2016 A Salute to Agriculture - Spring Edition

A Salute to Agriculture The Heartbeat of the Plains

Published by

February 25, 2016

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

A note from the publisher ....

By Julie K. Tonsing Publisher, Fort Morgan Times and Sterling Journal Advocate

It’s springtime on the plains of Northeast Colorado! It’s 70 degrees today, and it’s only February.

Just glance around, baby calves are being born and soil is being readied for planting. It’s wonderful, and it’s everywhere! The newborns stay close to their mama’s, gaining nourishment throughout the day. The soil is baring its fertile grains toward the sun soaking in the rays of heat.

Ag producers everywhere are

busy as ever. There truly is no time in the life of a farmer or rancher for lounging in the springtime of the year. There is, instead, much work Julie to be done. All kinds Tonsing of tasks need completed in order to reap the rewards of a bountiful crop or a prolific “crop” of new calves to grow the herd with. Their work is never done.

It is with great pleasure that we tell the stories of yet another great group of folks involved in agriculture.

This issue is focused heavily on

The Heartbeat of the Plains

sustainability, something which Fort Morgan editor Thomas Martinez says is an interesting movement. He and reporter Stephanie Alderton came up with the theme after Alderton attended an agriculture conference in Loveland that was jam-packed with sustainable ideas. You’ll also see stories about area business, and profiles on producers, FFA kids and educators.

The list is truly endless and there are so many stories yet to be told. We are astounded at the overwhelming response from advertisers, readers and producers alike, for this, our fifth edition of “A Salute to Agriculture – the Heartbeat of the Plains!”

Yes, indeed — I’m a farm girl at heart. I was raised on a farm and ranch southeast of Holyoke, oh so many years ago, and I’m awfully proud of that. I swear there is nothing better than life on a farm and you just haven’t quite lived until you’ve done so. The sunrise and sunsets are more magnificent, the smell of “money” sweeter, and the life among the hills and the valleys is second to none. I wouldn’t trade my time on the farm for anything.

The family farm and ranch is the very best that life has to offer.

Thank you farmers and ranchers – we salute you!

INDEX

OUR STAFF

Sustainability

Publisher Julie K. Tonsing Advertising Executives Andrew Ohlson Lauren O’Brien Kaitlyn Lane Project Editors Thomas Martinez Sara Waite Editorial Staff Stephanie Alderton Jenni Grubbs Brandon Boles Callie Jones Brennen Rupp Bryson Brug Support Staff Josephina Monsivais Kasha Sheets Kaeoni Sonnenberg Duane Miles Project Design Kent Shorrock

Colorado Dairy and Efficiency Program.......4 Kraft dairies use of recycling..................... 8 Wheat seeds prove sustainable .............. 11 Performance Agriculture thrives in Morgan County .................................................. 14 Vitamins for plants.................................18

Business Crop Production Services .......................20 21st Equipment.....................................22

Profiles Bender Farms........................................33 Greg Ditter.............................................28 Published by

February 25, 2016

Cover photo courtesy of Kammy Schuppe/www.kammyschuppe.com In this edition of “A Salute to Agriculture,” you’ll see stories about sustainable farming, area business, and profiles on producers, FFA kids and educators. Publisher Julie Tonsing sums it up nicely: “We are astounded at the overwhelming response from advertisers, readers and producers alike, for this, our fifth edition of “A Salute to Agriculture – the Heartbeat of the Plains!” We hope you enjoy reading this edition of the magazine.

FFA A thriving organization.............................38 Student profile: Kyle Etl .......................... 42 Student profile: Charlene Dory ................ 46 Student profile: Melissa Hawkins ............ 48 Student profile: Austin Bornhoft .............. 51 Student profile: Brooke Stromberger........55

Education Real-life application................................59 NJC student earns scholarship................61 GMOs: To grow or not to grow..................63

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 3

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

Barry Gutierrez / Courtesy photo

Gary Gilles inspects Rainbow Park Dairy in Florence during the Colorado Energy Office's energy audit.

Milking the money

Morgan County dairy part of The Colorado Dairy and Irrigation Efficiency Program ager, started the Colorado Dairy and Irrigation Efficiency Program in 2013, as a small-scale study.

This year, after a successful pilot Dairies and irrigation systems phase that started in 2014, he use far more energy than other plans to get 80 different producers agricultural industries, but the Colinvolved. The program is designed orado Energy Office has a plan to to help dairies and irrigation sysmake its costs shrink. tems cut down on water and elecMichael Turner, the office’s tricity usage while saving their energy efficiency programs manowners money.

By Stephanie Alderton Times Staff Writer

4 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

“There are only 140 dairies in Colorado, but they account for a lot of energy,” Turner said.

Between the electricity needed to cool down milk from the cow’s body temperature to the frigid shipping temperature required by federal law, and the amount of water needed to keep hundreds, or even thousands, of cows alive and See EFFICIENCY, pg. 5

How to sign up If you’re a dairy farmer and you’d like to sign up for Turner’s program, go to www.colorado.gov/pacific/energy office/agriculture-energyefficiency and click on the downloadable application. For more information, call Michael Turner at 303-866-6665.

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

EFFICIENCY from page 4 clean, dairies take up a lot of resources.

They also have to use a lot more lighting than other agricultural industries. And wasting or contaminating those resources is not only bad for the environment and the consumer, but for the farmer as well. The more money a dairy producer spends on energy, the harder it is for them to profit.

That’s where Turner’s dairy program comes in. Each of the 12 dairies that signed up for the pilot project were offered a free energy audit, in which a Energy Office employee told owners about the current state of their farm’s energy consumption and how they could improve it. After that, a state contractor worked with them to implement those improvements, while they in turn kept track of their farm’s progress.

“The energy coach basically sits down with the producer and says, ‘Here are the savings you can make,’” Turner said.

Chris Kraft, owner of Badger Creek Farms and Quail Ridge Dairy in Fort Morgan, was among the first farmers to sign up for the program. Through it, he installed a machine that cooled milk about 70 degrees with cold water instead of refrigeration, and another that recycled cleaning water from the dairy.

“Saving energy is a great way to not only save money, but to save the environment,” he said. “A lot of times it works hand in hand.”

So far, Turner said the dairies that stuck with the program for all three years, like Kraft’s operation, have seen their energy spending reduced by about 10 to 35 percent.

That’s why he’s hoping to expand it this year, not only to include more dairies, but to get more irrigation companies involved as well.

The irrigation industry is one of Colorado’s prime users of electricity, and about 4,100 farms use powered irrigation.

So far, 60 new dairies have signed up for the program since last June. Turner hopes to get that number up to at least 80 by summer.

Barry Gutierrez / Courtesy photo

A cow at Rainbow Park Dairy in Florence --one of the dairies that participated in the pilot of the Colorado Dairy and Irrigation Efficiency Program.

“By July, hopefully we’ll have a long queue to start the program,” he said.

And he doesn’t intend to stop with dairy and irrigation. Plenty of other agricultural industries use more energy than they need to, and they could benefit from their own efficiency programs, he said.

In the meantime, he considers the program to be a success. “[The Dairy and Irrigation Efficiency Program] makes them more competitive, makes them a little more independent,” he said.

“And there’s an environmental component, especially with the irrigation, identifying better water

savings…it’s one of the few aspects of the operation where they can reduce costs without affecting the quality of the product.”

Stephanie Alderton: 970-867-5651 ext 227, salderton@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/slalderton

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 5

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 7

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

Stephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times

Cows take shelter in a Quail Ridge stable after a heavy snow storm.

Recycle, re-use, run a business The efficiency of the Kraft-owned dairies in Fort Morgan

By Stephanie Alderton Times Staff Writer

Chris Kraft first discovered his love for cows in South Africa, but now he’s brought it all the way to Morgan County.

Kraft, owner of Badger Creek and Quail Ridge dairies in Fort

Morgan, grew up on a missionary farm, where he learned that farming animals was his passion. He founded his first dairy, Badger Creek Farms, in 1988, after moving back to Colorado for college and marrying his wife, Mary. Now that dairy has split in two (the larger Quail Ridge Dairy was built

8 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

10 years ago, just down the road from the first) and become one of the largest in the county.

He refers to the part of his farm where feed is stored in human kitchen terms.

“The truck that they take the feed to the cows in, you can think

Stephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times

Chris Kraft stands beside the milk refrigeration machines at Quail See KRAFT, pg. 9 Ridge Dairy.

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

KRAFT from page 8 of that like your KitchenAid,” he said. “You can think of the loader like a measuring cup.”

That’s fitting, because he takes at least as much care in feeding the dairy’s more than 2,000 cows as conscientious parents do in feeding their children. He employs a nutritionist who figures out exactly how much corn, alfalfa, brewing by-product and so forth his cows need, down to the charge of the ions. It helps that he raises his own Holstein heifers from birth. They mill around outside in good weather, and live in long, covered stables during bad weather.

One of Kraft’s other passions, besides the cows themselves, is recycling—although he didn’t know it until that word started to Stephanie Aderton/ Fort Morgan Times

See KRAFT, pg. 10 The milking floor at Quail Ridge Dairy, where Kraft's employees typically go through 500 cows per hour.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

KRAFT from page 9 become popular.

“They were asking, ‘Are you guys recycling?’ and we were like, ‘No, no, I don’t think so,’” he said.

“But actually we do. It’s just that we’ve been doing it for so long.”

For example, he uses the manure from the stables to fertilize the portion of the corn feed that he grows himself. But in 2014, Kraft also joined the pilot Colorado Dairy and Irrigation Efficiency Program, which helped him upgrade his older farm to become better at recycling water and heat.

That focus on efficiency extends to the milking process as well.

Kraft prides himself and his workers on being able to milk 500 cows per hour, producing about 49,000 gallons per day. It’s not easy work, either. Dairy workers don’t get weekends off, and they

Badger Creek Farms and Quail Ridge Dairy

Owners:Chris and Mary Kraft 15960 and 13500 County Road 21, Fort Morgan 970-867-5758

have to work even harder during blizzards and other storms.

