Conservation efforts get a thumbs up

BARNESVILLE, Ohio – Art and Sandy Monahan have earned the 2007 Conservation Farm Family award from the Belmont Soil and Water Conservation District.
The Monahans, of Bethesda, Ohio, were recognized at the district’s 62nd annual meeting and banquet Nov. 8.
Not only does the couple meet production and conservation goals, they also share their knowledge with others.
Sharing. As a teacher and high school principal, Art shared his conservation interests with students and parents and was instrumental in making sure FFA remained a viable program at Barnesville High School.
Sandy served on the Union Local Board of Education that also has one of the few remaining FFAs in the area.
Most of the Monahan farm was strip-mined, but Art and Sandy try to work the land as best they can, utilizing conservation practices to leave the land better than it was when they found it.
Other winners. James Kaiser was also recognized for nominating Belmont County’s 2007 Big Tree Contest winner. The winning tree was a silver maple measuring 105 feet tall and a circumference of 252.
Crooked Creek Golf Course was recognized for winning the state non-farm Good Neighbor of the Year Award. This award is courtesy of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and the Ohio Livestock Coalition.
The Loase family, owners of Crooked Creek Golf Course, received the award because of their understanding of agriculture and agricultural practices.
Two SWCD supervisors were re-elected to their positions.
Stenger. Ed Stenger, of Belmont, Ohio, and Rich Theaker of Bridgeport, Ohio, will begin three-year terms Jan. 1.
Stenger and his wife, Nancy, own and operate Highland Dairy’s where they milk 70 Holsteins and raise 50 acres of corn and 150 acres of hay.
Stenger has installed an animal waste facility, a roof over his feedlot, contour strips, spring developments and a pressurized water system to use with his expanded rotational grazing system.
Stenger is completing his ninth year as a Belmont SWCD supervisor.
Theaker. Theaker and his mother, Sara, own and operate the 125-acre Piney Brick Stock Farm where they rotationally graze 50 registered Angus cows.
They have installed spring developments, contour strips, a pond, and completed a forest management plan and harvest.
Theaker is completing his first term as a Belmont SWCD supervisor and serves as the board’s representative on the Belmont County Storm Water Committee.
The meeting was held at the James Carnes Center in St. Clairsville, Ohio. More than 170 area residents and special guests were in attendance.