WARSAW — The 63rd annual meeting for the Kosciusko County Soil & Water Conservation District recognized the conservation efforts of county youth and farmers Tuesday evening, Feb. 18. The meeting was held at Wyndham Gardens, Warsaw, with close to 100 attending.

The county’s top high school soil judgers were recognized for their dedication and work with the annual soil judging awards. This year FFA members from Tippecanoe Valley, Wawasee and Whitko high schools were honored. Those recognized were Justin Beer and Jacob Wilkinson, Wawasee High School; Amber Evans, Tippecanoe Valley High School; and Ryan Brown, Whitko High School.

Area farmers were recognized with presentations of the River Friendly Farmer and Conservation awards in the areas of forestry, urban, environmental enhancement and the Conservation Farmer of the Year Award.

Sherman Bryant, North Webster, was presented the River Friendly Farmer Award. The farm operation of Bryant and his late wife, Colleen, was one of 47 farms during the past year recognized with the Indiana’s River Friendly Farmer Award. Bryant operates a grain operation with a few acres of hay in the Tippecanoe River Watershed. He has improved aggregate stability with the use of no-till and cover crops, resulting in vast improvement in soil health. He has been involved in the Conservation Stewardship Program and InField Advantage Program. He has also served on both the county SWCD and the state IASWCD board over the years, sharing his passion and knowledge of conservation with state legislators and local watershed groups.

The Conservation Farmer of the Year Award was presented to J and M Farms, North Webster, the father-son operation of Jon and Matt Roberts, that has a long history of agricultural advocacy and service in the community, serving on several local and state boards on behalf of agriculture. J and M Farms has implemented several conservation practices on its grain and cattle operation, which include no-till planting, cover crops, filter strips, WASCOBs and timer stand improvement. Nutrient and integrated pest management strategies have been used along with rotational grazing and waste storage facilities.

Claude Diehl, Warsaw, was presented the Forestry Award for management strategies on the family’s woodland acres. These have included timber stand improvement, managed timber harvests and woodland conversion through the Conservation Reserve Program. Planting of new trees each year and protection with deer fencing has aggressively controlled invasive species. One of the more innovative projects has been the creation of forest openings to encourage the regeneration of oak trees. Diehl has continued the family tradition of woodland stewardship and innovative forest management.

Mark and Melanie Vanlaningham, Mentone, owners of Creation Celebration, were recipients of the Urban Conservation Award. The Vanlaninghams constructed a seasonal high tunnel with assistance form the Natural Resources Conservation Service, allowing for the expanded growing season of locally-grown produce. These foods are then sold to the community on-site, distributed to local school and excess produce donated to local food pantries.

NIPSCO Forestry was presented the Environmental Enhancement Award. A partnership was formed with NIPSCO Forestry when invasive species were identified as a major problem on the district’s 60-acre wetland property. NIPSCO Forestry has donated three years of annual control of phragmites, purple loosestrife and reed canarygrass for the wetland, a $10,000 value. The property is an important wetland complex that serves as a buffer for the Tippecanoe River and Center Lake where there are nesting bald eagles. Additionally the value of this service is available to use as a match for additional funding for conservation through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Guests at the meeting also were presented with highlights of the district from 2019. Darci Zolman, SWCD program administrator, highlighted regional conservation partnerships; lake and river enhancement grants; watershed grant projects; adult outreach programs, workshops and field days; community service such as snapshot monitoring day, master naturalist program, North Webster Elementary windbreak project, wildlife food plot seed, tree sales and Tippecanoe River expedition; and programs for youth including the local raft program and student engagement programs. She also touched on the Soil & Water Conservation Endowment Fund.

Prior to the presentation of awards and year highlights, Dawn Slack from the Nature Conservancy presented the keynote address. She spoke on the topic of “It’s Costly and They Are Everywhere, So Why Worry About Invasive Plants.” Her presentation was relevant as the county is in the beginning stages of developing a Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area group.