Fortunately Kraft’s family is just as passionate about the dairy business as he is. Mary Kraft grew up on a dairy farm in Brighton, and she is the current president of the Colorado Livestock Association. Their son, Stratton, works at the dairy, and Kraft said he’s especially helpful with mechanical problems. In that respect, Kraft is a lucky farmer—

“There’s a lot of stuff we can do, right here within our system, that can make us better, and that’s what we’re working hard on right now.”

Chris Kraft Owner of Badger Creek and Quail Ridge dairies

all too many agricultural operations fade away because there’s no one willing or able to inherit them.

So far, the future of Kraft’s business appears secure. And he’s content with where it is right now.

“We think we’re in a good spot right now for our family, for our business,” he said. “There’s a lot

of stuff we can do, right here within our system, that can make us better, and that’s what we’re working hard on right now. We’re not really interested in expanding at this point.”

That doesn’t apply to the family, though. The Krafts are expecting their first grandchild this year.

Stephanie Alderton: 970-8675651 ext 227, salderton@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/slalderton

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

Which wheat?

Courtesy Photo

There are many different varieties of wheat seeds on the market, but the best ones for Morgan County are drought resistant and herbicide resistant.

Choosing the most sustainable varieties of wheat seed

By Stephanie Alderton Times Staff Writer

Wheat crops may all look the same to the untrained eye, but not all their seeds are created equal.

In dry northeastern Colorado,

where wheat is among the most common crops, what matters most to farmers is how well the seeds use the water available.

Joe Westhoff, of the Fort Collinsbased Plains Gold seed genetics company, said new varieties of sustainable, water-efficient wheat are

coming out every year. So are other methods of more efficient wheat farming.

“One of the prime breeding criteria for northeastern Colorado is making varieties that are drought resistant,” Westhoff said. “We’re

See WHEAT, pg. 12

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 11

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

Courtesy photo/ PlainsGold.com

Wheat from byrd seed is a yield leader among hard red winter wheat varieties, topping the CSU dryland and irrigated Variety Performance Trials for three years in a row. Byrd also shows excellent drought tolerance, good test weight, moderate stripe rust resistance, and superior end-use quality.

WHEAT from page 11 always looking for ways we can do more with less moisture.”

For example, one of Plains Gold’s most popular varieties, Byrd, is the most planted variety in

eastern Colorado because of its excellent drought tolerance and high yields. But good, sustainable seeds are about more than just water retention.

Another Plains Gold variety, Brawl CL Plus, has a “Clearfield” trait that gives it a tolerance to a specific herbicide that kills grasses with the same growth pattern as

wheat. That keeps farmers from wasting resources on weeds, or time on trying to tell them apart from the wheat.

See WHEAT, pg. 13

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WHEAT from page 12 To get these traits, seed geneticists like Westhoff cross-breed different varieties until they come up with one that meets the criteria.

That usually happens about once a year, he said. He works with researchers at Colorado State University to cross thousands of varieties, in small amounts, every season.

“We sort of use the shotgun method,” he said.

Most of the dud varieties that result from this process are thrown away, but Plains Gold has had its share of less-than-popular breeds that went all the way to market. Bond CL, a variety that came out a few years ago, had many good traits, including good water retention, but it made for hard threshing.

“It disappeared pretty fast when the next, better variety came out,” Westhoff said.

Even the varieties that turn out perfectly don’t always work perfectly on their own. Robert Klein, a cropping system specialist for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said in a 2007 article that planting two or three different varieties of wheat in the same field can increase its productivity.

“Because there is no single perfect wheat variety for all production systems or in all years, using complementary varieties will enable you to realize the greatest benefit from a specific variety’s strengths and offset, to a high degree, its potential weaknesses,” he wrote.

Find out more To learn more about the latest wheat varieties for northeastern Colorado, go to plainsgold.com.

To learn more about Colorado State University’s wheat breeding program, go to wheat.colostate.edu.

Other traits to look for in a wheat variety include grain quality, maturity, winter hardiness (for winter wheat), straw strength, height and more. But the productivity of a crop is the most important thing to consider when trying to make it more sustainable, Westhoff said. The most productive fields will make the most money, which allows the farmer to continue growing food.

That’s why he and the other CSU researchers continue to breed seeds designed for specific rural areas in Colorado, like Morgan County. Not every region has the same climate, so not all seeds should have the same traits.

“To a farmer, sustainability is profitability,” Westhoff said.

“When you talk to farmers about sustainability, they say, ‘You mean survival?’…Our seeds are bred for the area farmers live and work in.

With prices the way they are now, farmers need all the help they can get.”

Stephanie Alderton: 970-867-5651 ext 227, salderton@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/slalderton

“Our seeds are bred for the area farmers live and work in. With prices the way they are now, farmers need all the help they can get.”

Joe Westhoff Plains Gold seed genetics company

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www.trinidadbenham.com SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 13

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

Stephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times

Tim Carpenter, location manager of Performance Agriculture in Fort Morgan, in his office.

An enduring Performance Performance Agriculture’s first Colorado location is thriving in Morgan County 14 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

By Stephanie Alderton Times Staff Writer

A new farming supplier recently moved into Morgan County, but most of its employees were here long before that.

Performance Agriculture, a South Dakota-based company, set up its first Colorado location in Morgan County six months ago. It sells seeds, fertilizer and crop protection to farmers all over eastern Colorado.

The location may be fairly new, but its manager, Tim Carpenter, has spent his whole life in the Fort Morgan area, as have most of the other staff.

Carpenter has worked for several similar companies in the past, and he was happy to come on board with this one.

“This company called me about eight months ago

See PERFORMANCE, pg. 15

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

PERFORMANCE from page 14 and said, ‘We’re thinking of building something in Colorado,’” he said. “And I said, ‘Okay, if you’re dumb enough to do that, I’m dumb enough to take it on.’”

Right now the location is small.

There are 14 employees, and it’s located in a small warehouse on Barlow Road in Fort Morgan, where 120 trailers are parked and ready to ship products out. But Carpenter hopes to start expanding soon. He wants to start building a bigger location in the spring.

The location is already fully functional. Carpenter and his employees sell seeds, wet and dry fertilizer, herbicides, insecticides and other crop protection products. They also perform crop Stephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times scouting, checking out a field to Dustin Bruntz (right) and another employee in the Performance Agriculture warehouse with a fertilizer applicator. diagnose any problems it might The company sells both wet and dry fertilizer, along with seeds, herbicides and pesticides.

See PERFORMANCE, pg. 16

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

PERFORMANCE from page 15 have with weeds, insects or disease.

Fort Morgan was a strategic location for the first Performance Ag in Colorado, Carpenter said.

“We’re what’s called a green field location,” he said. “Everything’s being built from the ground up…so eventually the plan is to identify any area that has a need for a first-class fertilizer, chemical and seed business.”

Fort Morgan, he said, is just such a place, and it’s a good starting point from which to explore the rest of the state’s agricultural areas.

So far much of Carpenter’s time at the business has been spent acquiring the right equipment and looking for a more permanent building. But he said the most important asset his location

Performance Agriculture Fort Morgan Manager: Tim Carpenter 19974 Barlow Road, Fort Morgan 970-467-2910 www.performanceagriculture.com

has acquired is the people.

“Anybody can go out and buy a truck,” he said. “It’s the guy driving it that makes the difference.”

His employees cover a wide range of ages, but they’ve all spent a lot of time working with crops and animals. Carpenter believes they have about 200 years of experience between them. All the staff at the Performance Ag office treat each other

IF YOU’RE DOING WHAT YOU LOVE, WITH THE ONES THAT YOU LOVE, YOU’LL NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE 16 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

like best friends, swapping jokes in between their work.

Business has been fairly good so far, which isn’t surprising given the number of farms there are in Morgan County alone. And Performance Ag trucks go all over northeastern Colorado.

“We’ve probably been to, just a guess, 40 different farms, but then each of those guys has five, six fields,” Dustin Bruntz, an employee, said.

One of Performance Ag’s major focuses is sustainability—that is, helping farmers make sure their operations stick around for the long haul. Carpenter said they abide by the “four Rs:” using the right fertilizer, at the right time, in the right place and at the right rate. That way they can avoid putting dangerous chemicals into

the ground water or otherwise polluting the soil.

“Most of us that live in this type of community, to an extent, consume what we grow,” he said.

“Or we live right next to it, or across the fence from it. It’s our job to make sure we’re doing the right things, and I think we are.”

But of course, he also hopes his own business stands the test of time. In addition to finding a new location, he wants to expand the staff and the area they can serve.

“We just want to run a nice little business and be able to provide people with good jobs,” Carpenter said. “How much better does life get than that?”

Stephanie Alderton: 970-867-5651 ext 227, salderton@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/slalderton

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522-6697 SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 17

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

Courtesy Photo

A promotional photo from tests of Take Off ST, Verdesian Life Science’s latest seed treatment.

Vitamins for plants

By Stephanie Alderton Times Staff Writer

Planting a seed doesn’t guarantee it’ll grow to become a wheat or corn plant—sometimes seeds need help getting above the ground.

Seed treatments, or chemical protection put on seeds before planting, can make all the difference in a crop’s health and productivity. There are hundreds of treatments available on the market, designed for every crop and

New seed treatment helps crops in dry areas

climate, but Morgan County farmers tend to need treatments for corn and wheat that can thrive in a dry climate.

The three-year-old seed treatment company Verdesian Life Sciences develops products for use all over the U.S. and Europe, and they recently put out an uniquely

18 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

drought-friendly product.

“Farmers use treatments to help protect seed from pests and diseases that can keep the seed from emerging, and protect its health while developing,” Kurt Seevers, a technical development manager at Verdesian, said. “It’s similar to a pesticide that would

be applied after it’s growing.”

