Progress AG & Oil Industry 2021 - Stronger Together

Special to the Great Bend Tribune Sunday, February 14, 2021

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• GREAT BEND (KAN.) TRIBUNE • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

TRIUNE FILE PHOTO

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, on Nov. 18, 2020, unveiled his official portrait to be displayed in the committee’s hearing room. The portrait was commissioned by the Kansas Historical Foundation and the Kansas Historical Society and it was painted by artist Stephen Craighead.

A friend of farming Longtime senator, ag committee chair Roberts retires

BY DALE HOGG dhogg@gbtribune.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After 40 years of public service, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Dec. 10 delivered his final speech on the Senate floor.

“I have had the honor and privilege of representing Kansans for 16 years in the House and 24 in the Senate,” Roberts said. “I have held six gavels in the House and Senate, and that, in and of itself, might be a record.”

For Kansans, key among Roberts’ contributions was his service on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee since he was first elected. He has been chairman during the 114th, 115th, and 116th congresses.

He didn’t seek reelection in 2020. He was replaced by Roger Marshall who came off two terms serving as the state’s First District congressman.

“It’s what happened during my tenures as chairman that I believe have had the most lasting impacts,” he said. It’s not just having the gavel – it’s what

you do with it.

“I am very proud that I have had the privilege of being chairman of a committee that does get along and we do get things done – the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“First, it’s not that hard. We represent the best of our nation – farmers, ranchers, growers, and the entire food value chain.

We know we have a collective job to do in their behalf – and we do just that.”

In times of political rancor and partisan bickering, this body still gets things done.

They convene in a small hearing room and, “for the most part, we actually know one another.

I used to be the ranking Republican member when Senator (Debbie) Stabenow (a Michigan Democrat) was the chairperson. We worked together on the 2014 farm bill. In 2018, it wasn’t our first rodeo.”

They knew, regardless of what each wanted, passing a farm bill was paramount. “We had an agreement: no surprises, no press the other one did not know about, and we held hearings together all over

Pat Roberts the country to listen to all of agriculture.”

New farm bills are addressed every five years.

Roberts went to the campus of Michigan State and wore green and white in honor of Stabenow, and she came to Kansas State and wore purple.

“We not only agreed to work together, we gave staff marching orders to do the same. We also became friends, I protected her, and she protected me in conference and we got 87 votes, setting a record for a farm bill.”

Now, they ordinarily did not

vote alike on the floor. “But we remain friends, and that is the way it should be. Friendship and comity is the norm for the Ag Committee, it could be for the whole Senate.”

Taking part and leading eight farm bills in the House and Senate have touched and improved many lives, he said.

“I’ve always been mindful of what farm families do for our nation and a troubled and hungry world as we crafted each bill.”

He has also spent years championing the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan. “It will soon serve as the first line of defense to protect American agriculture and the world’s food supply.”

His home state A native of Topeka, Roberts said he is proud of his Kansas roots.

“Today we are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic – and even that has fallen into politics – but it doesn’t have to be,” he said. “At home, Kansas has been dealt its fair share of hardships.

But in Kansas, we don’t let disasters define us. We grab

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our bootstraps and get to work.

That’s our normal.”

Multiple prairie fires have ravaged Kansas farms and ranches – the Anderson Creek Fire in 2016, the Starbuck fire in 2017. Those folks have learned to adapt and build back, with the help of USDA disaster programs.

“We also had the tale of Treece – once a boomtown turned toxic waste dump – it was an extremely unsafe, unhealthy place for folks to live,” he said. “Working with the Obama administration’s EPA – no less, we relocated them to safer places and (literally) greener pastures – because working across party lines is what we do in Kansas.”

And then there was the EF-5 tornado in 2007 that completely destroyed the community of Greensburg. “I immediately called President Bush from a McDonald’s in the next town and asked for help. When I hung up, there were 25 people gathered around me, listening.

