Katelyn Halsey, Seth Noble, Lori Wimer Honored

On Tuesday, January 31st, Katelyn Halsey, Seth Noble, and Lori Wimer were honored before the basketball games between Worth County and King City.

Katelyn Halsey and Seth Noble were honored for being the Missouri Farm Family for Worth County, as selected by the Worth County Extension and the Worth County Farm Bureau. They were also recognized August 15th during the State Fair. 

The Halsey/Noble family assists in operating their family’s 160-acre Missouri Century Farm which is utilized as row crop ground, along with this they aid in running a small cow/calf operation. Katelyn Halsey served as Worth County R-III Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor for the 2021-2022 school year. Through teaching Katelyn has been able to pass on her experiences and passion for agriculture while providing Worth County youth the foundation for learning the importance of farming within the community.

The annual event is sponsored by five partner agencies: the Missouri Farm Bureau; the Missouri Department of Agriculture; the Missouri State Fair Commissioners; the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; and MU Extension.

The event showcases the impact that Missouri farm families have on the economy and heritage of the state, said Missouri State Fair Director Mark Wolfe. “These families are involved in agriculture activities in their communities and are active participants in local outreach and extension. As the premier showcase for Missouri agriculture, the Missouri State Fair is most certainly the appropriate place to celebrate these families.”

Lori Wimer was named by the Worth County Extension to the University of Missouri Extension Leader’s Honor Roll. This award recognizes individuals who have gone above and beyond their call of duty on behalf of Extension. 

Lori has stepped in to help the Worth County 4-H program when it was most needed.  Lori has been the club leader for the Allendale 4-H Club since 2009.  Her three children, Jacob, Jeremy, and Justina were all members of the club and were members until they graduated.  Lori has served on the Worth County 4-H Council and helped with achievement day and the livestock shows.  Lori is very humble and credits the successes of the club and Worth County 4-H to supportive parents and kids.  She has stepped up in a big way in the last year.  In the absence of a county based YPA in 2022, Lori was instrumental in making sure achievement day was pulled off this summer.  Her work and dedication to 4-H and MU Extension has not gone unnoticed.  

Stephen & Debra Kollitz Recognized at State Fair as Worth County Farm Family

Stephen & Debra Kollitz and family of Grant City were among the families honored during the Missouri Farm Family Day, Aug. 15 at the Missouri State Fair.

The Kollitz family was selected as the Worth County Missouri Farm Family by the Worth County Extension Council and local Farm Bureau. The family includes Lane, Rhett, and Latham.

Each year, the fair sets aside a day to recognize farm families from across the state who are active in their communities, involved in agriculture and participate in local outreach and extension programs such as 4-H or FFA.

The annual event is sponsored by five partner agencies, including the Missouri Farm Bureau, the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the Missouri State Fair and Commissioners, the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, and University of Missouri Extension.

Highway Patrol Talks Seat Belt Safety at Worth County Farm Bureau Meeting

Sergeant Jake Angle spoke at the annual Worth County Farm Bureau meeting Thursday night to farm bureau members along with Worth County FFA students. He reported that fatalities were up 50% in Troop H, up to 22. Of these, 16 were in the vehicle; out of those 16, 14 were not wearing their seat belt. He said that the Patrol was pushing for a primary seat belt law in Missouri. Mr. Angle said that in Washington, with a primary seat belt law and a $124 fine, has a 98% seat belt usage rate and had 146 fatalities in 2013. Missouri does not have a primary seat belt law; they have a $10 fine. Missouri's compliance is from 80-83%, which is higher than in recent years, but is still among the lowest in the nation. There were 758 fatalities in 2013. "That is the size of a small town in Missouri," said Angle. He said that Buchanan County had passed a primary seat belt law in its county, meaning that its officers can stop you if they see you're not wearing a seat belt. The fine is still $10.

Mr. Angle said it also reduced the rate of serious injury by 75%. He said that a common myth was that there were situations where a seat belt would kill someone; he said that in 21 years of working accidents, he had never had that happen. By contrast, back in 1999, he and his daughter were in their car when he was driving distracted and pulled into Highway 36 in front of a car traveling at 60 miles per hour. He overturned 1 1/2 times, but because he had a seat belt on and his daughter was in a child safety restraint, they were able to walk away with minor injuries. He said that experience was an eye-opener, and said that distracted driving was the main cause of accidents for ages 15-24. He said that people should take their cell phones, turn them on silent, and put them in their glove boxes. He said that if you take 4.6 seconds to send a text message, you would travel the length of a football field, a lot of distance to take one's eyes off the road.

