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Released: March 10, 2006 Kansas Master Farmers, Master Farm Homemakers Named MANHATTAN, Kan. – Six couples have been named 2005 Kansas Master Farmers and Master Farm Homemakers in recognition of their leadership in agriculture, environmental stewardship and service to their communities. The award program dates back to 1927 and is sponsored by Kansas State University Research and Extension and the Kansas Farmer magazine. The couples will be honored at a 6 p.m. banquet March 24 at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Junction City. More information about the Master Farmer program or the banquet is available by calling 785-532-5820. The 2005 Master Farmers and Master Farm Homemakers, in alphabetical order, are:
Jeri and
Gerald “Corky” Albright
The couple raise wheat and cattle and at one time had a large swine operation. The Albrights were members of the Jackson County Pork Producers, in which Corky was an officer. The couple have been long-time members of Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Livestock Association and the local Soil Conservation Board, and Corky served a four-year term on the state Animal Health Board. Jeri was involved in the Kansas Pork Producers Council and was the first woman to serve on its executive board. She spent years in Kansas Agri-Women and is a member of the Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. One or both won the Goodyear Conservation Award, the Bankers’ Award and the Lions Club Farmer of the Year. The couple has remained committed to St. Francis Xavier Church and volunteered in their local schools, Jackson County Extension and the local 4-H club – the latter of which led to county fair jobs, judging team trips, and lots of kids to lead and teach. As Corky and Jeri think back, they look past their early years and see one event as turning them into active members of such various communities. Their oldest child, Martin (“Marty”), was in a devastating farm accident in 1979. “We were overwhelmed by the support – help with farm work, care for the other children, and more prayers than anyone could count. Our church, neighbors, school and 4-H club were there for us when we were in real need,” Jeri said. “We’ve wanted to give back and have taken our responsibility as a member of the community to heart. We’ve gratefully participated in all of the ways that we can.” That son, Marty, went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees, was director of the Kansas Farm Management Association, and is currently a marketing analyst for Koch Industries. He and his wife, Stephanie, have a 3-year-old son, Brett. The Albrights other children include Kay, who is a high school senior, and Scott, who with his wife, Barb, has two daughters, Emily and Karlie. Amy, who is married to Chris Pruyser, also has two children, Erica and Garrett. Scott is Corky’s partner in Dutch Creek Farms – named for a creek that runs through their properties. “We still feel the farm is the best place to raise a family. No other place can instill the same work ethic and responsibility,” Jeri said.
Mike and Peggy Bellar The couple keep up with the latest agricultural technology, as evidenced by tractors that are equipped with satellite-directed automatic steering. They use precision agriculture for the farm's corn and soybean acres, with global positioning systems collecting field data, generating maps and directing variable-rate planting. The hog business that Mike's dad started in the 1970s is now a sizeable operation on three sites (to limit the spread of disease). All hog records are computerized, with the Bellars’ typically delivering a semi load of swine to the packer three times a month. "To manage the risk, farming needs to be a year-round business. You need to be fully employed. For example, selling hogs on a consistent basis helps average out the year's high and low prices," Mike said. "We market our corn through the hogs and buy our soybean meal. We forward price a percentage of our soybean harvest and hold the rest until we feel the price is optimum." The couple has put in terraces, waterways, CRP fields and erosion-control structures. To spread their business risks further, the Bellars own shares in U.S. Premium Beef and have have invested in an out-of-county swine operation and in Brazil Iowa Farms. The couple think “locally” too, however. Each year the family plants an acre of sweet corn and a patch of watermelons - some to sell and some to give to neighbors and friends. The Bellars host elementary school students on the farm, too. "If you don't make mistakes, you're not doing anything," Mike said. "My dad always used to say you're either moving ahead or you're going downhill. You can't just stand still." To that end, Peggy is enrolled in K-State's MAST (management, analysis and strategic thinking) distance education course for farmers and ranchers. She has been or is a leader in Elk County's Farm Bureau and Extension Council, the Howard United Methodist Church, and a local 4-H Club. She produces the Severy Elementary School yearbook and is on the Kansas Soybean Association Board of Directors. Mike has held similar leadership positions in the same organizations, as well as on the Kansas Farm Bureau Swine Committee, K-State Southeast Kansas Experiment Station Advisory Board, Southeast Kansas Farm Management Association, Elk County ASCS Committee, West Elk School Board, Howard Township Precinct Committee, and Severy Co-op Board. He is active in local and state livestock associations and has been on the Central Kansas Farm Credit Board since '96. And, every day of the year, they're Mom and Dad to Ben, Luke, Sarah, and twins Ethan and Rachel. Mike won the Kansas Farm Bureau Young Farmer award four years before he and Peggy married. His operation won first place in Farm Future magazine's 1989 Best-Managed Farm Contest. The Bellars or their farm also won the 2000 Elk County Farm Bureau Farm Family award, the 2004 Elk County Bankers Award and the 2005 Western Farm Show Family award. They hosted Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on her annual Farm and Ranch Tour in 2003.