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GREAT BEND (KAN.) TRIBUNE • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 •

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FARMING, from page 2 “One old timer in his bib overalls said to me, ‘Was that the President of the United States?’ I said, ‘you bet. He turned to his wife and said, ‘Mother, see? I told you. I told you Pat was talking to the president and we’d get help.’”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was there the next day. That year, he spoke at the high school graduation, and the following year, President George W. Bush spoke.

“I’m reminded of the optimism of those speeches and the optimism I have for our country,” he said. “We endured these hardships and came out on the other side. We did it by changing the old normal and creating a new normal.”

A bigger picture In broader terms, “to be a member of this United States Senate is a true privilege. A working family, it is the greatest deliberative body in the world,” he said.

“But, today, as compared to when I first came to the Senate, it’s the deliberative part that gives me great concern. I lament the loss of comity, the ability to work together, or just to get along. Sadly, gridlock appears to be the new normal. However, it does not have to be.

“Here, in the Senate, only we can decide what our new normal is, and we ought to get to know one another,” he said. “We don’t have to let the apparent gravitational pull of more and more politics in pursuit of power to change what our founders gave us – the creation of a nation of liberty and freedom, the envy of the world – and to literally move the United States Senate from the moorings of its historic and great past to simply be a rubber stamp for radical change.”

And though things

TRIUNE FILE PHOTO

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) addresses the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee in 2018 regarding the new farm bill.

McConnell names Marshall to Agriculture, HELP, Small Business, and Energy committees WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Jan. 3, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell named U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D., to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee; and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee for the 117th Congress. Following a phone call with Republican Leader McConnell, Senator Marshall issued this statement: “I am honored to be named to these important committees as they give our state a seat at the table when it comes to protecting the Kansas way of life and tackling the many issues facing our nation,” said Senator Marshall. “As a fifth generation farm kid, someone who has spent many years leading businesses in a variety of fields, and as a physician, I look forward to adding the Kansas perspective to each of these committees.”

Senator John Boozman, Republican Leader of the

in this great country are rocky, “I have a news flash: these are not the worst of times.”

When he first came to Washington in early 1967, the nation experienced the tragedy of the assassination

Senate Ag Committee said, “We are pleased to welcome Senator Marshall to the Ag Committee. He brings a strong understanding of the committee’s portfolio, and his appointment ensures that Kansas continues to have a crucial vote in the direction of our nation’s agriculture policy. I know Senator Marshall is ready to get to work to help our nation’s farmers and ranchers, and we are eager to add his voice to the discussion.”

“I want to welcome Senator Marshall to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee,” said Senator John Barrasso, Republican Leader of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “His insights will strengthen our committee. I look forward to partnering with Roger as we work to promote America’s energy security, economic strength, and environmental stewardship.”

“I’m pleased Senator Marshall will be joining the Senate HELP Committee,” said Senator Richard Burr, Republican Leader of the HELP Committee. “Senator Marshall brings with him more than 25 years of experience practicing medicine. As we continue to face some of the greatest public health, education, and economic challenges of our lifetime, Senator Marshall will bring a valuable perspective to the Committee. I look forward to working with him as we tackle the most pressing issues confronting our nation.”

of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Within hours, Washington was on fire, Marines on the Capitol steps with sand

bags and automatic weapons with live ammunition.

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dom gunshots rang out,” he said.

But, as bad as that period of time was, it was not as bad as the military march on thousands of WW I veterans demonstrating on the mall and setting up camp in the mid l930’s and demanding bonuses. President Hoover ordered them removed by military force, led by Douglas MacArthur complete with a tank, horse cavalry with swords, and armed troops, the bonus vets were quickly dispersed or rounded up.

Fast forward, the 1968 Chicago riots, Kent State and the horrible shooting of students by untrained guardsmen. Sen. Bobby Kennedy running for president only to suffer the same fate as his brother, the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. And then came Watergate.

“Those days were tough,” he said. “It was almost impossible to not face the bitter splits over political parties and even families.”

Background Roberts has also served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Emerging Threats Subcommittee within the Armed Services Committee and Senate Ethics Committee.