But it’s important to treat some seeds before they’re planted, because diseases can affect plants in the early stages just as much as they do later on. And some seed treatments are designed to help with plant growth.

Verdesian’s latest product, Take Off ST, is a bit unusual, as seed treatments go. It works from inside the plant, instead of from the outside in, to improve See VITAMINS, pg. 19

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Sustainability

VITAMINS from page 18 early growth. It’s a new technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and it’s good news for farmers of all stripes.

“There isn’t a seed it can’t be used on,” Seevers said.

It has been tested on corn, wheat, soybeans, canola, lettuce and other seeds, because it affects systems common to all plants. It contains a nitrogen assimilation system, which helps with the development of amino acids and proteins. Seevers said it does some similar things to plant growth hormone, but with a much broader range of abilities.

It’s a “biological” seed treatment, which means it’s made from organisms that produce the same hormones as the plants it’s used on.

Verdesian Life Sciences www.vlsci.com 919-825-1901

Take Off could be good news for Morgan County farmers, because it helps the plant better utilize nitrogen in areas with dry soil. Amy Bugg, Verdesian’s vice president of communications, said that when the product was tested on wheat, the treated crop had a 48 percent higher nitrogen content compared to the untreated crop. And increased nitrogen content increases the plant’s ability to develop a larger root system and use more water.

“When you have more roots in

“When you have more roots in the same volume of soil, you’ll probably see some benefits in dry areas.”

Kurt Seevers Verdesian Life Sciences

the same volume of soil, you’ll probably see some benefits in dry areas,” Seevers said.

Take Off is new to the U.S., but it’s been sold in Europe for several years. When it was brought to the states in 2015, it was tested on 11 different crops across the country. Winter wheat showed a two and a half to three bushel increase per acre. Corn crops

HILL

yielded a four and a half to five bushel-per-acre increase.

Now the Take Off technology is spreading to other seed treatments. Verdesian will be using it in their next product, a soybean inoculant.

Stephanie Alderton: 970-867-5651 ext 227, salderton@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/slalderton

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 19

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Business

Stephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times

Operations manager Ron Dick looks at the storage tanks used to hold crop inputs at the Fort Morgan CPS location.

Caring for crops and community

Crop Production Services shows 8 years of success in Fort Morgan

By Stephanie Alderton Times Staff Writer

One of Morgan County’s most successful farming suppliers has managed to stay on top for eight years, thanks to its people.

Crop Production Services, an international company, has had a

location in Fort Morgan since 2008. Since then, it has become one of the best performing CPS locations in the world.

The employees give credit to each other, and their strategic location, for that success.

The business provides just what its name suggests: services to

20 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

Crop Production Services Fort Morgan Location manager: Don Geist 22282 Highway 34 970-542-2993 www.cpsagu.com

improve crop production for farms all over eastern Colorado. Those services include crop inputs like fertilizer, seed and chemical appli-

cations. They chose a Fort Morgan plot near Highway 34 for the new location because it was close to a railroad and several hundred miles of rural farm land.

“I would just say we’re centrally located,” salesman Terry Linker said. “And our main radius around here, it’s kind of the heart of the agricultural community.”

Ever since then, they’ve been “growing strong,” according to salesman Corey Rupple. They have repeatedly made it into the See PRODUCTION, pg. 21

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Business

PRODUCTION from page 20 top 10 percent of CPS locations in terms of sales and profits. Rupple credits much of that success to its customer service.

“I always believe people buy from people,” he said. “CPS has given the salesmen the tools to do about anything that we need. You know, CPS supports the salesman real well as far as what you need to offer to the farmer. But the farmer’s still buying from people.”

The Fort Morgan CPS is very independent, operating much like its own business without much interference from higher up. It spawned two more locations in Yuma and Greeley. But it’s also well connected with the Morgan County community.

“We have a big presence at the [4-H] livestock auctions,” operations manager Ron Dick said.

They also partner with several other local businesses on various projects, and regularly provide sweet corn to Food Bank of the Rockies.

But Linker believes even its everyday work serves to strengthen the community by making farms more profitable. Crop inputs can greatly improve a crop’s yield, and hiring CPS to diagnose problems with a field can save farmers a lot of trouble—and money—later in the season.

“You can be cheap and not put any inputs in the crop, and it won’t yield,” Rupple said. “It takes money to make money, so…through our education on different products, we can help their crops grow more efficiently.”

For example, they carry several micro-nutrient packages that help farmers get more out of the soil by putting several nutrients in at the same time, instead of just one. No matter what, Linker explained that its goal is always to help farmers get as much bang for their buck as possible.

Supporting ag for more than 45 years

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Stephanie Alderton: 970-867-5651 ext 227, salderton@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/slalderton

Stephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times

CPS employees work on a fertilizer applicator at the company's branch in Fort Morgan.

Find out what we can do for you MorganCC.edu

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 21

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Business

Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times

A John Deere flag flies across from an American Flag in front of 21st Century Equipment just east of Fort Morgan city limits. The Fort Morgan dealership is part of a multi-state company, but it tries to keep things as local as it can, supporting causes like SARA House and Fort Morgan Young Farmers, according to Terry Gass, vice president of marketing.

By Jenni Grubbs Times Staff Writer

For some brands, a color says it all.

Most people, especially in rural areas, know what is meant by John Deere Green.

In Fort Morgan, that bright green color is easily associated with 21st Century Equipment, the local John Deere dealer.

That was not always its name, though.

The story of today’s 21st Century Equipment is one of mergers with smaller dealerships and companies and continued growth.

Company history 21st Century Equipment officially began in September 1996 in Alliance, Nebraska.

The company was formed in order to purchase the John Deere dealership there called Plains Implement, which had been owned and operated by the McAndrews family since 1949, according to its company website.

Over the years, it grew and

Solutions through technology Fort Morgan John Deere dealer part of multi-state company, 21st Century Equipment

expanded in Nebraska, adding quite a few more dealerships in that state.

But it would be some time before the company would move into Colorado and Fort Morgan’s

22 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

John Deere dealership would become a part of it.

Going back to 1985, the Fort Morgan dealership then was called B-C Equipment. That year, KayJan, Inc. purchased the Fort

Morgan store’s assets and added it to its portfolio of John Deere dealerships.

KayJan, Inc. was formed in January 1952 when H.A. “Skip” and Edna Beiber bought the assets of the Cheyenne Wells John Deere dealership, previously called G&M Implement.

By 2011, KayJan had five locations, including Fort Morgan, and in April that year, the company merged with 21st Century Equipment’s six locations to grow even larger.

And 21st Century Equipment has grown even more since then, adding more Colorado implement dealerships and John Deere irrigation and soil moisture management tools through 21st Century Water Technologies at locations in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming.

“Over the past 20 years, 21st Century Equipment has continued to achieve the growth in scale necessary to remain progressive, attract top quality talent, fill our customer needs by partnering See SOLUTIONS, pg. 23

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Business

SOLUTIONS from page 22 with high quality brands, and recognizing that we must make our customers successful in order for us to be,” said Terry Gass, 21st Century Equipment vice president of marketing. “We have been able to surround ourselves with the best and brightest team in the industry by providing a great opportunity for our employees to grow their career, providing great benefits to our employees and their families, and providing a small-town work environment that makes our business an enviable place to call home.”

both personal and community relationships are important,” Gass said. “We strive to build the strongest possible relationships with our customers by focusing every day on solutions that improve their productivity, improving their profitability, and minimizing their risk.”

To ensure this happening, the Fort Morgan store has an “ongoing customer advisory board,” Gass said. It includes local customers who meet with company officials quarterly and offer their suggestions for ways to improve the offerings or service available at Staying local the Fort Morgan site.

A big part of the company’s sucOn top of that, 21st Century cess over the course of all the strives to be “part of the communigrowth and mergers, though, was ty,” Gass said, which he called remembering to keep things local “integral” to the business. at the individual implement dealer“We participate with SARA ships, like in Fort Morgan.

House, Young Farmers of Fort “At 21st Century Equipment, we Morgan and other local and recognize that we are an important regional programs,” he said. part of the community, and thus, The Fort Morgan location has

131 West Main St. Sterling, CO 80751 PH (970) 522-8888

Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times

Some of the mud on the wheels of this four-wheel-drive tractor is still wet as 21st Century Equipment master technician Brian Boyer does a diagnosis on its electrical system Feb. 17, 2016. Boyer, who has worked on farm equipment for 20 years, has been at the Fort Morgan John Deere dealer for 12 years.

20 full-time and two part-time employees, along with three “active” interns, according to Gass.

“Our goal is to become the trusted advisor of our customers, by helping them achieve the maxiSee SOLUTIONS, pg. 24

114 W. 3rd Ave Yuma, CO 80759 PH (970) 848-3340 SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 23

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Business

SOLUTIONS from page 24 mum productivity, the maximum profitability, and reduce their risk to the extent we can,” he said.

technology,” Gass said.

