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Jackson County Conservation District |
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Tribute to the Farmer Sharon Parker, JCCD Executive Director
You could feel the impending precipitation this gray November day as evening was approaching fast. He knew the night would be long if he wanted to get the harvest done before Mother Nature gave it a gift. Finishing tonight, before the weather, meant a better market price.
Yet, with pride in his voice he said, “Come on Sharon, climb in and I’ll take you around for a couple of laps…” The huge green machine waited in the field as we move toward it to climb the steps into its enclosed cab. My first step of the climb up reminded me of ballerinas when they practice. I thought I was a wishbone at Thanksgiving. Perched high inside the cab protected from the elements, the electronic command center with all its buttons and gauges, waited for the confident touch of the farmer’s hand.
“We’re rolling, just relax,” he said. He starts to explain what the machine is capable of doing with just a push of the right button. Pressing buttons, watching the gauges as well as the field when I shout “Look out for that big rock” and answering his cell phone, he calmly says “that’s okay Sharon, this big machine can handle anything…it senses the rock is there and goes right over it”. I breathe a big sigh of relief. I watch the mouth (cutter bar) with 100 or so horizontally moving teeth (cutters) gobble up the soybeans in the twenty five foot path of this insatiable machine with an appetite of taking 25 to 35 bushels per minute, chew it up, throw the chaff to the wind and the beans into a wagon it hauls behind. Looking out over the field waiting our approach, you could not help but notice the runway appearance of paths made by deer and other wildlife with a sprinkling of Mother Nature’s artwork of flattened out areas. He didn’t appreciate the artistic design like I did.
We turned wide and headed back when we started to slow down and suddenly stop. We needed to unload the full wagon of beans into an eighteen wheeler for market. “Turn around Sharon, watch through the glass for a minute, he said, we are dumping three bushels a second.” I thought, faster then the harvest part, sounds like my wallet.
We headed for my car after unloading and as I climbed down the combine he said, “have a good night Sharon” turned and headed into the darkness of the evening with lights to guide his journey. He had to beat Mother Nature at her game. In all my years I have seen many changes from when I helped my grandfather on the farm during harvest. Thank you for the experience.
Next time you pass a farm or see a farmer, pause for a moment to thank him or her for all their dedication, respect for the environment and knowledge of understanding the impact we all make on this earth. Their dedication to being wise stewards of our natural resources on this plant makes our very existence possible.
The Conservation District serves as a valuable resource for the farmer as well as all landowners, agencies, schools, organizations and clubs. Our knowledgeable staff provides technical assistance and when possible program assistance to address your natural resource concerns while realizing the best potential use of the land.
The District received 815 calls related to natural resource services and needs. The staff made 34 on-site visits resulting in advice and 10 written management plans covering 449 acres. This free service is still available with some restrictions for 2007 and beyond. In addition, through a co-operative agreement with NRCS, 24 land determinations were completed.
Landowners participated in our two tree sales and one plant sale planting over 102,281 trees, shrubs and native plants to purify our air and beauty and cover to our landscape. The rental of our tree planter resulted in 3000 acres planted with trees and a grain drill to plant 104 acres in warm season grasses.
The District hosts educational programs throughout the year. This year 5900 youth, producers, garden clubs and associations benefited from our programs, the 83 news articles and 15 newsletters.
At the office, our recycling efforts resulted in 13 large shipments of toner cartridges, and 750 pounds of paper and cardboard not entering our landfills. Our goals are many and we appreciate the 150 volunteers who came out this year to help us attain our objective of providing education and technical assistance to everyone in making the best land use decision for protecting our natural resources.
Together we all make the difference. It started after the dust bowl period when a few wise men together formed the first soil and water conservation district to address the erosion problems. Over the years it has grown to include all natural resources. All of us need to make the best land use decisions for the protection of our natural resources if we want to preserve our precious planet.
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