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Kansas Profile

Month: September 2018

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Steve Strickler, Kansas dairyman

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Be a good neighbor.” That advice and other words of wisdom from his father have helped this Kansas dairyman be a positive force in his community and the dairy industry.  It’s today’s Kansas Profile.

Steve Strickler

Steve Strickler is owner of Strickler Holstein Farm near Iola. He follows in the footsteps of his father, a longtime leader in the dairy industry.

Steve grew up on the farm which milked 120 cows at the time. Steve studied dairy science and technical journalism at K-State. After graduation, he worked for a dairy cooperative in Wisconsin and then for a national magazine, Hoard’s Dairyman, which took him coast to coast in the U.S. and beyond. He enjoyed the work but the thought of the family dairy farm drew him back home.

“The calling of the farm was too much,” Steve said. In 1979, he returned to the farm and eventually took over the operation from his father. Now Steve has three kids and four grandchildren of his own.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Stephanie Eckroat, Kansas Dairy Association and Kansas Dairy Commission

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Got milk? If so, it is because some dairy farmer milked a cow, and a bunch of other people worked hard to get it to you. In the 1990s, dairy farmers in Kansas brought themselves together to promote the dairy industry more effectively than ever before.  Today we begin a series about the dairy industry in Kansas.

Stephanie Eckroat is executive director of the Kansas Dairy Association and Kansas Dairy Commission.

Stephanie Eckroat is executive director of the Kansas Dairy Association and Kansas Dairy Commission. She is a self-described Army brat, but her father retired in eastern Kansas after leaving the Army. Stephanie went to high school at the rural community of Colony, Kansas, population 408 people. Now, that’s rural.

Stephanie enjoyed her agricultural education classes and participated in FFA judging contests for various types of livestock, including dairy cattle. She was on the livestock judging team at Allen County Community College and at Fort Hays State University where she got a job working at the university dairy. Eventually she became the manager of the dairy. She and her husband and family now live near Hays.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Dennis Wright, Wright Farms Sunflower Oil

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

The Sunflower State. That is a fitting nickname for Kansas, especially when we learn about innovative farm family members in the northwest region of the state who are adding value to their sunflower production.

Dennis Wright and his father Don are the founders of Wright Enterprises and the makers of Wright Farms Sunflower Oil near Bird City. “We are fourth generation farmers here,” Dennis said. “My great-grandfather first homesteaded the place.”

Dennis grew up on the farm with his parents Don and Donna and went to Fort Hays State where he met Dana. They married and lived in Hays for a few years. “When we had our first child, we decided Bird City would be a good place to raise a kid,” Dennis said. They now have three children.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Anjan Ghosh Hajra, Immersion 3D Plus

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

I looked into a human brain. Don’t worry, I wasn’t doing brain surgery. I was witnessing a demonstration of an incredible new, high-tech three-dimensional imaging system. This process is being pioneered by a team of entrepreneurs in the heart of Kansas.

Immersion 3D Plus is based in Salina, Kansas.

Anjan Ghosh Hajra is the CEO of Immersion 3D Plus, the innovative company which developed this technology. Anjan’s father, Ashish Ghosh Hajra, came to the U.S. from India in 1971. After working back east, Ashish was transferred to a job in Salina where he enjoyed a long career with what is now Philips Lighting. He also worked on advanced degrees in chemical engineering at K-State.

“I fell in love with Kansas,” Ashish said. He also connected with Dr. Swapan Chakrabarti, a University of Kansas electrical engineering and computer science professor, who shared innovative ideas about 3D imaging.

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