One of those cutting-edge technologies is related to soil and its capacity to hold water, which can Embracing technology be mapped out through the soil’s One of the things 21st Century electrical conductivity and its variEquipment prides itself on as a ations. 21st Century Equipment company is staying on top of the offers this technology. latest agricultural technologies “Using this technology enables and offering them to customers. us to provide our customers with a “Our ownership recognized, precise map that can be used in many years ago, that in order to variable rate fertilizer, lime, seedremain relevant, we have to ing and irrigation applications,” aggressively embrace technology Gass explained. “Electrical Conand insights, and continue to productivity Mapping can also help vide tangible and intangible value determine correct placement of to our growers,” Gass explained. soil moisture monitors. EC maps “We have deliberately transitioned are more accurate than satellite from an ‘equipment selling’ compa- imagery or standard NRCS soil ny, to an ‘ag solutions provider’ maps, and are viable for long time who happens to sell equipment.” periods (10 to 20 years). Change Part of that shift is offering of EC properties occurs only with much more through 21st Century dramatic land-leveling or extreme Equipment than the big green erosion.” machines for which John Deere is That makes these maps sustainfamous. able and powerful tools for farm“Today, we specialize in guiders, and one that 21st Century ance products, crop documentaEquipment can offer to them. tion, prescription writing and variMany offerings able rate technology for seed, The overall list of services, pronutrients and water management,” ductions and equipment 21st CenGass said. “Our goal is to provide tury Equipment offers is quite our growers with leading edge long. technology and turn it into better “At Fort Morgan, as well as at all decision-making for their operaof our other 16 locations, we tions.” proudly sell and support John The relationships that the comDeere Farm and Consumer Equippany seeks to build with its cusment, Bestway Ag Sprayers, tomers help make the new techDegelman blades, Eco Drip Subnologies more palatable, he said.

“We view our customers as part- Surface Irrigation, H & S Hay Equipment, Farm King Impleners, and understand that if they don’t do well, neither do we,” Gass ments, Haybuster bale handling said. “It is a high level of trust that equipment, Honda Power Equipment, J & M Grain Handling will enable us to take the steps to Equipment, Jet Trailers, Koyker make our growers better off than Loaders, Macdon header equipwhen we started. There is a lot of ment, Landoll Tillage Equipment, technology that we offer, but not Orthman tillage equipment, Shelall of it is for every customer.

Every customer and every farm is bourne header equipment, Unverdifferent, so there is no cookie cut- ferth tillage and grain handling equipment, Westfield grain hanter answer.”

And that’s why it is important to dling equipment, and many other have such wide offerings of equip- unique brands,” Gass listed off.

And the company also offers its ment and services, he said. customers service on all of these “21st Century will always sell a full line of farm equipment, but our things.

“At 21st Century Equipment, we advances into the future will primarily be around cutting-edge See SOLUTIONS, pg. 25 24 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Business

SOLUTIONS from page 24 won’t sell anything we can’t service,” Gass said. “We pride ourselves on providing top quality parts and premium service before, during and after the sale.”

And that’s not all, he said, the company also offers “leading edge guidance, documentation, variable rate and data management products and services” with these things “tailored to fit the needs of each individual grower,” Gass said.

The only product that the Fort Morgan store does not offer that some 21st Century Equipment locations offer is Valley Irrigation pivot irrigation systems, which are not covered here by the company’s contract with Valley.

“Beyond that, every brand we represent can be marketed and fully supported by 21st Century Equipment in the Fort Morgan area,” Gass said.

Sustainable solutions

One of the goals for 21st Century Equipment is to help its customers make agriculture both more profitable and more sustainable, according to Gass. Those goals benefit all parties, and they were established both by design and necessity.

“If we, as an agriculture industry, are going to feed an additional 2 billion mouths by 2050, we have to willingly embrace advanced technology,” Gass said. “In order for growers to not only be sustainable, but prosperous, they’re going to have to be progressive and accepting of new technology or practices as they come in to existence. Not only do we need to embrace it, we need to make every effort to maximize the potential impact of advanced technology.”

To be able to grow all that food that is going to be needed in coming years and decades, farmers

n E & e Com

Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times

Entering the cavernous service shop at 21st Century Equipment can be like a journey through time, as tractors and farm equipment of varying ages and types gets worked on or awaits solutions from the company's technicians.

The company offers service on all of the equipment it sells, as well as on some things it does not offer, according to Terry Gass, 21st Century Equipment vice president of marketing.

will need to get all they can out of each seed, drop of water and piece of land, he said.

“In order to remain profitable in the downside of any market cycle,

growers must achieve maximum productivity out of every square inch of ground that is in producSee SOLUTIONS, pg. 26

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 25

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Business

SOLUTIONS from page 25 tion,” Gass said. “Simply applying seed, nutrients, and water at an even rate across the entire farm neither achieves maximum input efficiency, nor does it achieve maximum potential output. The profit to be made when prices are marginal, can be found in the finetuning of an operation.”

One way this can work is by better understanding the logistics of what resources are being used where on a farm, and there is new technology that can help with that, too, he said.

“As customers grow into larger geographies, optimizing the logistical flow of machinery, inputs and labor can save man hours, machine hours, and get seed and nutrients applied much, much quicker,” Gass explained. “This translates into real money.”

His company also offers that “machine logistics” management

Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times

This sight greets customers who walk into 21st Century Equipment's Fort Morgan location, with shelves of John Deere-branded items, knowledgable staff waiting to answer questions, a full-service shop to the back and much more.

technology to its customers.

Gass said.

21st Century Equipment “can even provide solutions that apply Standing out When asked what he thought to machines and trucks that aren’t made 21st Century Equipment purchased from our organization,”

stand out from other farm equipment dealers, Gass again pointed to the solutions the company offers.

“At 21st Century Equipment, we know that growers don’t simply buy a piece of equipment,” he said. “Growers want to acquire a solution; whether for seeding, crop care, or harvest.”

The company seeks to provide farmers such solutions through its many offerings of “machines, technology and insights about the soil, agronomics, water management and historical data about their specific piece of ground,” Gass said. “Only 21st Century has the equipment, technology and insights to tie these together into comprehensive, profitable solutions.”

Jenni Grubbs: jgrubbs@fmtimes.com, Twitter @JenniGrubbs or tout.com/jennigrubbs

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Profiles

Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times

Fort Morgan High School agriculture teacher/FFA advisor Greg Ditter stands in the school's ag shop Feb. 17, 2016. Ditter went into ag education in the late 1980s after quite a few years of managing a hog farm north of Haxtun. "Hog prices went down, corn prices went up, and I went into teaching," he said.

Sewing educational seeds Greg Ditter leads ag department at Fort Morgan High School

By Jenni Grubbs Times Staff Writer

Greg Ditter raises a different type of crop from most of Morgan County’s agricultural producers.

Instead of raising food, he raises the people who will sustain agriculture for years to come: future farmers, ranchers, welders, ag mechanics and more.

Ditter is the head of the ag department at Fort Morgan High School, where he and fellow ag teacher Danica Farnik teach around 100 students a year.

That number of students is not too unusual for two full-time teachers, but having the same students

28 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

for all four of their years of high school is something a bit more unique to career and technical education programs.

But it’s something that makes the job just that much more fun for Ditter.

“It’s nice teaching ag,” he said.

“I don’t know if I could stand teaching English. Here, the kids want to be here. That’s fun. The kids ditch other classes to come down here (to the ag shop). We

send them back, but they really take ownership of the program.

That’s what makes it work. The kids like it, and the more they like it, that gets us jazzed about teaching.”

Second career Ditter was not always so excited about teaching, which for him is a second career.

However, his first one also was See DITTER, pg. 29

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Profiles

DITTER

from page 28 in ag.

“I managed a hog farm north of Haxtun until the late 1980s, when I quit,” he recalled. “My sisters said, ‘You should go into teaching.’

I wasn’t sure about that.”

But Ditter had experienced what ag students could be like from when the Haxtun school’s program sent kids to work on the hog farm he managed for their supervised ag experience requirement for class.

"Hog prices went down, corn prices went up, and I went into teaching," he said.

Ditter got his ag teacher licensure through Colorado State University, and before he knew it, he Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times was teaching ag students and act- Fort Morgan High School agriculture teacher/FFA advisor Greg Ditter looks over a farm equipment repair video two ing as an FFA advisor. of his ag students found online during class Feb. 17, 2016. Many of the sessions of the ag classes are at least “One of the neat things is to somewhat self-directed, Ditter said, with the students completing practical projects being the main focus, rather See DITTER, pg. 30 than passing the standardized tests that have become so important to traditional academic subjects.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Profiles

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hear the success stories, the kids who took ag all four years and came back to the county and are running things here at ag businesses,” he said.

Ditter said he also likes teaching academic concepts in a practical way, which he gets to do with ag.

“When we’re building trailers, we’ll do the geometry with tape measures, and then I’ll go through some of the math formulas, and they get it,” he explained.

Ditter also enjoys seeing the students succeed at competitions and in leadership roles through FFA. “All of the kids that are in ag are in FFA,” he said. “FFA is the leadership component of the ag program. Students go to competitions and learn basic citizenship skills.

They also go on SAE’s,” much like the kids who worked on the hog farm that he once managed.

Family affair

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Since a love of agriculture can be something that families pass on to their farm-raised children, Ditter winds up teaching many sets of siblings, groups of cousins, even the children of former students.

That makes for a ready supply of ag students, he said.

“Either their parents took ag, or they’ve heard about it and they want that quality of life,” Ditter said.

And the ones who do start in the ag program their freshman year tend to stick with it through graduation.

Many of the ag kids do not plan to go to a four-year college after high school, but they may want to go to a technical school, community college or other program to assist them in ag-related vocational careers.

It’s Ditter’s job to ensure the students know what they will need to succeed after high school if they plan to seek ag-related careers.

That could mean pursuing a bachelor’s in farm management, seek- Future of ag Ditter knows that the nation’s ing a leadership job at a dairy, getfuture depends to a degree on the ting a welding certificate or kids he is educating today about something else entirely. producing food and agricultural

Changes in teaching 30 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

Ditter has seen many changes happen in education over his years of teaching. Some of them have benefited career and technical programs like ag, but other have not.

The current focus on standardized testing is one of the latter types of changes.

“It is challenging,” he said. “We have our own standards, but the state has its own academic standards. And with the new graduation standards, it’ll be interesting to see with CTE where that goes and how it works. We’re so project-based, and a lot of our kids aren’t going to college, maybe trade school.”

But the district capstone option that the Re-3 School District is looking to create for an alternative path to graduation could wind up working out well for the ag and other CTE kids, Ditter said.

