David Combes jokes that shortly after buying 80 acres in 1973, he picked up his then-girlfriend — later to be wife — Sara for a date and announced, “I just bought us a farm and a farmhouse!”

Today he’s just as excited about farming as he was back then and credits positive attitudes, hard work, the ability to dream and faith in God for helping Sara and him navigate through almost 50 years on the farm. Commitment to community and agriculture earned David and Sara Combes of Lebo, Kan., a spot among the class of 2021 Kansas Master Farmers and Master Farm Homemakers. 

Leap of faith

After graduating from Waverly High School in 1972, David studied industrial arts and construction at Pittsburg State University, but was soon drawn back to farm life. “I missed the smells of fresh-cut hay, the sound of wind blowing through trees and wide open spaces,” he says.

It was a leap of faith in 1973, when David purchased that 80 acres of farmland and a homestead in Osage County. But there was an old D14 Allis-Chalmers tractor added into the deal that he overhauled. It was the start of a farm. Soon after, with the help of his brother, David rented additional land and began a livestock operation.

Sara and David met while in high school. Growing up in Anderson County, she graduated from Williamsburg High School in 1972 and then attended Clarks Business School. The couple married in 1974, and had four daughters: Sharon, Lara, Beth and Jenny.

Over the years, David taught Sara and their girls how to operate equipment and care for livestock, making farming a family affair.

Keep plugging along

By1975 David and Sara were renting additional land, adding cattle and hogs to their operation. Building improvements were made to the farmstead, additional machinery was purchased, and during that decade they entered into a three-year lease on farmland near the Marais des Cygnes River.

“This landowner was progressive in his farming practices, and the knowledge we gained from this experience forever changed the way we farm,” David says.

They bought an additional 300 acres in 1980. When the farm crisis hit a few years later, David remembers saying, “If we just keep plugging along, things will work out,” a motto and a show of faith that has continued to see the family through difficult times.

Seeking help from Kansas State University Research and Extension, an analysis of the farm’s finances was conducted in 1986 and they began tracking their monthly cash flow. Working with the National Resource Conservation Service, they implemented a long-range conservation plan that included building terraces and waterways, and minimum tillage.

When David’s father passed away in 1995, the couple bought half of his parents’ cattle herd, began managing his mother’s half, and rented her farmland. At this point, the hog operation was phased out.

Capturing value

Over the years, the quality of the Combes’ cattle has been improved by carefully selecting breeding stock. Carcass grading has increased from less than 50% Choice to currently more than 90% Choice.

Then, in 2003 they applied for a Federal Premises ID Number and started keeping beef records to sell cattle with age and source verification. They retained ownership of beef from birth to slaughter, and changed the feed ration to include distiller grains, corn and ground hay. By selling with age and source verification, and retaining ownership, the Combeses were able to capture more value from their cattle herd.

That theme of capturing value continued into their crop- and rangelands. By 2005, 100% of their crops were in a no-till rotation of corn, soybeans and wheat, with cattle grazing the crop residue. They switched to pond water for livestock watering, saving money and conserving rural water.

Grid sampling initiated in 2014 allows them to assess nutrient levels and organic matter in the soil, and it helps determine the amounts and types of fertilizer to apply.

Constantly looking for ways to improve the range and hay land, the couple built fences to allow cattle to graze the cereal rye cover crop in the spring, permitting native pastures to benefit from later cattle turnout. An ongoing plan is also in place to monitor and control invasive plants. The Combeses earned the Kansas Bankers Association Conservation Award for Osage County in 1997 and Coffey County in 2010.

Commitment to community

David has served on the local school board, first district board and is chairman of the Ottawa Co-op Board. As a trustee of Olivet Township, he oversees the roads. He’s helped and presented at annual field day events while serving on the Osage County Soil Conservation District. During his term on the Osage County Farm Service Agency committee, he was involved in setting and overseeing policies and programs for producers.

Sara actively supports agriculture education through her involvement with 4-H and FFA. Both Sara and David are active members of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.

Family matters

While growing up, the girls saw the sacrifices David made in order to attend their extracurricular events — most generally feeding cattle after getting home from a basketball game or 4-H event. Balancing the farmwife role, Sara juggled tasks ranging from hauling grain to making homemade pizza. Despite busy schedules, David says, “We always made sure there was time for a family vacation each summer.”

No matter how busy the farming season, the Combes family dinner table has always been a gathering place where both meals and conversation are shared.

“It was where dreams were made,” Sara recalls. “In fact, our daughter Lara would say some of our conversations had her dreaming of owning an agritourism business someday.”

Following in the paths of their parents, the Combes daughters and sons-in-law are busy contributing to their communities around the state:

Farming is a lifestyle all generations of the Combeses fully embrace.

“We are blessed to have made a living farming,” Sara says.

Family motto

“Just keep plugging along.”

When the farm crisis hit, just as the Combes family was starting to expand their farm, David Combes remembers saying, “If we just keep plugging along, things will work out,” a motto and a show of faith that has continued to see the family through difficult times.

Local lore

You may not have heard of Lebo, Kan., but chances are you’ve heard of “BETO Junction.” This oddly named intersection of U.S. highways 50 and 75 and I-35 has been a stop for travelers since the late 1920s. It gets its name from the towns you can reach at the cardinal compass points from the junction: Burlington, 16 miles south; Emporia, 25 miles west; Topeka, 45 miles north; and Ottawa, 30 miles northeast.  

Newell West lives in Abilene, Kan., but grew up on a farm in Stafford County, Kan. A career educator, she taught home economics and family and consumer sciences at the secondary and adult levels. She continues to pursue educational endeavors as a freelance writer.