Farm Progress

AISWCD has announced Lawrence County, Ill., farmers Harold, Larry, Ron, Chris and Chad Jackman and their families as winners of the 2018 Conservation Farm Family Award.

Holly Spangler, Senior Editor, Prairie Farmer

July 31, 2018

2 Min Read
CONSERVATION: The Jackman family of rural Sumner, Ill., was presented the 2018 Conservation Farm Family Award at the recent AISWCD annual meeting. “We want to leave the soil intact and in good fertility, so our future generations will be able to feed the people of the world. Our pledge is to take care of the soil, and it will be good to you in return,” Larry Jackman says.

The Jackman family of Lawrence County, Ill., has been awarded the 2018 Conservation Farm Family Award by the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The family farm operation consists of Harold Jackman, son Larry and wife Ruth Ann, and son Ron and wife Dinah; and Larry’s sons Chad and wife Lori, and Chris and wife Kezia, all of whom farm near Sumner.

The Conservation Farm Family Award is presented each year to provide recognition to one outstanding Illinois farm family that exemplifies the spirit of conservation and employs strategies toward total resource management, says Grant Hammer, AISWCD executive director.

The Jackman family farm legacy began in February 1950, when family patriarch Harold returned home from World War II and purchased 180 acres for $5,000.

“Our goal for the future is to continue to improve our land by implementing more conservation practices, managing fertility and doing what is best for the land,” Larry says.

“We want to leave the soil intact and in good fertility, so our future generations will be able to feed the people of the world. Our pledge is to take care of the soil, and it will be good to you in return,” he adds.

According to Hammer, the Jackmans care for the condition of their land and are willing to do the work to maintain the soil’s natural biosystem, integrity and health within their fields, with or without cost-share.

Over the years, Harold and other family members have installed a considerable number of conservation practices, including nutrient management, block and rock chutes, waterways, diversions, field borders, buffer strips, filter strips, grass and hay land management, ponds, terraces, water and sediment control basins, conservation cover, crop rotation, residue management, and continuous no-till strategies.  

They’ve also built a pond that was designed and constructed under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in the Bonpas Watershed in 2003. The entire drainage area consists of 174 acres, and the permanent pool consists of about 5.5 acres. This practice helps mitigate flooding on a downstream county road, and provides fish and amphibian habitat.

The family received their award during the AISWCD annual meeting in late July, and will be presented with a farm sign recognizing their efforts during the Illinois State Fair.

 

About the Author(s)

Holly Spangler

Senior Editor, Prairie Farmer, Farm Progress

Holly Spangler has covered Illinois agriculture for more than two decades, bringing meaningful production agriculture experience to the magazine’s coverage. She currently serves as editor of Prairie Farmer magazine and Executive Editor for Farm Progress, managing editorial staff at six magazines throughout the eastern Corn Belt. She began her career with Prairie Farmer just before graduating from the University of Illinois in agricultural communications.

An award-winning writer and photographer, Holly is past president of the American Agricultural Editors Association. In 2015, she became only the 10th U.S. agricultural journalist to earn the Writer of Merit designation and is a five-time winner of the top writing award for editorial opinion in U.S. agriculture. She was named an AAEA Master Writer in 2005. In 2011, Holly was one of 10 recipients worldwide to receive the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Ag Journalism award. She currently serves on the Illinois Fairgrounds Foundation, the U of I Agricultural Communications Advisory committee, and is an advisory board member for the U of I College of ACES Research Station at Monmouth. Her work in agricultural media has been recognized by the Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Corn, Illinois Council on Agricultural Education and MidAmerica Croplife Association.

Holly and her husband, John, farm in western Illinois where they raise corn, soybeans and beef cattle on 2,500 acres. Their operation includes 125 head of commercial cows in a cow/calf operation. The family farm includes John’s parents and their three children.

Holly frequently speaks to a variety of groups and organizations, sharing the heart, soul and science of agriculture. She and her husband are active in state and local farm organizations. They serve with their local 4-H and FFA programs, their school district, and are active in their church's youth and music ministries.

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