“We’re working with our administration now, trying to come up with what that will be and how we’ll administer it,” he said of the district capstone. “We’ll make sure it has rigor in it.”

Part of what will prove that are the standards set for workers by the various agricultural industries already in Morgan County, Ditter said.

“We have really strong community support,” he said of Fort Morgan High School’s ag program, “and we have industry standards that we meet, too. We’re very fortunate that in Morgan County we have so many businesses and ag industries that we can get to work with the kids and help them develop careers at.”

And having a background in agriculture can be a benefit for graduates seeking jobs, Ditter said.

“I hear a lot that employers will hire an ag kid first just because of their work ethic,” the teacher said.

See DITTER, pg. 31

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Profiles

DITTER

from page 30 products. But it also depends on people with very little ag education and even less background in crop science and safety.

“Production agriculture, there aren’t a lot of people involved in it these days,” he said. “Sustainability is key. We’re seeing less and less farmers, but bigger farms.”

Keeping those numbers balanced is going to be the challenge for both the country and the world in coming years and decades, he said.

“The average farmer produces enough food for 155 people, plus himself,” Ditter said, sounding well-practiced in delivering these statistics. “In 1960, it was 28 people. The American farmer’s probaFort Morgan FFA / Courtesy photo bly one of the most prolific in their Fort Morgan High School FFA advisor Greg Ditter, left, helps a student unload a tray of freshly fried Rocky Mountain field.” oysters at the school annual oyster fry fundraiser in October 2015. Ditter and fellow FMHS ag teacher Danica See DITTER, pg. 32 Farnik get very involved in the students’ projects and activities.

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DITTER from page 31 But the industry is far from topped out in production potential, he said.

“We could produce more,” Ditter said. “The question is, will we be allowed to? There’s so much misunderstanding for ag teachers about GMO’s.”

The genetically modified organisms he is referring to could be corn seeds engineered to resist weed killer or a blight-resistant potato strain or anything else that humans have changed through breeding or chemistry.

“We’re just as concerned about the healthiness of our products,” Ditter said of ag producers. “We have kids and grandkids, too.

We’ll have to tell our side of the story with GMO’s. That’s what’s bad about the ag community.

We’re very humble, we don’t like talking about ourselves. But if we

don’t tell our side, someone will and we may not like what they have to say.”

Ditter also expects the future of ag education to be more heavily involved in the science of crop production, rather than the practical side.

“That’s just where the industry is headed,” he said. “We could lose the ag shop aspect,” with the students learning the math instead of building trailers. “Farmers need to know the science, but they also need to know welding, construction, how to work on motors. They won’t get it from the science-based programs.”

But Ditter expects ag education to expand and branch out, with more classes aimed at ag-related careers, like water lawyers and large-scale farm operation business management.

Not retiring yet Ditter has been teaching ag for around three decades, but he’s not even close to ready to retire.

In some ways, the father of three adult children and grandfather of nine keeps himself young by spending time with his teenage pupils.

“Why keep doing this? Because I love the kids,” he said. “They do the craziest things.”

Of course that statement required him to give an example of the crazy things ag kids do.

“Two girls were going to help me load up a floor jack,” he recounted. “I could see that they were a little reluctant. ‘Mr. Ditter, it says it’s 3.5 tons.’ They thought it weighed 3.5 tons.”

Instead, the jack was rated for lifting 3.5 tons. Boy were the girls surprised when he showed them

the error in their assumption.

“I haven’t laughed that hard in a while,” Ditter said, smiling at the memory.

And he gets to build solid teacher-student relationships with nearly all of his students.

“We get really close to them because we have them all four years,” Ditter said. We have to leave town if we want to get away.

The kids will come in over Christmas break because they want to get away from their family.”

But retirement will be in Ditter’s future — eventually.

When it finally happens, he might have more time for travelling and hunting big game, two of his passions. Or he may spend it all with those grandkids.

Jenni Grubbs: jgrubbs@fmtimes.com, Twitter @JenniGrubbs or tout.com/jennigrubbs

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Profiles

Stephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times

A cow peeks over the fence at the Bender farm in Wiggins.

Traditions and trends

Tom and Marilyn Bender have 50 plus years in the all-natural beef business Over the years, they’ve watched their unconventional cattle raising method become a mainstream trend, with all the Owners: Tom and Marilyn Bender Tom and Marilyn Bender regulations and increased com22017 Highway 39 raised all-natural beef cattle petition that entails. But they still Wiggins, CO before it was cool. do it for the same reason they 970-645-2281 always did: they want to make The couple re-labeled Tom’s their cows and customers happifamily farm in Weldona as Bending for the right to put the words er. er Natural Beef about 50 years ago, long before cattle operations “natural” and “grass-fed” on their “The big feed lots, they don’t products. across the U.S. started competbed their cattle down ever,” Mar-

By Stephanie Alderton Times Staff Writer

Bender’s Natural Beef

ilyn said. “They don’t put straw in nice beds for them, they just have to lurch around in the masses.”

“That’s the difference between us and them,” Tom added.

The roughly 300 cattle that live on the Bender farm not only have plenty of space to move around in and deep straw beds to See BEEF, pg. 34

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 33

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Profiles

BEEF

from page 33 sleep on, they also eat only natural feed, with no growth hormones. And although they do get standard vaccinations, they are not treated with antibiotics. The Benders say keeping the cows in a spacious area keeps sickness from spreading among them, although they do treat cattle on the rare occasion they do get sick.

Tom originally started raising his cattle this way in 1962 because he didn’t like many of the things he saw at bigger feedlots, particularly the once-common practice of giving cattle feed mixed with animal by-products.

At first he and Marilyn sold beef mostly to individual customStephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times ers in the Morgan County area.

But since 1993, they’ve been rais- Tom Bender takes off his hat as he approaches the cattle pen on his farm. "You guys don't recognize me with this See BEEF, pg. 35 on, do you?" he said to the cows.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Profiles

BEEF from page 34 ing cattle commercially. Nowadays most of their cattle go to Meyer Natural Angus, LLC, by way of Stagecoach Meat Company in Wiggins. Meyer, in turn, is one of the primar y meat suppliers of Whole Foods.

Nowadays, in order to sell beef to “natural” meat companies, farmers have to meet a long list of requirements. The Benders have to go through a complicated auditing process in order to keep selling to Meyer.

There’s much more competition in the natural beef market, too, even from producers whose standards aren’t as rigorous as the Bender’s. But it’s well worth it in the end, he said, because customers love the meat produced by Bender cattle and are willing to pay for it.

“People that buy from us, if they run out they go to the grocer y store, and they can’t eat it,”

he said.

Although the Benders were originally at the forefront of the natural farming movement, they’re still tr ying to stay on top of new trends. This year, Tom wants to move to GMO-free feed, which he and Marilyn said will cost less money, but require more work. The couple already grows their own feed, so all they have to do is stop treating their corn crops with genetically modified chemicals and start cultivating them with a tractor instead.

The Benders both believe the current trend toward all-natural beef is here to stay. They pointed out that the number of small, natural beef organizations like theirs is growing.

But their own operation may not last so long. They’ve already had to downsize their herd a bit because Tom can’t do as much

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Tom and Marilyn Bender, owners of Bender's Natural Beef in Wiggins.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Profiles

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farm work as he used to, and, as “I just do it because I believe in it,” Tom is the case with many producers, the couple’s options are limited said. “I’m really particular about what I when it comes to passing down their business. eat and what I produce. I don’t like to put “It doesn’t seem like any of the a lot of chemicals on stuff, and I don’t kids, grandkids, are interested, sadly,” Marilyn said. “So it may want the cattle to have a lot of hormones just go away.” and antibiotics in them, because if I’m Even if it doesn’t carr y on after them, though, Tom and Marilyn going to eat the meat, I don’t want to be are proud of the way they’ve operated their cattle business for eating that. I want my cattle to be happy the past 50 years.

“I just do it because I believe in and content.” it,” Tom said. “I’m really particuTom Bender lar about what I eat and what I Bender’s Natural Beef produce. I don’t like to put a lot of chemicals on stuff, and I don’t want the cattle to have a lot of 5651 ext 227, ing that. I want my cattle to be hormones and antibiotics in happy and content.” salderton@fmtimes.com or them, because if I’m going to eat twitter.com/slalderton Stephanie Alderton: 970-867the meat, I don’t want to be eat-

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 37

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

Callie Jones / Journal-Advocate file photo

The Bank of Colorado Events Center at NJC was filled with a sea of Blue and Gold during the 2013 State FFA Convention. With FFA seeing record growth this school year, the facility will likely be packed again when the convention returns to Sterling June 7-9, 2016.

FFA: Thriving organization seeing record growth

By Callie Jones Journal-Advocate staff writer

With the number of farms in the United States declining, you might think not many students would be interested in joining agriculture organizations. But FFA is seeing record growth.

According to a September press release from the National FFA

Organization, membership stands at 629,367 students, up from 610,240 in 2014, an increase of 3 percent. The number of chapters also grew from 7,665 in 2014 to 7,757 in 2015. Since 2009-10, FFA membership has increased more than 20 percent.

Around 1,800 FFA members and guests attended the State FFA Convention in 2013, when it was

38 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

last held in Sterling, and you can expect a large turnout again in 2016, when it comes back to Northeastern Junior College June 7-9.

So how has this organization managed to endure the test of time? For one, it hasn’t been afraid to change with the times.

The roots of FFA originate from a time when boys were losing

interest and leaving the farm. Walter S. Newman, who in September 1925 became the Virginia State Supervisor of Agricultural Education, sought a solution to the problem. He proposed forming an organization that offered farm boys “a greater opportunity for self-expression and for the development of leadership. In this way, See FFA, pg. 39

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

FFA from page 38 they will develop confidence in their own ability and pride in the fact that they are farm boys.”

The idea was presented during an annual vocational rally in April 1926 and the Future Farmers of Virginia was born.