Roberts is a fourth generation Kansan. He was born in Topeka, graduated from Holton High School, and earned a journalism degree from Kansas State University. For 16 years, he represented the Big First District, including his home of Dodge City, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1996, he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Roberts is the longest serving member of Congress in the history of the State of Kansas. He and his wife Franki have three grown children and seven grandchildren.

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• GREAT BEND (KAN.) TRIBUNE • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Farmers stepped up during the pandemic

BY VIC MARTIN Barton Community College

Like every other sector of the U.S. and Kansas economy, agriculture was significantly affected by the pandemic. However, unlike many sectors, the Ag sector had to keep going to keep the food supply intact. And it didn’t have the option of stopping production or in most cases putting things on hold as animals needed fed, dairy cows milked, crops planted and harvested, and on and on. Finally, you can add on the economic and mental toll that everything going on in the Ag sector had of producers and the industry.

• As the pandemic hit and many things were closed down from schools to restaurants, fuel demand tumbled which greatly impacted ethanol demand.

Many ethanol plants responded to making hand sanitizer. While that certainly didn’t require as much demand as ethanol for gasoline, it served two purposes as it helped use grain stocks and filled a void for sanitizer needed across the country.

• Small packing plants such as EPPI in Ellinwood stepped forward to provide locally sourced meats as there were shortages across Kansas and the country with major processors shutting down or reducing output due to the pandemic. In fact many small processors are booked for months.

• While not what many think of as Ag, in our area and across Kansas, local producers of fruits, vegetables, and other food products stepped up and filled voids at the grocery store and even for some restaurants. Locally sourced foods from pork

TRIBUNE FILE PHOTOS

Combines are shown at work in this undated file photo. (Below:) Dr. Vic Martin from Barton Community College talks about “essential skills,” in this file photo from 2019. Essential Skills are incorporated into as many courses as possible at Barton, in a variety of ways.

and beef to fruits and vegetables saw increased demand that seems poised to continue.

• As other industries were shutting down or reducing capacity, all sectors of crop and livestock production, not processing, were pretty much able to continue to function within the restrictions of the pandemic. This was made easier in some ways as social distancing is much easier for crop and livestock operations due to the nature of their business.

• K-State Research and Extension from the state level on down was able to respond fairly rapidly to the pandemic and while many weren’t happy, they were able to provide many of the services they normally do. Meetings were held virtually as were many field days and

wheat tours. County 4-H fairs were still held. Some were fairly “normal” with minimum differences and some almost entirely virtually but they still happened.

• Unfortunately after almost three decades of the annual Kids’ Ag Day in Barton County, the event was canceled with the hope of returning in September of 2021.

• Even before the pandemic, local, state, and federal entities realized that the lack of high speed internet access was hurting the economy of rural Kansas. The pandemic

further highlighted the challenge as remote learning became common place. Monies, along with a plan, are now committed to addressing this issue which will help business and families in rural Kansas.

• One of the under the radar but distressing aspects of agriculture that started even before the pandemic was the significant increase in depression and suicide among members of the agricultural community resulting from low commodity prices, trade wars, and the overall financial strain that even included a significant increase on bankruptcies.

However, this wasn’t ignored. Government assistance helped make up for the lack of income for many producers. Perhaps just as important was/is the continuing effort to increase awareness and mental health services access in rural areas through Research and Extension and other public and private entities.

This includes awareness campaigns and new innovative ways to provide mental health services.

And this awareness and help isn’t restricted to the actual producers but also their spouses and children.

•In summary, all aspects of agriculture from producers to processors and from the USDA to KDA and K-State responded as rapidly as possible to the pandemic and its effects on production, prices, and processing.

Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/ coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620792-9207, ext. 207, or MartinV@bartonccc.edu.

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K-State Extension adapts to provide crucial community resources amid pandemic

BY DANIEL KIEWEL dkiewel@gbtribune.com

In 2020, the K-State Research and Extenion - Cottonwood District staff faced many new challenges in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And though the pandemic changed how the organization served communities in many ways, Family and Consumer Science Agent Donna Krug said 2020 brought many successes in the organization’s mission to promote safe sustainable food systems and build strong communities and individuals through research, analysis and educational programing and resources.