Gale and
Kathy George The couple are part of the G-Three farm partnership with Gale’s brother Darrel. G-Three does not own land, but it does take care of improvements on rented ground and owns and rents equipment. The Georges currently have 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 land and are in a partnership with two other couples in Rosie’s Cabin, a getaway cottage and a recreation hall that is used for weddings and receptions. The couple have two daughters, Delta and Denise. Outside of the hustle and bustle of life on the farm, the Georges have made time to be involved in their community and in their daughters’ lives. They are members of the Uniontown First Missionary Baptist Church and helped form the Uniontown Saddle Club. Gale has been a member of the Bourbon County Extension Council, where he served on the executive board and as chairman. He also served as president and chairman of the Bourbon County Fair Board and served on the Marmaton Watershed District Board. He was a 4-H beef and bucket calf project leader and is still active with the Bourbon County Fair Sale Committee. Kathy has been involved in the American Baptist Women Committee, Uniontown 4-H Community, and Bourbon County Fair concessions and the livestock weight committee. The G-Three partnership earned the Kansas Association of Conservation District Grassland Award in 2001, the Tillage Award in 1985 and the Key Banker Award for Soil Conservation in 1997. Gale and Kathy were the Kansas 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.
Gene and Clarine “Toke” Heiman Over the years, the Heimans had a Dekalb Seed Dealership. They also started and for many years operated GC Marketing, Inc., which sold in 1992 to Gerber Commodities. Strip tillage, crop rotation, soil testing, computers, cell phones, and business-band radios are just a few of the practices and technologies that the family uses now in their day-to-day operations. Gene, a veteran of the U.S. Army, has been involved in the American Legion for many years, but also has been active in the St. Dominic Catholic Church, the Plymell and USD 457 school boards, the Finney County Fair Board, and the Golden Plains Credit Union Board of Directors. Toke worked as a nurse for years before she and Gene started a family and continued to work for several years after the children started coming. Even so, she was involved in the couple’s GC Marketing firm, and she served in various roles at St. Dominic Church, the Finney County soil conservation board, the local Extension council and the county FSA committee. She also formed an investment club and organized a writing group at a local senior center. She has been show chairman and served on the board of directors for Beef Empire Days. Toke also conducted interviews with several local veterans and wrote their stories for the Finney County Historical Society book about veterans in the county: “Those Who Served.” In addition to their seven children, the Heimans have 20 grandchildren and a great grandchild – all of whom they consider “our best accomplishment.” Daughter Karen Metzger has three children, Matthew, Brian and Angela. Matthew and his wife, Challie, have a son, Dylan – Gene and Toke’s first great-grandchild. Daughter Kathleen Albrecht and her husband, Rick, have three children, Kara, Christopher and Michael. The Heimans’ third child, Bill, is married to Janell, and they have three children – Ashley and twins Kristen and Scott. Daughter Jeanne Kleysteuber and her husband, Dean, have two children, Jeffrey and Emily. Daughter Patricia Miller and her husband, Ross, have two children, Steven and Alex. Son Jon and his wife, Rebecca, have three children – Jonathan, Sarah and Eric. Youngest child Chris and his wife, Traci, combined families and now have four children, Tyler, Taryn, Allison and Ryan.
