of the four Extension areas in the state, plus two additional couples at large.

Both groups – the Master Farmers and the Master Farm Homemakers hold an annual meeting and a joint recognition banquet in the spring, where members have the opportunity to discuss agricultural and rural issues and share individual experiences with other members. This year, the meetings and banquet will be held March 19 in Manhattan at the Manhattan Holidome. The groups also meet every year at the Kansas State Fair.

Master Farmer/Master Farm Homemaker couples are chosen for their past contributions to agriculture and their communities, but the giving doesn’t stop there. The group awards a $500 Master Farmer-Farm Homemaker 4-H scholarship every year to a high school senior or college undergraduate.

Numerous donations to the Rock Springs 4-H Center by Master Farmer individuals and the organization as a whole, are reflected in various facilities and improvements made at the sprawling center’s campus near Junction City, Kan.

This year, the Kansas organizations will also host their national meeting in Hays Aug. 18-20, 2004.

For more information on the Kansas Master Farmer/Master Farm Homemaker organizations, contact the K-State Research and Extension administrative office at 785-532-5820.

Friends can make reservations by calling 785-532-5820 by March 9. Tickets, including dinner, cost $20 for adults and $10 for children under age 12. The banquet begins at 6 p.m.

The Master Farmer-Farm Homemaker program annually recognizes six families, and is considered one of the highest honors given to a Kansas farm couple. Nominated by the Meade County Extension Council, the Painters will become lifetime members in an association that dates to 1927.

When notified of the award, Pat said “we were surprised; we didn’t think we did anything to deserve this.”

Jack Painter serves on the Meade County Fair Board, a year-round job in which “we plan the whole fair,” he said. He’s also spent time on the board of directors for the Kansas Farm Management Association of southwest Kansas; and held several offices in the local Jaycees. While in high school, he was selected as an FFA Star Farmer.

While growing up, Pat Painter participated in 4-H, and was a volunteer as the couple’s children participated through their own high school years. She has been the Meade County dog project leader for 29 years, and has received the “Friend of 4-H” award three times. Pat is a member of the recently-created Meade County Health Alliance committee which helps to provide cooperation between the health entities in the county, and has been employed by the Meade District Hospital for 42 years.

“Our family has been able to enjoy working with other people and being involved in different community activities,” Jack said. “Each person in the family has their own interests and goals. We encouraged each family member to develop their interests and become involved with community activities they enjoy.”

The Painters have three children: Mark; Debra Carpender, husband Jim and their two children, Nathan (age 4) and Tori (1); and Bradley, a junior at Fort Hays State University studying construction science.

“Most of our [community] activities centered on our children and their events,” Pat said. “4-H was an important part of our life and the projects the kids picked required family participation.

“As the children grew up, they became involved with school activities. We supported and attended these events for many years. We had many picnics or wiener roasts in the pastures. We liked to walk, look for Indian arrowheads and just enjoy the scenery.”

Operating the farm always was a family affair, the couple said. Mark, who earned a college degree in agribusiness, and Debra, who earned a degree in animal science, each have a small farming/cattle operation of their own. All three children grew up helping with farm chores.

“During wheat harvest, we took meals to the field and ate together outside,” Pat said. “The kids liked to ride the combines. We always moved cattle together with everyone riding their horses.”

Jack and Pat inherited his family’s original homestead when Jack’s parents died in the early 1980s. Jack’s great-grandfather, Cap Painter (the first state representative from Meade County), built the original homestead in 1884. It has since been passed four generations to Jack.

In the early 1990s, while their children were off to college, Pat drove the tractor and rode horseback to help Jack on the farm. The couple took care of the cattle together and say that their “social life” was driving out at night to check cattle.

“I’m mostly a rancher,” Jack said. These days, he cares for 400 stocker steers and 43 cows and calves for others, plus the family owns 37 beef cows.

The cattle are on grass during the grazing season. Jack prefers a Hereford and Angus cross, because “they’re an animal that’s hardy. They can go out and fend for themselves. Out on the grass, you don’t have to baby them.”

The Painters own just over 1,700 acres of land and rent another 3,900, growing wheat, grain sorghum, and grain sorghum for feed. Some of the land is left fallow every year.

The family also has been good stewards of the land, helping to improve soil and water management practices by planting windbreaks, buffer strips and other conservation measures.

Though they’ve both held off-farm jobs, Pat says “we always worked together [on the farm]. We didn’t realize what a struggle it was going to be. [In the 1980s,] we didn’t think things would stay as depressed for as long as they did. But, looking back, it does feel like success, not only getting through it, but sending our three children to college and being able to live the way we wanted to.”

Jack noted that young farmers also can be successful, but “the biggest thing they have to learn is they can’t go out and buy themselves to prosperity.

“There will be sacrifices; they need to live within their means. Banks are glad to loan you the money, but if you’re not careful, before you know it you’re in over your head.”

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.