The staff of seven agents and two support staff of the Cottonwood District serves residents of Ellis and Barton counties. The agency’s goal, according to its 2020 impact statement, is to bring “research based, non-biased information to lifelong learners in our area.”

On that front, Krug considers 2020 to have been a success.

Krug said one significant change is how the office has adapted its presentation of programs and workshops.

In the past, she said, the K-State Extension has been known for its face-to-face program and workshop presentations, but the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to explore alternative delivery methods to continue providing programming to the communities they serve.

“How we reach the public now is different than it was last January,” Krug said.

Since the pandemic began, the Cottonwood Extension offices have moved all of their programming online, as well as holding all of their meetings virtually.

Only now, she said, is the organization beginning to move back toward a limited number of faceto-face meetings and programs.

Though it was not ideal, Krug said in many ways the change was beneficial, because it offered Extension offices a chance to develop new ways of offering their programs and getting important information out to the public, because how the public accessed the information changed during the pandemic.

Krug said the pandemic also presented

COURTESY PHOTOS OF K-STATE EXTENSION AND RESEARCH

Extension agents present a milo field test plot in Barton County during a Field Day in 2020.

opportunities for Extension agents to address many important health and agricultural topics which COVID-19 brought to the forefront.

For example, she said, the pandemic put a more intense focus on issues related to personal hygiene, particularly related to hand washing, a subject which she addressed in a summer program.

The pandemic also brought to light issues of food safety and global food production and distribution systems.

These are central to the health of Kansas communities, because as the state’s largest employer, agriculture contributed $67.5 billion to the Kansas economy, and employed nearly a quarter-million Kansans, according to Extension research from 2018.

To this end, much of the Extension’s agricultural programs and research seek to promote more viable and sustainable agricultural systems that strengthen Kansas’ position as a global food provider, as well as helping families make their food dollars go further at home.

Also, Krug said, with the economies of many rural communities hit hard with job losses and small businesses closing during the pandemic,

Extension offices statewide put a renewed focus on promoting community vitality. The goal with this is to help Kansas communities not only stay alive, but learn to thrive, meeting economic challenges by teaching citizens to work together to build stronger communities.

“We’re very much a community-minded organization,” she said.

In that respect, she said, the goal is not simply to improve the quality of life for individuals, but improve the quality of life for the communities they serve.

Though the organization began over 100 years ago as an agricultural organization, Krug said the issues they are addressing going forward are far more broad and complex.

Aside from the health, economic, and food system issues raised by the pandemic, K-State Extension agents are looking to help individuals and communities address a number of other pressing needs facing Kansans going forward.

One priority for Extension agents is addressing increasing water quality, and water quantity, issues, by promoting more efficient water use techniques in a variety of both household

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In a document entitled “Five Grand Challenges,” which Krug said is available on the Extension website, the group states, “We need to prepare leaders of all ages, so they may contribute to a vibrant Kansas economy for years to come.”

Through their programs and resources, they also want to help build healthier Kansans.

“Targeting the diversity of Kansans, our programs address quality of life, healthy development, and health behaviors across life stages for all socioeconomic groups,” the document states.

Krug noted most of their programming and resources are available to the public at no cost or at very low cost.

She said people can find information on all Cottonwood District programing and resources on their website at https:// cottonwood.k-state.edu/.

Agents at the Great Bend office can also be reached by phone at 620-793-1910.

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• GREAT BEND (KAN.) TRIBUNE • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Local oil industry slowly recovers from down year in 2020 Regs from new administration leave industry uncertain going forward

BY DANIEL KIEWEL dkiewel@gbtribune.com

Early 2020 saw national oil prices hit historic lows, devastating the local oil industry.

In late March and early April, oil prices dropped heavily, dipping briefly into negative territory brought on by a perfect storm of factors.

In the United States and across the world, a significant drop in demand for fuel brought on by COVID-19 related shutdowns and travel restrictions were only a portion of the decline in oil prices. Early in March, just prior to the shutdowns, Russia and Saudi Arabia flooded the market with a supply of oil.