Two years later, the idea reached the national stage during the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City, Mo.; that’s when 33 young students from 18 states gathered at the Hotel Baltimore to establish the Future Farmers of America.

Less than a decade after the formation of FFA in 1928, a national organization for African-American boys formed in Tuskegee, Ala. The New Farmers of America was modeled after another Virginia organization – the New Farmers of Virginia – and began in 1935.

A total of 13 states received NFA

charters, and by 1965 the NFA and FFA consolidated in recognition of shared missions for agricultural education.

Girls were restricted from the earliest forms of FFA membership by delegate vote at the 1930 national convention. However, the organization realized the key roles that women had played on farms and in agriculture since the days of the American Pioneers, and in 1969 females gained full FFA membership privileges by vote of the national convention delegates, despite many state associations permitting female members long before.

Today, females represent more than 45 percent of FFA members and roughly half of leadership positions.

In 1988, Future Farmers of America changed its name to the

National FFA Organization to reflect the growing diversity in the industry of agriculture. That year also marked the first time seventh and eighth graders were permitted to become members.

Today all 50 states and two U.S. territories are currently chartered members of the national organization, a testament to the power of common goals and the strong ideals of the FFA founders.

While many members come from an agricultural background, it’s not a requirement to live on a farm. In fact, the organization recognizes that many of its members today come from an urban environment.

During a recent presentation on his trip to the National FFA Convention last fall, Riley Meisner spoke about five new guidelines See FFA, pg. 40

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

FFA from page 39 related to urban agriculture that were discussed at the convention.

“One of the things they talked about was urban agriculture — implementing roof top gardens, implementing special ed programs, implementing all these things that allow kids in cities to partake in this.”

Todd Thomas, ag adviser at Caliche High School, says part of the reason for FFA’s success over the years is the other two parts of agricultural education – classroom/lab experience and the Supervised Agricultural Experience Program (SAEP).

Both classroom and laboratory instruction are put to use in the SAEP component of the program.

In this approach, students work and learn in a real-life situation where they obtain on-the-job skills.

SAEP can vary from the traditional

home projects to entrepreneurship or cooperative work experience in production or agribusiness. The third component of ag education, FFA, provides an avenue for developing leadership.

As an integral, intracurricular component of the agricultural education program, FFA has numerous systems to deliver instruction in leadership. In addition, FFA provides incentives for improved student performance through its awards program. Thomas commented that teachers of agriculture have always stressed the problem solving and decision making approach to teaching. Through this approach, students are better equipped to cope with changes that are constantly occurring, not only in agricultural industry, but also in life in general.

“The strength of the program

lies in the flexibility and dedication of teachers whose philosophy is, ‘we don’t just teach agriculture, we teach students,’” Thomas said.

He points out that the optimal benefit of the ag education program is received when a student is an active participant of all three parts of the program. A program that is developed to include the three components with equal weight is said to have a “balanced approach” and therefore, is providing optimal opportunities for all students.

“The challenge is developing the balance and maintaining it,” Thomas said. “The focus for all programs in relation to total school improvement is to stay focused on a balanced program, develop strategies to remain focused, and evaluate the effectiveness of our balanced program.”

Ag education continues to grow because of its many benefits, which Thomas said include: Employability skills students can transfer from the classroom setting to their careers; life knowledge and all the soft skills that employers seek; instruction that brings to life the concepts of rigor, relevance and relationships by engaging students in a three-circle model that has worked since 1917 with the inception of ag education in public schools; instruction that will engage students in the globalization of agriculture as the solution for environmental demands, food safety, technology, natural resource protection and urbanization; immediate application of the principals and theories taught in core academic subjects — language arts, math, science and See FFA, pg. 41

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FFA from page 40 social studies; in some states — potential for college credit while in high school and potential for high school core academic credit through agricultural education courses; creation of future entrepreneurs; learning for diverse student populations, including ethnicity, special needs, socioeconomic levels, cultural backgrounds, etc.; opportunities for students to engage in service learning in real world situations; character development of all students; real-life training in money management, budgeting and maintaining financial records through SAE projects; and FFA and leadership development activities that help develop the whole person and promote interpersonal relations and communication skills, problem solving, teamwork and character development.

Callie Jones: 970-526-9286, cjones@journal-advocate.com

Times file photo

The strength of the FFA lies in several areas, including its local chapters in Logan and Morgan counties. Here, the Fort Morgan High School chapter participates in the annual Tractor Parade in downtown Fort Morgan.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

Courtesy photo

Kyle Etl (back row, center), with his fellow 2015-16 Caliche FFA chapter officers at the 2015 awards banquet. Etl’s FFA career is a reflection of his passion for agriculture.

Etl’s passion produces plan for profession

Caliche student Kyle Etl dreams of returning to roots after college

By Brennen Rupp Journal-Advocate sports writer

It’s often said that the environment we grow up in molds us into the person that we become.

If that’s the case, it’s no surprise that Caliche senior Kyle Etl has developed a passion for the agriculture industry.

“My parents own their own little family farm,” See ROOTS, pg. 43

42 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

ROOTS

from page 42 Etl said. “Both of my grandparents own farms as well.”

The farm life is something that’s ingrained in Etl. It’s in his bones, and it’s something he has a passion for. One of his favorite quotes is from the legendary broadcaster, Paul Harvey: “God looked down on the earth he created and said, ‘I need a caretaker for this world I have made,’ and so, God made a farmer.”

Etl has many fond memories from growing up on a farm. He said the most memorable moments came from riding in a tractor with his dad or grandpas as a child.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

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from page 43 “My favorite memory would have to be riding around on tractors and combines as a kid,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in farming since I was a kid. I knew it was something I’d like to do in the future being with my dad and my grandparents.”

All those times of riding around in a tractor have had a major influence on Etl. Following his graduation from Caliche, Etl plans on going to school for agriculture business or agriculture education.

“I’m the president of the FFA chapter at Caliche,” Etl said.

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ROOTS from page 44 fun. I’ve always had a passion for agriculture, and I’ve always wanted to do something in agriculture. Being able to put all my skills that I know and that I’ve learned into use to help our future generations would be a great way to give back.”

It’s not set in stone, but Etl is leaning towards attending Fort Hays State University, in Hays, Kan. “They have a really good agriculture based program,” Etl said.

“They have their own little farm that they use. They grow their own crops. They feed their own livestock. It would be nice to go out and get that real life, real world experience. It’s also half the cost of Colorado State University.”

Following college Etl hopes to

“I’ve always been interested in farming since I was a kid. I knew it was something I’d like to do in the future being with my dad and my grandparents.”

Kyle Etl

make his way back to the Sterling area.

“Honestly my dream would be to come back to Caliche and teach,” Etl said. “It’s close to home. My parents’ home is right across the street from the school. We live a mile and a half away. Just coming back here would be cool. I have plans to

take over some of my grandpa’s land. It would be cool to be surrounded by everything. I could do my agriculture teaching job during the school year, and I could farm over the weekends and during the summertime.”

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 45

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

Brush FFA Facebook page

The Brush FFA group poses for a picture at a conference they attended earlier this year.

Charlene Dory passing on lessons to future FFA leaders best friend. This year, Dory has taken some more responsibility with FFA, serving as vice president and a leader for a district.

It was in eighth grade that There have all ready been plenty Brush senior Charlene Dory knew of projects Dory and the rest of she wanted to be a part of FFA. FFA have done this year, and more Since joining four years ago, she will be coming up before the end has seen and done many rewardof the school year. ing things through the program.

What made you want to join Some of those highlights include FFA? two trips to Kentucky for a convenWhen I was in eighth grade, tion, where she said she met her the seniors then came and

By Brandon Boles Times Sports Reporter

Q: A:

46 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

Charlene Dory Grade: Senior Age: 18 FFA role: Vice President Years in FFA: 4 years Other activities: Girls basketball manager, 4-H, church volunteer

did an activity with us to show what FFA was. I was already involved with 4-H, and I knew I wanted to do 4-H. They showed us

the jackets and told us about CDE’s and other things like that.

That’s pretty much how I got interested.

There seems to be a good connection between doing FFA and 4-H. Where do you see that connection?

Probably showing animals.

Livestock is huge with both of them. With FFA, the main livestock connection is CDE’s, or

Q: A:

See DORY, pg. 47

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

DORY from page 46 career development events, so they go and judge the animals. In 4-H, you’re allowed to show them.

I think that’s the main connection.

As vice president, what are some of the responsibilities you have in FFA? You definitely have to be an example for those younger than you because they all look up to you. I remember when I was a freshman I looked up to all the seniors. They were awesome, and I wanted to be like them. That’s one of the biggest roles I have.

What are some of the things Brush FFA has done this year?

We did tailgates for football games, and that was a lot of fun. I was able to help conduct a leadership conference for our district, and also conduct a big conference for all the freshmen, which

Q: A:

Q: A: Charlene Dory

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was fun. We also were able to go to national convention in Louisville, Kentucky. We also have an oyster fry coming up March 5 which is open to anyone who wants to come.

Tell us about some of the conventions you have been at and what those experiences were like.

Those are so much fun. I met my best friend my sophomore year on a trip to Louisville.

We drove 18 hours, and that’s where you form those friendships being together with everyone. We have a lot of fun.

What has FFA done for you for when you graduate high school?

It’s done so much. In FFA, you do so much more than just things with the animals. If you want to run for a chapter or dis-

Q: A:

Q: A:

trict office, you have to turn in a resume and go through that process. That’s where I’ve learned to do all of those things. I’ve also learned to do a lot of public speaking. Before FFA, I would have never learned to do that. You learn a lot of life skills you are not going to learn anywhere else.

If someone came to you and asked why they should join FFA, what would be your message?

I would say whether you are involved with agriculture or not, FFA is definitely for everyone.