Missouri has a texting while driving law for people under 21 years. However, Mr. Angle said most other states now have a universal cell phone law. It is already against the law in Missouri for semi-truck drivers to use cell phones.

Following the presentation, Mr. Angle took everyone outside to a demonstration device called a "Seat Belt Converter." It is a device that simulates a head-on collision at 4-5 miles per hour. The impact was still very hard. "I once worked an accident where a farmer in a tractor was going 30 miles per hour and not wearing his seat belt," said Mr. Angle. "He ran off the road and he was thrown from the tractor and killed."

Farm Bureau Meeting: Allen Andrews Says Challenges Ahead in Farming Industry

Allen Andrews, speaking at the annual Worth County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, said that while times were good for the farming industry, there were many different challenges ahead. There were 20 Worth County FFA members present as well as members of the Farm Bureau. Andrews said that his wool shop was an outgrowth of an FFA sheep project and that he owed a debt of gratitude towards both 4-H and FFA for where he is today. He said that he had felt a calling since his children were little to run for office and that his goal was to pass legislation to better peoples' lives.

Quoting Abraham Lincoln, he said that agriculture is a "great calling;" Lincoln said that even back in 1852, that American agriculture was seen as a breadbasket for the world. This was when the world population was considerably less than it is today. Andrews said that we were blessed to live in a country with abundant soil and the best food supply in the world. He noted that food costs around 10% of peoples' budgets in this country, while it was as high as 25-30% in other developed countries. "The world is still depending on the US to feed them," he said.

Turning to Missouri, he said that agriculture was an $8.3 billion business which created hundreds of thousands of jobs and that times had been good for farming in the last 4-5 years. But he said that there were a lot of concerns on the horizon. "I've listened to a lot of your concerns on the campaign trail," he said.

Among concerns that Andrews said he heard:
--Most people are three generations removed from agriculture and only two percent of all Americans reside on a farm. "I've been told by some people that meat comes from a freezer," he said. That, he said, was why it was important that Amendment 1 passed to safeguard Missouri's right to farm.
--The average farmer is 58 years old and having to farm more and more acres. There are fewer young people going into agriculture.
--Infrastructure, especially lettered roads. He said that he had talked to commissioners who were concerned about how to move equipment with deteriorating roads and no shoulders.
--Record crop yields this year, which means that there is a concern about how to move it out given that many parts of the district are far away from a main highway. He said that the DOT was dragging its feet on a weight limit waiver that would allow people to haul more crops during harvest.
--Pest control; Andrews said that there were pests coming into the country that authorities have been unable to stop.
--Beef cattle production; Andrews said that Missouri had its lowest beef cattle production since 1952.
--More regulations coming down from DNR and EPA. "Regulations are a good thing, but overregulation has to stop," said Andrews.

Specifically, the Farm Bureau distributed a flyer with information about a proposed rule that they say would allow the EPA to make an end run around Congress and the Supreme Court by allowing it to have veto power over basic farming practices. The Farm Bureau said that the exemptions that EPA and USDA claim will protect farms are actually designed to shut new farming operations out. Another example that Andrews gave was a proposed DNR rule which would have required farmers to sterilize everything before entering their land to perform basic farming practices. "As a potential legislator, I see it as imperative to push legislation that safeguards the long-term sustainability of agriculture," said Andrews. "We have an obligation to preserve, protect, and expand small and mid-sized farms so that they can produce goods and provide employment for our area."

Board members named for two year terms were Ted Foland (Legislative Committee Chair), Don Null, Lois Null, Jack Cottrell, Craig Hunt, and Paul Tracy (Young Farmer & Commodity Committee Chair). Officers named were Pat Hardy (President), Paul Tracy (Vice-President), and David Seat (Secretary/Treasurer).

Among activities and accomplishments were participating in Amendment 1 and "Ditch the Rule," discount tickets for the Missouri State Fair, getting two members (Cody & Tonya Mullock) honored as Extension Farm Family of the Year, supporting the Farm Bureau Tractor Cruise, met membership quota for the fourth straight year, and received a Gold Star Award from the Missouri Farm Bureau for activities completed.

The Farm Bureau recognizes area youth who contribute to agriculture. Kristen Andrews won the annual $200 scholarship while Jennnifer Runde and Clayton Ross received $200 awards for their contributions to agriculture. Farm Bureau also helps with the annual FFA Barnyard that is held at the school in May.