Released: March 07, 2006

Uniontown Couple Earns Master Farmer, Farm Homemaker Award

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Many modern-day farms are founded on tradition and ground that has been passed down from one generation to another with each generation acquiring additional land that will one day be passed on to their children. Gale and Kathy Georges’ farm in Bourbon County is no exception to this trend.

The Uniontown, Kan. couple has been selected as members of the 2005 class of Master Farmers and Master Farm Homemakers. The award program is sponsored by Kansas State University Research and Extension and the Kansas Farmer Magazine and honors those who excel in agricultural leadership, environmental stewardship and community service.

The Georges are among six couples who will be honored at a banquet March 24 at 6 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Junction City.

The couple met while attending Uniontown High School in the late 1960s but didn’t start dating until Gale was in college at Fort Scott Community College and Kathy was a senior in high school. After attending Fort Scott for two years, Gale completed his education at Pittsburg State University with a degree in education in 1972. Kathy attended vocational school at Fort Scott and became a licensed practical nurse the same year.

In the spring of 1972, before he graduated, Gale began a partnership on the farm with his father, Bill George.

Later that year, Kathy and Gale married on Dec. 22, the day of Gale’s graduation.

In 1976, Darrel George, Gale’s brother, joined the farm partnership and G-Three was formed. G-Three does not own any land, but takes care of the improvements on rented ground as well as owning and renting the equipment.

“When a financial management decision needs to be made, Darrel and I will usually consult with Bob Dawson, farm management economist and Kenny Holt of Union State Bank,” Gale said. “For crop and livestock advice, we talk to Frank Brazle, retired K-State Southeast Area Extension livestock specialist and Gary Kilgore, Southeast Area Extension agronomist.”

Gale and Kathy made their first land purchase of 560 acres from Gale’s father in 1981. Today, separately from the G-Three partnership, the couple own 1,800 acres and farm more than 6,500 acres. Minimum tillage and crop rotation with corn, wheat, soybeans, silage and wheat-beans are practiced to gain optimum yields, Gale said. They also bale about 360 acres of grass hay and alfalfa each year.

Kathy is an integral part of the farm management team. After their daughters Delta and Denise were born, she set aside her career as a nurse to stay home with the children and help with the farm. She spent a lot of time hauling grain, running the combine and caring for the sows.

“Life on the farm has always been a family experience,” said Kathy. “It was never uncommon to see one of the girls along Gale, Darrel, or Grandpa George’s side during the summer break from school or weekends.”

Five years ago, the Georges decided to stop raising pigs, in order to focus on and expand their cattle operation. They raise their own replacement heifers and sell their feeder cattle. The heifers are artificially inseminated to insure that they have low birth-weight calves and to also help incorporate quality genetics into their herd, Gale said.

The Georges currently own 300 cows, 100 of which are used as embryo recipient cows for Sunflower Genetics of St. Mary’s.

To supplement their income, Gale and Kathy contract hunting leases on their property and have begun a partnership with two other couples in Rosie’s Cabin and Recreation Hall near Uniontown.

“Rosie’s Cabin is an old house that we renovated and rent out as a get-away cabin that will sleep up to 10 people,” Gale said. “A recreation hall was also recently built next to the house to hold receptions or weddings.”

Outside of the hustle and bustle of life on the farm, the couple has found time over the years to become involved in their community and in their daughters’ lives. Gale and Kathy are members of the Uniontown First Missionary Baptist Church and helped form the Uniontown Saddle Club, which sponsors community events such as rodeos and horse shows.

Gale is a past member of the Bourbon County Extension Council where he served on the executive board and as chairman for several years. He has served as president and chairman of the Bourbon County Fair Board and as a beef and bucket calf project 4-H leader while his daughters were in 4-H. Gale is still active with the Bourbon County Fair Sale Committee.

Gale served on the Marmaton Watershed District Board for many years and when the decision was made to build a dam, the George farm was chosen as an optimal location for it. The dam was built on the family’s farm in 1987 and was the first watershed dam to be built in Bourbon County.

Kathy has served on the American Baptist Women Committee and as song leader for their church. She was a Uniontown 4-H Community leader, a 4-H Council and Junior Leaders nominating committee member and a fair concession stand committee member while her daughters were in 4-H.

Kathy still serves on the livestock weigh committee for the Bourbon County Fair and helps in the show ring during the beef and swine shows.

Their daughter Delta graduated from Kansas State University in 2002 with a degree in animal sciences and industry. She works as the agriculture Extension agent in Bourbon County.

Daughter Denise attended Fort Scott Community College for one year and was a member of the 1999 American Royal Champion Livestock Judging Team. At K-State, she was a member of the Reserve Champion Horse Judging Team at the National, World Congress competitions. She graduated from K-State in 2004 with a degree in agriculture education. She is an agriculture educator and FFA advisor at Arkansas City (Kansas) High School.

The G-Three partnership earned the Kansas Association of Conservation District Grassland Award in 2001 and the Tillage Award in 1985 and was also awarded the Key Banker Award for Soil Conservation in 1997. Gale and Kathy were named the American Royal Farm Family of the Year in 1993.

“It’s an honor to be able to receive an award for something that you’ve always enjoyed doing and have done your whole life,” Gale said of the Master Farmer-Master Farm Homemaker Award.

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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.

Story by:
Leah Bond
lbond@ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News