You learn so many things, not just with agriculture. Even if you’re not exposed to agriculture your whole life, you learn that agriculture has a part in your daily life. That’s what I would say.

Q: A:

Brandon Boles: 970-867-5651, sports@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/FMT_Sports

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

Melissa Hawkins translates FFA to daily life

By Brandon Boles Times Sports Reporter

Growing up on a ranch with her family, it was a no-brainer for Weldon Valley senior Melissa Hawkins to join FFA. Over the four years since being a part of the organization, she says the group has changed her in a positive way, growing skills and shaping her to become a leader.

Those skills have been put to the test this year as Hawkins is serving as the president for the group. Plenty of big events are coming up to end the school year, but those skills have proven beneficial for her and the FFA group.

And when she graduates from school later this year, Hawkins plans to continue See HAWKINS, pg. 49

48 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

Melissa Hawkins

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

HAWKINS from page 48

using those skills.

How did you get interested in FFA? It gives great leadership skills. I’ve definitely stepped out of my shell since freshman year. I was very shy, and now I am a little shy but nowhere near as before.

As president, what are some of the specific responsibilities you have specifically with FFA? You have to make sure the kids are organized and doing what they are suppose to be doing. You also want all of the events to run smoothly.

Q: A: Q: A:

File Photo / Fort Morgan Times

See HAWKINS, pg. 50 The Weldon Valley FFA auction, one of the bigger events the organization puts on, is coming up later this year.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

HAWKINS from page 49 are some of those Q: What events this year that Weldon Valley FFA has done?

We have not done much yet. Most of our stuff is really coming up. We have it bundled up at the end of the year. We went to the stock show, which was good, and also went to the farm show. We also recently did a shop showcase, where the parents for parent-teacher conferences can come look in our shop and the projects we’ve been working on. Our auction is coming up, as well as our banquet.

Have you been to some of the FFA conventions, and what were those like for you?

I’ve been to the state convention for four years now, and I’ve also gone to the national convention twice. I loved national convention. Getting to see your-

A:

Q: A:

tive manner. You can get people’s attention better when you approach someone with a posiGrade: Senior Age: 18 tive argument instead of a negaRole: President tive one.

Years in FFA: 4 years Is agriculture part of your Other activities: Track & Field, daily life as well?

FBLA Yes it is. I live on a cattle ranch with my parents. FFA is a good connection and I can self there with 60,000 members, all wearing the same blue jackets, take many things from it towards my home life. it was an awesome feeling. It What is the FFA group like feels like you’re a big part of here at Weldon Valley? something.

We are a tight, close-knit With FFA, what are some of family, especially since we the things you plan to take are one of the smaller chapters. with you once you graduate high We know everyone and get school? along. It’s really nice.

The leadership skills for What have been some of sure. Advocating for agriyour favorite experiences culture is important as well for with FFA? me. I’ve been given some great I like the banquet. It’s going skills in order to do that in a posito be sad this year because

Melissa Hawkins

Q: A:

Q:

Q: A:

A:

Q: A:

it’s my final one. Getting to give out awards to everyone is special. The national convention was really fun as well. came up to you Q: Ifandsomeone asked why they should join FFA, what would your answer be?

Don’t be scared. It can defiA: nitely be scary at first, but FFA does a really good job of getting you out of your comfort zone. It really is an awesome organization, and you meet a lot of people and make a lot of connections. I have gotten scholarship opportunities through FFA. It’s an awesome organization and I would recommend joining it.

Brandon Boles: 970-867-5651, sports@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/FMT_Sports

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

FFA has helped Sterling chapter vice president grow I was growing up my A: When sister had been in FFA and I

that our young members are getting involved and that our chapter had the opportunity to be able to will be in good hands for the watch her compete with a large future.

For Sterling High School junior amount of success and I wanted What are some of the things Austin Bornhoft, being a member to be able to do the same. I saw your chapter is working on of FFA has been life changing.

FFA as a way to extend my pasright now?

A member since his freshman sion for agriculture and help Right now in our chapter is teach people about all the good it year, the chapter’s current vice a busy time with our compepresident has found that the orga- does. titions coming up. We have a mulTell us about your chapter nization has challenged him and titude of members who will be this year. helped him grow as a person, competing in career development This year our chapter is a leading him to become someone events (CDE). These members lot different than it has been who isn’t afraid to talk to people are either competing in team or in past years. We have a very and share his passion. individual events coming up this large amount of greenhands The Journal-Advocate asked spring. All of our competitors are (first-year members) who show Bornhoft about his involvement up to most events and participate, working hard getting to know their event and practicing their in FFA and what it means to him. as where in the past our older skills in hopes of making it to the What made you want to join members are the larger part of FFA? our participants. It is good to see national competition next fall.

By Callie Jones Journal-Advocate staff writer

Q: A:

Q: A:

Q:

Proudly Supporting Our Local Agriculture

have you learned from Q: What being in FFA? I can say that A: Personally FFA has taught me more

than any other club or organization I have ever been involved in.

Coming in as a freshman in high school, I was the normal kid who had a fear of speaking in front of people. FFA pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to better myself as a person.

Through multiple speaking competitions and CDE’s I have learned to love speaking to people. FFA has also taught me how to be passionate about something.

While in FFA I have truly developed a passion about agriculture See BORNHOFT, pg. 52

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

BORNHOFT from page 51

developed a passion about agriculture and making sure that it has a positive image in the eyes of an everyday person. I no longer sit by when people talk down about agriculture because FFA has educated me in ways to challenge their opinion in a positive way and create a better reputation for agriculture.

Has FFA prepared you for your career after high school?

One of the most underrated things FFA teaches is getting you ready for your future. It can help you find a new passion and make one that you already have stronger. FFA teaches you about responsibility and other valuable career skills.

It readies you for the work

Q: A:

place and how to interact professionally.

Are you planning to participate in this year’s state convention in Sterling? If so, what are you most looking forward to?

As of right now I do plan on attending state convention in Sterling.

This will be my second state convention here because I watched my sister when I was in eighth grade. I am really looking forward to it being at NJC because I am familiar with the campus and where to go. It will be cool to be able to see so many blue jackets swarming my home town and making a positive impact in my community.

Q: A:

Callie Jones: 970-5269286, cjones@journaladvocate.com

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

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second is FFA gives me great opportunities to expand my knowledge on ag and what it does for the world. The last reason is I For Brooke Stromberger, a have grown up on my dad’s farm freshman at Caliche High School in the Iliff and Crook areas my who has been showing pigs for whole life. FFA is going to help about eight years now, it was only me be more connected to my natural to want to join FFA when dad’s farm in the future. she entered high school.

Tell us about your chapter Though she only just joined this this year. year, she said the organization Our chapter this year has has already taught her a lot and sold fruit as a fundraiser, made her more passionate about went to several leadership conferagriculture. ences, has done many community The Journal-Advocate spoke to service activities, and in all this, Stromberger about her involvewe have been striving to be the ment in FFA and what it means to best at everything we do! her.

What are some of the things What made you want to join your chapter is working on FFA? right now?

I wanted to join FFA for sevOur chapter is working on eral reasons. The first reagetting our activities ready son is I have been showing pigs for FFA week, Feb. 20-27, preparsince second grade, and that made my love for ag grow. The See STOMBERGER, pg. 56

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ing for the local and district creed speaking contest, and many other projects that we have individually and as a group.

What have you learned from being in FFA? I have learned many things from being in FFA. I have learned leadership skills, working as a team, how to be a better

Q: A:

record keeper, and how to be a good example to the younger kids who are in elementary school.

Has FFA prepared you for your career after high school?

FFA has helped me by making me realize how much I like the ag field and want to work

Q: A:

See STROMBERGER, pg. 57

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: FFA

STROMBERGER from page 56

much I like the ag field and want to work in it when I get older. I am a freshman this year and so I have a few more years to think about what I want to do, but FFA has made me realize how much I like ag business.

Are you planning to participate in this year’s state convention in Sterling? If so,

Q:

what are you most looking forward to?

I am unfortunately not able to make this year’s state convection in Sterling. I will be leaving for a pig show in Des Moines, Iowa, the day it starts, and so I will have to miss state convention due to my ag project.

A:

Callie Jones: 970-526-9286, cjones@journal-advocate.com

“I am a freshman this year and so I have a few more years to think about what I want to do, but FFA has made me realize how much I like ag business.”

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 57

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Education

Sara Waite / Sterling Journal-Advocate

CSU Regional Extension Specialist Brent Young gives a presentation on the Agricultural Act of 2014 to the Farm and Ranch Management Class at Northeastern Junior College Feb. 3.

Real-life application Students create tool to assist farmers in calculating Farm Bill payments

By Sara Waite Journal-Advocate managing editor

The Agriculture Act of 2014 — also known as the 2014 Farm Bill — made significant changes to U.S. farm programs. The reforms required farmers to make decisions last year about participation in safety net programs that provide protection from low crop

prices.

Those decisions made, and with market prices in the tank, now farmers need a reliable way to calculate just how much revenue they can expect to receive. Brent Young, a Colorado State University Regional Extension Specialist in agriculture and business management, explained why that’s important at a recent Farm and Ranch

58 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

Management class at Northeastern Junior College.

Young told the students in Professor Kelly Huenink’s class that the estimated payment is invaluable when farmers create a cash flow sheet, which they can take to a lender and, hopefully, get better loan terms. Without that figure, the farmer might face a higher interest rate, or even be deemed

too risky to even receive financing.

The students learned about the programs — Agriculture Loss Coverage-County (ARC-CO) and Priss Loss Coverage (PLC) — that kick in when prices for covered commodities fall below certain levels defined in the Farm Bill. He noted that for both proSee APPLICATION, pg. 59

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Education

APPLICATION from page 58

Sara Waite / Sterling Journal-Advocate

NJC ag professor Kelly Huenink (standing) helps students in her Farm and Ranch Management class figure out how to set up a spreadsheet that local farmers can use to calculate their payments from the Agriculture Risk Coverage program during a computer lab session on Feb. 9.