The result of the combination of factors, according to an April 2020 Great Bend Tribune report, was that oil storage facilities reached capacities quickly, effectively shutting down the production of oil for several months as fuel prices hit lows not seen in more than 12 years.

Nicole Koelsch, a CPA for Adams Brown who specializes in oil and gas industry accounting, reported at the time the glut of supply and lack of demand meant many oil drilling and exploration companies have had to effectively shut down operations.

The fallout was devastating for oil industry employment in the Golden Belt.

As a result, said Dick Schremmer, owner of Gressell Oil Field Service and Bear Petroleum, both of which have operations in Barton County, many producers permanently shuttered wells that were not profitable. The fallout led many companies in

TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

An oil pump south of Susank is pictured in April 2020, following a collapse of oil prices fueled by oversupply and a significant drop in demand. Many local oil and gas employers laid off significant portions of their workforce and shuttered many wells as a result.

the Golden Belt to layoff half or more of their workforce in the aftermath of the shutdowns.

Even as oil prices began to rebound later in the year, rising back over to a $42.04 a barrel on average in January this year, he said, the industry is beginning to recover, but that recovery is slow to take hold.

“At this time we are not where we were this time last year (prior to the collapse), but we are getting closer every day,” Schremmer said.

One of the struggles local oil and gas employers are having, he said, is in finding qualified workers to come back into the industries. Without those workers, Schremmer said, producers are unable to open wells back up for production.

One factor he attributes to the struggle to find

workers is the extension of COVID-19 related unemployment subsidies.

The result, he said, is with the subsidies available, many qualified workers in the industry are less motivated to head back into the workforce.

Just as the slow road to recovery takes shape, a new presidential administration brings with it new potential regulations to the industry, which could hit the industry hard once again.

Schremmer expressed concern that many of President Joe Biden’s policy goals and early executive actions could result in significantly higher costs for area oil and gas producers.

According to Kansas Oil & Gas Resources Fund (Kansas Strong) Executive Director Warren Martin, a great deal remains unknown as to what form these regulatory actions will take; however, of particular concern in Kansas are the possible elimination of Percentage Depletion Allowance and Intangible Drilling Cost, standard tax deductions the oil and gas industry relies on, through regulatory action.

Martin said PDA is not a subsidy to the industry, contrary to what President Biden expressed in an earlier speech regarding the oil industry, but a standard tax deductions available to many production

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industries, which allows companies to deduct from their taxes a percentage of a land’s valuation as it decreases in value based on the depletion of limited resources through exploration and production. Any change to this, Martin said, would come not through executive action but through the regulatory process.

“What those efforts do is take away from the oil and gas industry the ability to take the same standardized deduction that every other industry in America gets paid,” Martin said.

This is just one example he sees of the administration’s efforts to hamper the oil and

gas industry through increased regulation, which is a danger, he said, with only limited tangible energy alternatives currently available.

Martin said any increase in the tax liability of oil and gas companies through regulation or other means would have a dramatic negative impact on the industry.

The average oil well in Kansas only produces about 2-3 barrels of oil per day, what is defined as a marginal well.

This means the well operates at little to no profitability, since output may not meet production costs. With proposed regulatory reforms likely dramatically increasing the cost of production on these wells, Martin indicated companies would have a harder time keeping these marginal wells online, and fewer wells would significantly decrease the amount of oil Kansas companies could produce.

“For Kansas, it shows one more step in putting increased hurdles in front of an industry that is providing cheap, reliable energy right now, in the hopes of having something else come online at a later date to replace it,” Martin said.

Martin believes the impacts of these increased costs hit lower and middle class Americans the hardest, especially in the form of higher utility bills and higher fuel prices at the pump.

“It impacts (the lower and middle class) the most, because it elevates the cost of cheap, reliable energy,” Martin said.

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FARMS FOR A CENTURY Barton County celebrates farming heritage with Century and Sesquicentennial Farms

BY TRAVIS HENDRYX thendryx@gbtribune.com

The Barton County Farm Bureau, in conjunction with the Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB), will once again recognize family farms throughout the county as part of the annual Kansas Farm Bureau’s Century and Sesquicentennial Farm Program.

