MANSFIELD, Ohio — Conservation and Richland County natural resources matter to more than the specialized group of people who gather precipitation data, map things like farms and wetlands, and collect pioneer stories and photographs.
The Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD) enjoyed its Annual Celebration Thursday evening at the Longview Center, and it was nearly a packed house. Officials in attendance included Judge Heather Cockley, Bellville Mayor Darrell Banks, Domestic Court Administrator Elizabeth Blakely, county Recorder Sarah Davis, and Commissioner Marilyn John.
In addition to awarding the Conservationist of the Year and hearing an engaging guest speaker, a public election was held to select two new board supervisors. From the three candidates, Vincent (Skip) Malaska and Rob Scherer were elected to serve the three-year terms. The new electees will step in for Bob Winbigler of Worthington Township and Jim McKinney of Plymouth Township.
“Cows, Kids, Corn and Cicero”
Ken Ruprecht, a farmer for over 60 years, was the guest speaker. Ken and his wife, Marilyn, milk about 130 cows and raise hay, corn and soybeans on their 320 acre farm in Knox County, just five miles out of Butler.
“In his experience, Ken has identified major changes in farming over the years,” Bob Winbigler said in his introduction. Those changes include the roles of family, technology, and community.
“Less than 1 percent of the population in the U.S. is engaged in the production of food and fiber. That means 99 percent are not, and there’s a growing disconnect between agriculture and the nonfarm, or non-agriculture community,” Ruprecht said.
“People are looking for farms today with a red barn, maybe a silo, or if you want to get a little more bucolic, think of the Amish community where they do a lot of things by hand. They want a picture of a farmer that’s resourceful and thinks about things we normally associate with yesteryear, he said.
“Today’s farmer is still the same person that they were 40, 50, 60 years ago, but their operations have changed. But their goals and their drive to do things is the same.”
What does that mean?
“Think of it this way. How many of you remember telephones that had a wire connected to the wall and a round dial? How many of you remember party lines? Things have changed,” Ruprecht added.
Much of his talk, “Cows, Kids, Corn and Cicero,” suggested much can be done to help non-farming members of communities understand farming today and things like free stall barns, the content of processed milk, and the lessons a farmer’s children learn.
Conservationist of the Year
The Conservationist of the Year was awarded to Charles and Diane Winger of Heritage Hill Farm.
Board supervisor Matt Cook introduced the Wingers. “It is important for each generation to leave the farm in better shape than they found it for the next generation. John Winger, Charlie’s father, received the Outstanding Cooperating Award in 1968 and served as district board supervisor from 1971 to 1973. John’s dedication to protecting our natural resources was passed on to Charles. In 1983, Charles became the second generation district board supervisor, stated Cook.
“The goals Charles served as a supervisor were similar to his fathers, so that Charles and his peers could buy modern equipment and methods with conservation practices.”
Their conservation contributions include:
- Charles was one of early promoters of no-till crop production in Richland County.
- Commitment to the district established a driving force that led us to our current conservation agendas
- Attend monthly board meetings
- Donate the use of their farm for high school tours, civic group outings and projects
- Diane’s leadership of the women’s auxiliary
- Made their farm available for county land judging and accommodating hundreds of high school students
- Numerous interactions in Columbus to further legislative changes benefiting the district
Volunteer of the Year
The Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Frank Shipley. Shipley, who edited photos for the website, contributed more than 120 volunteer hours to the SWDC and a tree will be planted in his honor.
“I love volunteering for them because I always feel appreciated,” Shipley said.
Sen. Larry Obhof (R) provided service commendations to Shipley and board of supervisors’ Jim McKinney and Bob Winbigler for an excess of 600 unpaid hours.
Website updates
Community Relations Coordinator Theresa Sutter and District Technician Matt Christian reviewed a number of changes and improvements to the district’s website.
“We’re really excited about our website. We have a lot of interactive components and our volunteers play a big role in the data that we are collecting,” Sutter said.
Among the many changes or additions are new photos that either represent the activities of the district or photos that allow viewers to reminisce, looking at places from the county’s history.
The updates maps will be of interest to residents from a variety of careers and interests. The maps allow viewers to choose to look at soil contents, watershed locations, rivers and where they lead, and the locations of dwellings and livestock in the county.
Crediting DRM Productions for their assistance, Christian said, “What we see from this data is water quality is becoming more and more important. We believe it’s important to understand our watersheds and do our part to help.”
Krista Solars, a native of Jeromesville, and Peter Douglas entertained the gathering prior to the dinner. Solars, on violin, and Douglas, guitar, released their first recording in August.