Morris and
Barbara Krug
The Krugs raise wheat, grain sorghum and cattle and have a small certified-seed business on their farm near Russell, Kan. Morris describes himself as a “self-styled engineer” and said his industrial arts classes have worked well with his chosen career in agri-business. After college, Morris served in the U.S. Army Reserves before returning to Russell to farm with his father, Albert W. Krug, and his brother Robert. Morris and Robert, bought the farm from their father in 1964. “The corporation is unusual in that it owns the cattle and equipment, but not the land -- which is rented,” said Morris, who farmed with his brother for 39 years before buying him out in 2003 when Robert retired. Morris credits his father for fostering his environmental stewardship. In the 1950s, the elder Krug began building terraces, waterways, and stock ponds. The Krug brothers adopted stubble mulch practices in the 1960s, limited tilling in the 1980s and began using chemical fallow in the 1990s. The Krugs began using computerized spray controls in 1978 and have added satellite guidance systems. They also make crop ground available for test plots for K-State’s nearest Ag Research Center and a local cooperative. With the aid of Barbara’s business background, the family computerized their farm records more than 15 years ago. The Krugs raised two daughters, Andrea and Anita. Andrea is married to Thomas Krauss, and they have a daughter, Katherine. Their son-in-law also is now part of the Krugs’ farm management team. “Tom earned degrees in range management and history at K-State, but is a Hereford man,” said Morris, who previously specialized in Angus. “We’re working together just fine.” The Krugs worked in each of Bob Dole’s campaigns and helped host President Gerald Ford. Barbara has served as a 4-H leader, a longtime superintendent of the Wheat Showcase at the Russell County Free Fair and as area chairman for the Kansas Festival of Breads contest. She has helped with costuming at the Russell Community Theatre and was active in a community fund raising drive to open a local clothing store. Morris has served on the Rural Water District #2 board, the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers board, and the Kansas Grain Inspection Commission. “With farming, an early freeze or drought can damage crops, but faith in God – and ourselves – has given us the will to carry on and expect better times,” Morris said.
Vinton and Karen Visser The Vissers were among the first in the area to adopt no-till practices to prevent run-off from their farm fields. They have seeded and fertilized waterways and planted trees as windbreaks. Using integrating guidance systems has helped them in planting and maximizing spray efficiency -- and working to be good neighbors. They have planned and engineered wastewater lagoons to stop water contamination. They work with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to comply with such state regulations as the Nutrient Utilization Plan, Emergency Response Plan and odor control guidelines. The Vissers received a Kansas Bankers Association Conservation Award last year. Karen, who earned a master’s degree in agriculture education, chose technology and its effect on agriculture as the subject of her master’s thesis. That project piqued her interest in computers, and she has since computerized livestock, crop and financial farm records. The Vissers have four children -- Lance, Justin, Brit, and Todd. Lance and Justin are interested in farming. Maintaining a positive attitude and a long-term, strategic plan is key, Karen said, adding, “Change is inevitable. Think about how farming has changed in the last 10 or 20 years. If we are to succeed -- to care for the land, but also earn a living -- we have to be optimistic.” The Vissers are members of the Kansas Farm Management Association, for which Vinton serves as a district director. Vinton also is a member of the Riley County Farm Bureau board and was a delegate to the Kansas Farm Bureau convention. He has served on the USD 378 school board and as a director for the Kansas Pork Producers Council. Karen has been a community and project leader for local 4-H clubs and been active in farm/tractor safety education, as well as with the Kansas Pork Producers Council and Kansas Farm Bureau. Always working to stay up-to-date, she also has participated in the Management, Analysis and Strategic Thinking (MAST) class offered by the Department of Agricultural Economics in K-State’s College of Agriculture. Karen and Vinton both are active with the Riley County Fair and FFA. Each of them has been named an honorary member of Riley County’s FFA chapter and North Central District FFA. “It’s an honor to raise a family on the farm,” Karen said. -30- 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: Mary Lou Peter-Blecha is at 785-532-1164 or Sue Robinson is at 785-532-5820 |
Jeri
and Gerald “Corky” Albright (Hoyt, Jackson County) reared four children, hosted foreign-exchange farmers, had many community gatherings and doctored a calf or two in their farm house in rural Hoyt, Kan. 
Mike and Peggy Bellar, Howard (Elk County), have a crop and livestock operation that includes a small beef cow herd and a farrow-to-finish hog operation. 
Gale and Kathy George raise cattle, corn, wheat, soybeans, hay and alfalfa on their Bourbon County farm near Uniontown, Kan. 
Gene and Clarine “Toke” Heiman grow wheat, grain sorghum, corn and soybeans on their Finney County farm near Garden City. The couple feed cattle in local feedlots and run stocker cattle.
Morris and Barbara Krug met years ago while teaching Sunday School. Today, the couple continue to be involved in their church, as well as their farm and community.
Vinton and Karen Visser, who farm in Riley County near the towns of Riley and Manhattan, raise cattle, hogs, grain sorghum, corn, wheat and soybeans.