As planting season begins this spring, Jerauld County Conservation District board members Lynn Horsley and Fred Krohmer reflect on the organization’s rich past while sharing information about new programs and services the district offers to area ag producers.
“Most farmers know we plant trees and grass and have for all those years, in fact, since 1944, we have planted over 5,000 acres of trees,” said Jerauld County Conservation District Chairman Lynn Horsley, who has been a board member for the organization since 1989. “While tree planting is still a big focus for us, we have recently entered into something new — seed distribution through a partnership with Millborn Seeds that allows farmers to order direct from us and pick up right here in town.”
Krohmer, who has served on the board for three years, said that with this program, buying seed from the conservation district is the same price as buying direct from Millborn.
“Millborn works with conservation districts with special pricing to not only get their product out there to farmers but also to help the conservation districts thrive,” Krohmer explained. “We operate independently and haven’t had to lean on the county for funding in many years — and we hope that through this partnership, we can continue to operate without relying on the taxpayers.”
Through this new partnership, the Jerauld County Conservation District offers native grass seeds for CRP seeding, cover crops, alfalfa, food plot seed and bulk lawn seed.
And with a top-notch drill and tractor with auto steer to ensure that seeds are planted correctly, the Jerauld County Conservation District is available to hire for custom seed drilling.
“Our drill has three seed boxes and Charlie (Bergeleen) is a conscientious operator,” Horsley explained. “When seed costs $150 an acre, you want it done right.”
Expanding its offerings and services is necessary due to decreased tree planting overall but Krohmer and Horsley still tout the importance of planting trees, mentioning that Conservation trees will be arriving soon.
“Back in the early 2000s, we were planting 2 -300 acres a year. A lot of CRP acres went in at that time and trees were a big enhancement,” Horsley said. “It has decreased since then with less farms than 20 years ago and let’s face it, commodity prices are pretty good. Most guys don’t want to use up acres for trees.”
In the 80th year of fulfilling the Jerauld County Conservation District’s mission “to be good stewards to the land,” Horsley and Krohmer are quick to give tree planting big accolades.
“The benefits of trees are countless, everyone could always use more trees. If we don’t plant trees, who will? With this winter we have had, look at what trees held for snow.”
To find out more about seed varieties and to check on tree availability, call Lisa Sall, Jerauld Conservation District Manager at 605-539-9232, extension 3.
