Winsors Named Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker 3/1/04

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Russell and Pat Winsor are lifelong learners – a trait they consider crucial to survival in the tough, competitive world of modern agriculture.

“Keeping up with new technology and implementing it in our operation is probably the most innovative and profitable thing we’ve done in our business,” said Russell, who is a third generation Kansas farmer. “When I started farming, what herbicide to use was a ‘no-brainer’ because there were only three or four choices.”

For their business acumen and service to the community, the Winsors of Grantville, in northeast Kansas will be recognized as a Kansas Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker during ceremonies March 19 at the Holiday Inn in Manhattan.

Reservations can be made by calling 785-532-5820 by March 9. The cost for tickets, which includes dinner, is $20 for adults and $10 for children under 12. The banquet begins at 6 p.m.

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.

Russell Winsor grew up in the Grantville-Perry area and graduated from Perry Rural High School. He earned an agricultural economics degree from Kansas State University in 1969, after which he joined the Army Reserve. Once finished with basic training, he joined his father and uncles on the family farm. Along with row crops, they built a cattle operation and were in the hog business for several years. After his father retired in 1978, Russell took over the operation, in time adding land – both purchased and rented.

“As the farm acres got larger, so did the machinery,” Russell said. “Nothing stays the same, and as new technology and genetics emerged, so did the challenge.”

“Having a dispersal cattle sale was a difficult decision to make,” he said of a period when he and Pat left the cattle business. “Cattle have always been a part of the operation but we knew we needed to re-evaluate it. We did sell all of our cattle, but couldn’t stand not having (them), so we rebuilt a herd of Registered Angus, using better genetics and EDP’s (expected progeny differences) and started selling breeding bulls.”

Pat and Russell are members of the Grantville United Methodist Church. Russell has served in various capacities on the Farm Service Agency committee, the American Angus Association, the American Salers Association, the Cargill Customer Council and the Kansas Livestock Association. He was a 4-H livestock leader and was recently elected to the Jefferson County Extension Council. He also serves as the president of the Rosehill Cemetery and the treasurer of the Muddy Creek Drainage District.

Pat was no stranger to farming when she married Russell in 1970. She too, had graduated from Perry Rural High School, and had grown up helping her father with farm chores. After high school and in her early married days, she worked in the payroll department of the National Guard for six years. Once her first child was born, however, she decided to become a full-time homemaker.

In addition to the activities that come with having a family – school, church and community functions – Pat handles all of the farm’s accounting and is always on call to be a “go-fer” and communicate with landlords. She and Russell are members of the Northeast Kansas Farm Management Association and Pat keeps up with the global agriculture picture by regularly checking the Internet for business and market news. She has been involved with 4-H for years, and still serves as the chairman of the Jefferson County 4-H Spring Beef Committee and as the co-community leader for the Grantville Circle G 4-H Club.

Once her children were grown, Pat took on yet another role by earning a real estate license.

“She received the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award in 2001 for being the new agent selling the most that year at Land Kansas Real Estate,” Russell said.

The Winsors raised their sons, Andy and Ben, on their operation that spans over 4,000 acres near Topeka. They own 1,234 acres and rent the other 3,025. Most of the tillable land is planted to corn and soybeans, with wheat and grain sorghum planted in smaller amounts. Just under 800 acres are devoted to pasture for the family’s Angus herd, which consists of 350 head.

To give their operation an added-value twist, the Winsors participate in the Certified Angus Beef Program and grow food grade white corn.

“Putting GPS (global positioning satellite) units in our combines and having the ability to make yield maps on the computer at home helps pinpoint problem areas in a field,” said Russell in describing improvements the family has made. “Grid sampling and AI (artificial insemination) are some other technologies that have been beneficial to our operation.”

Russell and the Winsor’s son Ben, took an AI class, which has helped them improve the genetics of their herd.

The family also bought a former commercial grain elevator for extra storage, which comes in especially handy to store value-based grain.

The Winsor’s son Andy, his wife LaVell and stepson, Kade live near Grantville. Growing up, Andy held numerous offices in 4-H. He attended Cloud County Community College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from K-State in 1994. He then joined his parents on the farm, bringing a knowledge of precision farming, variable rate fertilizer application and an understanding of global positioning technology to the business. He and his dad have frequently hosted fourth grade classes from Topeka to explain conservation and no-till practices to the youngsters.

Ben is a junior at K-State, with a dual major in agricultural communications and agribusiness. He started showing Angus cattle as he was growing up in 4-H, and today has his own herd. Ben has held numerous offices and honors in 4-H, the National Junior Angus Association and more recently as a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. He traveled to Costa Rica in 2001 and received a Cargill scholarship to participate in the Agriculture Future of America conference in 2001.

The Master Farmer Awards Ceremony is sponsored by Kansas State University Research and Extension and Kansas Farmer Magazine.

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.