Editor's note: We're featuring the 2015 Master Farmers this week, thanks to interviews by University of Illinois student Kelsey Litchfield, completed during her RFD internship last summer.

As 2015 draws to a close and the staff at Prairie Farmer is gearing up recognize the 2016 Master Farmer class, we wanted to take a look back at the 2015 class.

During her summer internship at RFD radio, University of Illinois student Kelsey Litchfield interviewed each of the Prairie Farmer Master Farmers. "It was the highlight of my summer," Kelsey confided.

We'd tend to agree.

John and Ruth Werries

Check out Kelsey's interview below with John Werries, and check out stories earlier in the week for more interviews with 2015 Master Farmers, Bill Christ, Randy DeSutter and Don Schrader.

The 2016 Master Farmers will be announced in early March, here online.

John Werries: Conservation farming for future generations

From conservation farming to community involvement, if something is worth doing, John Werries does it right.

The Werries family first put down roots in what is now northwest Morgan County in the late 1800s. Herman and Maria Werries emigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1888. John's father Leland grew up on a farm that was two miles south of the current home farm. In 1951, Leland and wife Virginia were able to purchase 200 acres that are the core of the current farmstead.

Follow along this week as we profile the 2015 Master Farmers (L-R) Don Schrader, John Werries, Bill Christ and Randy DeSutter.

Today, John and son Dean's farm is best described as a corn-intensive, conservation-oriented operation. John and Dean strip till continuous corn on 3,500 acres. With the help of RTK, they place the strip three inches from the previous year's crop. Every other year's corn rows are in the same strip. On the remaining 300 acres, they strip till the corn and no till the beans in a typical corn/bean rotation.

Immediately following harvest, they begin seeding cover crops with an air seeder. This is their third year in cover crops. John started down the path to add another erosion control measure. As time went on, he saw the benefits of nutrient sequestration, bio tillage and increased organic matter. After the soil temperature cools down to 50 degrees, they make their strips while applying part of the nitrogen. Lastly, the Werrieses split their 250-lb nitrogen budget over five applications.

John and wife Ruth have three children and 11 grandchildren. Their oldest son, Dan, is a global director for finance for the Dow Chemical Company. He and wife, Jennie, have four children. They live in Michigan. Dean, the middle son, lives just down the road from John and Ruth. He and wife, Karen, have three children. Curt and his wife, Amanda, have four children. He is a police officer in Quincy.

Over the years, John has been a pillar of the community and the industry. The massive conservation changes John has made over the years are indicative of a man working hard to pass the farm onto the next generation. This Master Farmer knows no greater reward than one day hopefully watching his grandchildren bring in the corn crop.

Meet the Master Farmers:
Bill Christ
Randy DeSutter
Don Schrader
John Werries