Families whose farms have remained in the family for 100 and 150 years will be honored later this spring.

According to KFB’s website, ownership must be within the same family for 100 years or more by Dec. 31, 2021, with at least 80 acres of the original Kansas farmland. Qualifying farmers will receive a farm sign designating “Century Farm” status and recognition from Kansas Farm Bureau.

Other criteria include: • Present owner must be related to original owner.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Barton County’s first Sesquicentennial Farm was honored in 2020. Charles H. Rusco, left, the original owner, and brother Ben Rusco standing on the original pasture homestead site with windmill and barn in background. This photo was taken in the early 1900s.

• Application must be submitted to local county Farm Bureau offices by May 15, 2021.

Kansas Farm Bureau has recognized more than 2,895 family farms since 2000. The Hiss Family

was honored as a Barton County Century Farm in 2020.

“We recognize that

tradition and heritage are a part of what makes agriculture in Barton County an attractive way of life for our residents,” said Barton County Farm Bureau Coordinator Jerry Esfeld.

“We’ve had the privilege to recognize 70 Century Farm honorees and in 2020. The Rusco Family Farm was recognized as Barton County’s first Sesquicentennial Farm.”

She added that the Rusco Farm was purchased in 1870 from a gentleman who had homesteaded the land a year earlier but no longer wanted to farm the 160 acres.

Esfeld said there are other farms in the county that deserve the recognition and encourages those owners to contact her at the bureau office.

An online application form is available on the KFB website.

Applications are also available at the Farm Bureau office located at 4210 8th Street in Great

Bend. “There is no cost to the landowner,” Esfeld said. “In Barton County, applicants do not need to be Farm Bureau members to fill out the application.”

She noted that the Barton County Farm Bureau will provide the applicant a promotional membership.

Esfeld stated that this year’s farm income was up 40% nationally. “But, unfortunately, it’s not due to increased farm prices but government payments,” she said.

“Hard work along with good quality land are important,” said Esfeld. “Livestock, dairy, poultry, or pork are also factors along with good marketing abilities that make the farm attractive to the next generation.

The bottom line of all of this is it takes a prosperous farm to attract and hold future generations.”

For more information, visit the Farm Bureau office or contact Esfeld at 620-792-2236.

Barton graduate making nearly six-figure salary with two-year degree Natural gas industry in need of skilled workers

BY BRANDON STEINERT Barton Community College

Things are looking up for Great Bend native Sergio Montes, who has a high-paying job in the Kansas City area after graduating from Barton Community College’s Natural Gas Transmission and Distribution program, which can be completed in one year, but the future didn’t always seem so bright.

Montes graduated high school in 2012 and then went on to attend Barton.

After a year, he quit school and entered the workforce.

He worked for a year and realized that to achieve a better life, he would need an education and returned to Barton in 2014.

He knew he wanted to make a good living and be able to provide for himself and others, but knowing exactly what path to take to make that a reality seemed elusive.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do with

COURTESY PHOTO

Great Bend native Sergio Montes is a graduate of Barton Community College’s Natural Gas Transmission and Distribution program.

my life,” he said. “I just wanted a better life for myself.”

Once he discovered the job prospects in the natural gas industry, he began the program and stuck with it until he graduated in 2015 with an associate in applied science.

He said in order to pursue his education at Barton, he had to attend classes during the day and go straight to work at night, then get up and get to class early the next morning. He said this routine made for long days, which was the hardest part of the

experience.

Upon graduation, Montes immediately landed his first job in the industry as a pipeline technician, and eventually secured a job as an operator of a tank farm for a petroleum product company called Magellan Midstream Partners.

“Now I’m lucky to say I’m able to make a good living; I do very well now,” he said. “With overtime, it’s not hard for me to clear $100,000.

I’m not rich but that’s a step up from my previous lifestyle.”

Vince Orth, Montes’ instructor from the natural gas program, said he wasn’t surprised his former pupil was doing so well.

“Sergio was able to get hired on as a technician immediately,” Orth said.

