Six couples have been honored as the 2017 class of Kansas Master Farmers and Master Farm Homemakers in recognition of their leadership in agriculture, environmental stewardship and service to their communities. They were recognized at a recent banquet in Manhattan.
The statewide award program is in its 91st year and is sponsored by Kansas State University Research and Extension and Kansas Farmer magazine.
The 2017 honorees are as follows: Robert and Charlotte Anderson, Cloud County; Mark and Evelyn Diederich, Washington County; Clifton and Kathy Heiniger, Brown County; Douglas and Jean Higbie, Franklin County; Kendall and Melinda Hodgson, Rice County; and Willard and Phyllis McClure, Stafford County.
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What are the Kansas Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker programs?
The Kansas Master Farmers and Master Farm Homemakers comprise a select group of nearly 400 Kansans who have been recognized for success in their agricultural operations and service to their communities.
The Kansas Master Farmer Association and the Master Farm Homemakers Guild were formed in the late 1920s to publicly recognize excellence in farming, homemaking, farm living and rural citizenship.
In 1953, Kansas State University, through the Cooperative Extension Service, assumed responsibility for the selection process and setting up the annual banquet. Today, K-State Research and Extension and Kansas Farmer magazine co-sponsor the program.
County extension councils and extension districts nominate farm couples. The associate director for extension and applied research appoints a committee to choose one couple from each of the four extension areas in the state, plus two additional couples at large.
More information is available through the K-State Research and Extension administrative office at 785-532-5820.