Epsilon Sigma Phi, the Extension Service honorary organization, recently presented Friends of Extension awards to three North Dakotans: Joe Breker, Havana, a farmer, who cooperates with Extension on no- and reduced-tillage, cover crop and soil health demonstrations, field days and workshops; Durward and Phyllis Otterness, Tower City, who have been 4-H and dairy leaders for more than 50 years; and Russ Tweiten, vice president of agribusiness consulting and succession and retirement planning, AgCountry Farm Credit Services, Fargo, who has been instrumental in supporting Extension’s Design Your Succession Plan programming.

The organization also presented awards to the following North Dakota State University Extension staff:

FIRST SHUTTLE: Soybeans are loaded on the first unit train to reach the Wheat Growers’ Kennebec Terminal.

• Meritorious Support Service Award, Aimee Thapa, administrative assistant, NDSU plant pathology, Fargo

• Mid-Career Service Award, Donna Anderson, Extension agent, family and consumer sciences, Eddy and Foster counties

• Administrative Leadership Award, Deb Gebeke, assistant director, family and consumer sciences, Fargo

• Distinguished Service Award, Ken Hellevang, agricultural engineer, Fargo

• Visionary Leadership Award, Carmen Rath-Wald, Extension agent, family and consumer sciences, Logan County

• Continued Service Award, John Kringler, retired Extension agent, agriculture and natural resources, Cass County

New Kennebec terminal loads first rail cars
Wheat Growers’ new Kennebec Grain Terminal recently loaded its first 115-car unit train. The soybean train arrived in Kennebec on the state-owned rehabilitated rail line from Chamberlain to Kennebec and Presho that has not been used in over two decades. “There’s a lot of local pride in this facility, because producers in the area formed the Rails to the Future group that raised a million dollars to help get the project going,” says Kennebec Location Manager Todd Longville. “This first train has brought additional excitement about the new opportunities we have here in Lyman County.”

The Kennebec terminal is a shuttle loader facility with a continuous loop track. It has a truck-receiving capacity of 60,000 bushels per hour and a rail-shipping capacity of 80,000 bushels per hour, which are among the fastest dumping speeds in the industry, according to Wheat Growers. The facility has a total grain storage capacity of 4.08 million bushels.

FFA Star awards for 2
Two South Dakotans recently received FFA American Star awards. Shane Mueller, Garretson, received the Star in Agribusiness. Elizabeth Renner, Crooks, received the Star in Agriscience. Mueller, a student at South Dakota State University and the son of Julie and Ed Mueller, operates a custom haying business. He is a member of the Garretson FFA chapter, which is led by his father, who is the advisor. Renner is a student at Augustana University and has been involved in several aquatic stream monitoring and research projects as a student and as an intern. She is the daughter of Tim and Karin Renner and a member of the West Central FFA chapter, led by advisor Linda Petersen.

Leopold Conservation Award nominations
You can nominate a South Dakota farm or ranch for the Leopold Conservation award. The $10,000 award honors South Dakota private landowners who voluntarily demonstrate outstanding stewardship and management of natural resources. The South Dakota Cattlemen's Association and the South Dakota Grassland Coalition are among the lead sponsors. The nomination deadline is March 6. For application information, see leopoldconservationaward.org. 

Sources: NDSU Extension, Wheat Growers, FFA and South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association