“I tell students to get their foot in the door and do whatever job, to the best of their ability.

Sergio understood that dependability, teamwork, driving record, social skills and attendance were more valuable than As.” Montes said Barton’s program was intense, but thorough and effective.

The format is set up like a full-time job with classes lasting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through

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Friday, with one subject covered per week. This design is what allows students to complete certificates in as little as one semester and an entire associate degree in only one year.

He said the hands-on learning activities taught by professionals in the

industry and field trips to pipelines and facilities were the highlights of the program.

Montes is now living the life he hoped for, and he said financial stability isn’t the only thing he likes about his job; he genuinely enjoys the work and the company of

his coworkers.

“I’m thankful for that program and thankful I chose Barton,” he said. “I would say there is a weird misunderstanding that tech schools are for some reason less than a college degree, and that’s just not the case. It’s definitely a good route to pick.”

8

• GREAT BEND (KAN.) TRIBUNE • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Kansas Oil and Gas Hall of Fame ready to move forward

BY SUSAN THACKER sthacker@gbtribune.com

This time last year, the Kansas Oil and Gas Hall of Fame organizers were anticipating the completion of an extensive renovation and preparing to induct new members into the Hall of Fame. They were also hoping to hire a part-time curator who could keep the museum open on a regular basis and resume educational programs.

COVID-19 put all of those plans on hold, said Leslie Klug, secretary of the Kansas Oil and Gas Museum Foundation.

Sponsors are still looking forward to seeing the renovation completed and holding the first Hall of

Fame induction ceremony since 2015. They’re also still looking for a curator – someone who can advance the museum’s mission to share the history of an industry that shaped our state’s economy.

The Kansas Oil and Gas Museum, located at 5944 10th St., was founded in 1990 by a group interested in preserving the history of the oil and gas industry in the Sunflower State.

See OIL & GAS, 9

TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

(Right) The Kansas Oil and Gas Hall of Fame and Museum is located west of Great Bend at 5944 10th St. (Left) Displays depicting the history of the oil industry have been donated to the museum over the years.

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9

TRIBUNE FILE PHOTOS

These old photos show the activities of the Yost Oil Company. Al Yost Jr., who was inducted into the Kansas Oil & Gas Hall of Fame in 2008, donated the photos to the museum in 2015.

OIL & GAS, from page 8 There are many displays, representing all facets of the industry. The Hall of Fame features pictures and biographies of 82 past recipients.

“It’s 100% volunteerdriven and donor funded,” Klug said.

The main building of the museum displays such phases of the industry as geology, drilling, well completion, production and refining, and products manufactured with oil. The main building also houses the Kansas Oil and Gas Hall of Fame.

There is also a building dedicated to educational exhibits about the industry and about energy production in general, and another building for meetings.

Renovation “We’re near completion of remodeling the entire Hall of Fame and museum,” Klug said. That includes new walls, flooring and signage. “We’re trying to give every room a face lift.”

While the new signs are brighter and have more descriptive information for visitors, most of the existing content remains the same.

One display that did get an update a few years ago was the Petroleum By-products Exhibit.

Petroleum products are used in over 6,000 basic products that people use throughout their daily routines. Examples include perfume, lipstick, contact lenses, shampoo and combs. In 2016, the Byproducts Exhibit included a sampling of such items, but some of them – like a music cassette and a 45 RPM record – were out of date. A Great Bend High School marketing class was enlisted to find current items for the display.

Induction A Hall of Fame induction ceremony was once scheduled for April of 2020, but it soon became obvious to all that a mass gathering wouldn’t be allowed because

of the pandemic. The next induction ceremony may have to be a double induction at this point, Klug said, noting the board has an impressive slate of candidates. In the past, ceremonies were typically held every three years with six inductees, including three posthumous awards.

Those inducted in 2015 were Robert L. Austin, Earl Fox, Kenneth C. Gates, Timothy F. Scheck, Billy Morris Jr. and Cletus Younger.

Curator The curator’s position also went unfilled last year and school trips to the museum stopped. Filling the curator’s position remains one of the goals uppermost in everyone’s mind.

