In 2024 ,the Flickner family is celebrating 150 years of farming legacy in McPherson County, Kan. As the fifth and sixth generations to farm “the home place,” Ray Flickner; his late wife, Susan; son Ryan; and daughter Kelsey Spencer have always been acutely aware that the choices they make should ready the operation for the seventh generation of Flickners, should they choose to farm.

“God has loaned our family tremendous resources. And with those resources, we have to figure out how to feed and clothe a growing population,” Ray explains. “The only way to succeed, and what excites me most about the industry, is figuring out how we can farm smarter.”

For the Flickners, success isn’t measured in acres or bushels—it’s about leaving the land better than they found it. The drive to “farm smarter” naturally included the conservation of “loaned resources,” leading Ray and Susan to create the Flickner Innovation Farm in 2019.

Adapting to change

A first of its kind project in Kansas, the Flickner Innovation Farm in Moundridge, Kan., brings together the pieces of the agriculture value chain: researchers, industry partners, conservation experts, Kansas State University — and, of course, consumer advocacy — to create a real-world working laboratory focused on the development of greater sustainability and efficiency for production agriculture.

For Ray, the Innovation Farm is a natural extension of his family’s long history of adapting to change. His grandfather planted shelterbelts in the 1930s to combat erosion. His father transitioned to minimum tillage practices in the 1980s. Now, Ray is leading the charge into precision agriculture, using everything from drones to subsurface drip irrigation and robotics to pave a better way for the next generation.

“I can remember my uncle and dad putting in the first irrigation well in our area back in 1955. I grew up well-versed in siphon tubes, sprinkler pipe, irrigation pipe — I had an appreciation of water from a very young age. Water is one of the main economic drivers in production agriculture,” Ray says, quoting Mark Twain, “Whiskey is for drinking, water’s for fighting. There will be very, very few acres allocated additional water moving forward.”

In 2001, Ray installed the farm’s first subsurface drip irrigation system. This technology, which delivers water directly to crop roots underground, has proven to be a game-changer for water conservation. Over the past decade, the Flickner farm has used an average of 40% less water than the county average and has increased irrigated acres to encompass 90% of its operation. 

“The state of Kansas does have a water issue, both quality and quantity, and we are experiencing both of those,” Ryan says.

Off-farm experience, on-farm solutions

A banker by trade until his retirement, Ray traveled the country learning about other production methods, networking with other farmers, and seeing firsthand the impact that implementing technology could have on the farm. Conservation and innovation have always been in the Flickner wheelhouse; however, Ray’s travels helped to give him broader ideas for conservation solutions and connections. 

His banking experience also gave him the opportunity to assess profitability; and having lived through the 1980s farm crisis, Ray gained a better appreciation of farm management.

“We have a multi-generation farm, but I’ve had to buy every acre of it,” he says. “I joined Farm Credit just before the major ag economy collapse in the ’80s. It became clear that my parents were going to lose the farm, so Susan and I made the decision to buy it before that could happen.” 

For son Ryan Flickner, farming could have been a sidenote. Growing up in Wichita, the “city kid” could have taken many different paths. Ryan felt the same pull to agriculture as the generations of his family before him.

“Some of my favorite childhood memories are on the farm, playing in the irrigation water. I’ve always loved agriculture, but I really found my passion for it in the College of Ag at K-State. I work directly in agriculture today, advocating for farmers and ranchers, and I understand what I am representing because I live it, too,” he says of his role as senior advocacy director for Kansas Farm Bureau.

Off-farm income spans four generations of Flickners, beginning with Ryan’s great-grandpa. The outside revenue gave each generation a unique opportunity, and Ray and Ryan share that the farming operation has hosted many endeavors over the years that all centered on that generation’s interests.

“I have to give credit to my ancestors and to my dad. I think they figured things out — as you look at the generations of Flickners, we’ve never been and never will be the biggest farmer in the county — my ancestors and my dad have done what they do best. We’ve had Flickner Brothers’Dairy, my grandpa was in the swine business and my dad and I are honing in on irrigation and advocacy,” he says.

In 2024, 11 research trials with a host of researchers and outside industry partners are simultaneously taking place across plots on the Flickner Innovation Farm, with multiple opportunities for farmers to learn.

“Hearing from producers who have taken something they learned from one of our events back home to implement is music to my ears,” Ray says with a smile.

Handke writes from Easton, Kan.

Recognizing success

In 2023, Ray and Susan Flickner were honored with the prestigious Aldo Leopold Conservation Award which recognized their extraordinary achievements in voluntary conservation practices. Water conservation and quality was the focus of the Flickners’ application. 

The $10,000 award was quickly invested back into the operation with the addition of a precision watering device.

The first of its kind in the state of Kansas, and one of only 100 in the world, the water application rig promises to deliver irrigation opportunities to new areas by operating on a limited water supply. 

“This device can operate on 200 gallons per minute, where a typical irrigation system needs a minimum of 500 gallons,” Ray explains. “It is fully autonomous and will follow the planter. If an acre can be planted, it can be irrigated.”

Additionally, the Flickners’ commitment to innovation has been recognized by Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Bankers Association and at the Kansas Governor’s Water Conference. 

The true measure of success, however, has remained the health and productivity of the land Ray shares.

“We’ve been blessed with this land and these resources, and our role is to make sure we leave every acre better than how we received it.”