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grams, participating farmers can receive payment for their enrolled acreage regardless of whether they planted the eligible crop or not. Calculating PLC payments is more straight-forward than ARCCO payments, which incorporates more variables.

The purpose behind Young’s visit to the NJC classroom went beyond fodder for a pop quiz.

Instead, he was providing the background information the students needed to move into the computer lab, where they went to work developing a spreadsheet that local farmers can use to figure their payments. The completed tool will be available online, Young said, and he can also use it to consult with farmers who contact him directly.

The project follows up on a joint project between CSU and NJC last year, that brought students together with northeast Colorado

producers to help them make those crucial decisions about their Farm Bill elections. For that project, the students had to learn how to use the Agriculture Policy Analysis System developed by the University of Illinois so they could help farmers input their actual data. They served 100 farms through the partnership, Huenink said.

Young said he has already been getting calls from farmers seeking help in calculating their payments this year, and he and Huenink agreed that another partnership was in order. Something Young appreciates about this year’s project is that it draws on skills the students have learned in other classes, such as creating a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, and shows them real-life, practical applications for that knowledge.

“These aren’t academic exercisSee APPLICATION, pg. 60

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • 59

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Education

APPLICATION from page 59 es,” Young said. The information can be used by the students as they return to their family farms or achieve their goals of owning or managing a farm.

Jonas Cure, a student from Wray, was in the ag economics class last year that worked with the farmers on the analysis, and is now taking the Farm and Ranch Management Class. He felt that what he learned last year about the Farm Bill would be helpful in working on this year’s project.

The information is also applicable to his own life, as Cure said he hopes to join his family’s operation after college. He has appreciated being able to take what he’s learned back and help his own family with the same tough decisions he saw other producers struggling with in his class. “It’s changed so much,” he said about the Farm Bill, adding, “It’s just

going to keep changing.”

Young also spoke about the opportunity to connect the classroom discussion with broader civics lessons, incorporating into his presentation information about the politics behind the Farm Bill, the role of the Congressional Budget Office and the impact of sequestration.

Teaming up has been a natural fit for the duo, as Young was one of Huenink’s professors when she was a student at NJC and they have the same specialty.

Huenink noted that the Excel tool is the kind of project that piques her interest aside from the opportunity to use it as a teaching tool. “If we weren’t involving a class, I’d be in my office (creating the spreadsheet), because I’m Sara Waite / Sterling Journal-Advocate nerdy like that,” she said.

Students work together to set up a spreadsheet that can be used to calculate a farmer's anticipated payment from a Farm Bill program designed to Sara Waite: 970-526-9310, offset losses on covered commodities. swaite@journal-advocate.com

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60 • FEBRUARY 25, 2016 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Education

Farming is in NJC student’s blood

Mary Kate McCall was recently awarded a scholarship from RMAA

By Brennen Rupp Journal-Advocate sports writer

The Rocky Mountain Agribusiness Association recently announced its 2016 scholarship recipients at the 64th Annual Convention and Trade Show in Denver. One of the four recipients was Mary Kate McCall, a student at Northeastern Junior College.

“Once again RMAA has supported a stellar group of students and future leaders,” Sandra McDonald,

RMMA’s past president, said.

“These students showcase where our industry is headed. By supporting them, we are supporting the agriculture industry.”

McCall graduated from Lone Star Undivided High School in Otis. She is currently studying soil and crop science at NJC, where she has a 3.5 grade point average.

McCall said growing up on a farm in Yuma has had a major influence on her life.

“I grew up on a farm,” McCall said. “It’s just been my life. It’s something I’m passionate about. I really enjoyed growing up on a farm. Ever since I was a little I was always in the combine with my dad. Farming is just in my blood.”

McCall said she chose to attend NJC because of its well-known agriculture education program.

“NJC is close to home,” she said.

“It’s just a really good school. It’s See MCCALL, pg. 62

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Education

MCCALL from page 61 agriculture education program.

“NJC is close to home,” she said. “It’s just a really good school. It’s agriculture program is one of the best ones around. It’s just a really good school to go to for a good education.”

McCall said that being awarded this scholarship will help her accomplish her goal of making an impact in the agriculture industry.

“It meant a lot to me,” she said. “My parents are farmers. Coming from a farming family, I can see how agriculture works. My goal is to make an impact on the industry, and make the world a better place. It looks good for me that I was awarded a scholarship from a prestigious organization like The Rocky Mountain Agribusiness Association. It helps me accomplish my dream of working in the agriculture industry. It just means the world to me.”

Following her time at NJC, McCall plans on attending another school to finish her degree. After school she hopes to make an impact in the agriculture industry by any means necessary.

“I’ll go to another school to get my degree when I graduate from NJC,” she said. “After school I want to be in the industry and help make an impact somehow.”

Courtesy photo

NJC ag student Mary Kate McCall was recently awarded a scholarship from RMAA.

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GMO’s: To grow or not to grow

removed from one organism and genetically inserted in another. The most common GM crops are cotton, sweet corn, soy beans, canola and sugar beets.

The controversy over the use of genetBrownell has done a lot of research on ically modified organisms is more about GMO’s and last November did a presenconsumer preference than science, tation on them in Sterling. According to according to a former agricultural chemBrownell, 86 percent of istry professor from scientists say that GM Northeastern Junior Colfoods are safe while 55 lege. percent of the general Local farmer Mike public either think GM Brownell retired from foods are unsafe or don’t NJC last year. He grows have an opinion. He also GMO sweet corn and said that GMO crops sees no problem with the make up about 12 percent use of genetically modiof the market and will confied crops, which were tinue to be a niche for a grown by farmers in 26 other countries while. in 2013, according to a Colorado State “There has never been a documented University Extension fact sheet, “Geneti- case in the world of GMO products cally Modified (GM) Crops: Techniques hurting people,” said Brownell. He also and Applications.” cited examples where GMO’s are helpGMO’s come from a scientific process ful. in which genes for desired traits are See GMOS, pg. 64

By Bryson Brug Journal-Advocate staff writer

Former NJC professor says consumers may dictate whether crops are planted

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Education

GMOS

from page 63 Citrus fruit growers in Florida and Georgia have issues with citrus greening, a problem caused by insects. Greening can’t be sprayed against, and the effects have been devastating on citrus crops. Brownell explained that scientists are looking into genetically modifying the fruit to deal with the problem.

Brownell also responded to talking points commonly brought up by anti-GMO debaters such as the problem that Bt could kill Monarch butterflies. Bt is the endotoxin derived from a naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, and is used to make crops resistant to CSU Extension graphic insects such as European corn Currently grown GM crops in the U.S., traits for which they are modified, and percent of total acreage of the crop borer. Brownell admits that butthat is planted to GM varieties. IR=insect resistant, HT=herbicide tolerant, DT=drought tolerant, VR=virus resisSee GMOS, pg. 65 tant.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE: Education

GMOS from page 64 terflies are susceptible to the Bt protein; however, he said, butterflies don’t tend to live in corn fields. He also said that he has never seen any evidence on his own farm that the GMO’s are damaging the environment.

Brownell talked about the big problem at the heart of the issue. That is the need to protect crops from pests in order to keep them viable. There have been cases where pesticide resistant weeds and insects have been found after heavy use of pesticides. Brownell said that the reality is that pests and weeds tend to become immune to whatever is used against them and the problem of keeping crops safe from pests and weeds is a continuing one that requires the continual creation of new chemi-

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Another local problem popped up last year when local sugar beet company Western Sugar was concerned that its sugar beets, which are genetically modified, could be banned.

Rebecca Larson, a representative of Western Sugar, explained that this issue was settled.

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“There is no risk of sugar beets being banned,” Larson said. She went on to explain that the beets are only modified to tolerate herbicides and this modification has no bearing on the final product.

“The final product is pure sucrose crystals,” Larson said.

“The sugar was tested last year and there is no trace of genetically modified substance in it.”

Another issue is the concern of cross pollination of GM crops into organic ones. Brownell explained that most farmers these days plant a buffer strip of plants at the edge of properties to put distance and a buffer zone between the different types of crops.

Brownell also explained that there are a lot of special interest

groups who put out misinformation online. He added that many of these studies have been disproven. He also added that more studies have been done on GMO’s than on anything else ever made for human consumption.

In the end, it comes down to what consumers want and are willing to pay for. Wal-Mart has stopped stocking GM milk because the consumers refused to buy it. Brownell said the organic market is out there and it is up to the consumer to decide.

“If the consumer decides what they want and are willing to pay for it, that’s fine with me,” Brownell said.

Bryson Brug: 970-526-9283, bbrug@journal-advocate.com

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A MESSAGE FROM ALLEN BOELTER, GENERAL MANAGER, CARGILL FORT MORGAN …

Agricullture trully is the “Heartbeat of the Plains..” When I start thinking about alll the ways in which ag plays a part of our everyday lives, it is beyond amazing.. I cannot think of even one activity that we do every day that does not have its roots in ag..

That is how it is for us here at Cargilll, too..

Our very existence relies on the agricullture producer.. Without them, our circle of life woulld be broken.. We work together, hand in hand. They supply the cattlle, we supplly the venue for that beef to find its way on to your table.. Together, we can then help better the lives of our friends and famillies, as welll as our community.

Cargill values community, of giving back.. We are proud supporters of people and events in our community in order to make things better.

Cargill values agriculture and its farm and ranch producers for helping create the quality of life that we alll hold so dear.. They work so hard to produce those commodities that we have come to rely upon and cherish..

On behalf of the 2,100 emplloyees of the Fort Morgan Cargilll, Thank You, to these producers and supplliers of cattlle.. They grow the finest quality beef and have forged a strong working partnership with Cargill that is meaningfull and profitablle for alll.

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BEST!