The goal of the Kansas Oil and Gas Museum is to provide educational information about present industry activities, to preserve the past history of the oil and gas industry, and to honor those who have dedicated their lives to the industry. The ideal person for the curator’s position would be someone who is familiar with the industry or who is interested in learning more about it.

Taking energy programs to schools is also a goal.

“We had a great relationship with the schools (before the pandemic),” Klug said.

With a curator on board, the museum may once again be able to host special events such as the Rig Brew craft beer-tasting event, which was last held in 2018. That will also depend on getting the pandemic under control. While large gatherings still aren’t taking place, Klug noted that the museum’s conference room is once again available to rent for meetings.

Normally, the museum open April 1 through Sept.

30 and by appointment.

Anyone interested in the curator position can send an email to director@ ksoilandgasmuseum.org.

The Kansas Energy Education Center is one of the buildings at the Kansas Oil and Gas Museum complex.

An oil rig is shown operating east of Ellinwood in this file photo from 2018.

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10

• GREAT BEND (KAN.) TRIBUNE • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

PHOTOS BY Keith Miller

Fourth graders enjoy a hayride during the 25th Kids Ag Day, held at the Great Bend Expo Complex in September of 2018.

Miller, Rupp named Friends of Ag

BY SUSAN THACKER sthacker@gbtribune.com

Barton County farmer Keith Miller may have retired from his post on Kansas Farm Bureau’s Board of Directors, but he has no plans to slow down in his work representing Kansas agriculture.

After 17 years on the KFB Board, Miller said he decided to let someone else step up. He’s changed hats and is now on the Kansas Soybean Commission.

“I enjoyed it,” Miller said of his tenure on the commission. “We’d go to Washington every year.”

Working on policy issues was one of the things he enjoyed most.

In recent years a lot of the focus has been on trade. As a KFB board member in 2018, Miller said, “a lot of our income is coming from trade and we need to be very watchful what is happening with trade.” He was hoping for better trade deals in Asian countries, “where we we’re being taken advantage of.”

While he doesn’t agree with everything that President Donald Trump did, he said the Trump administration made some inroads in that area.

“We need to really work to make sure we keep those markets open and that we are treated fairly in trade,” Miller said. “Trump did use a lot of good in the foreign trade picture. This last week (at the end of January), China bought more corn than they ever have.”

Increased sales have resulted in a spike in commodity prices, he added.

With the opportunity to trade anywhere in the world, the Soybean Commission tapped Miller because of his willingness in the past to travel overseas. (In the past he made those trips on behalf of the U.S. Meat Export Federation.) That is something he is ready to do again, once the pandemic is under control. In fact, he had a plane ticket and was ready to go to Nigeria in 2020 until the trip was scrapped due to the pandemic.

Miller also chairs the Great Bend Prairie

Fire Inspector Mark Orth from the Great Bend Fire Department shows a teen how to use a fire extinguisher during the 2018 Farm Safety Awareness Day, sponsored by Barton County Farm Bureau.

Regional Action Committee (RAC) of the Kansas Water Office.

Miller, Rupp recognized Kansas Farm Bureau recognized members and supporters at its 102nd Annual Meeting, Dec. 3-4, 2020, in Manhattan.

The organization also presented 13 Friends of Agriculture awards.

Among them were Miller and Harland Rupp of Victoria.

This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Kansas Farm Bureau and agriculture. KFB noted that Miller, in Barton County, has served agriculture for more than 45 years. He is a third-generation farmer and raises wheat, alfalfa, milo, corn and soybeans.

Rupp farms in Ellis and Barton counties. He has worked for 23 years to help Ellis and Barton counties with their agricultural accomplishments. He worked alongside K-State Research and Extension to develop the first Farm Safety Day and Kids Ag Day for students in both counties. “(Rupp) was the one that got me to run for the board,” Miller said. Rupp was the head agent at KFB at the time. Together, he and Miller started the Farm Safety Day project. Over the last 20-some years, Barton County’s Farm Safety Day has been held at the Great Bend Expo and, more recently, at Barton Community College.

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