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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Lona Duvall, Finney County

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Where is the largest transloading facility in North America? Not New York, Chicago, Dallas or Atlanta. It is located in Garden City, Kansas. This project, along with a new dairy processing plant and more, are contributing to the growth and vitality of this part of rural Kansas.

Lona Duvall

Last week we learned about Lona Duvall, who worked to help bring the new milk processing plant to Garden City in September, 2017. Lona is president and CEO of Finney County Economic Development in Garden City. She grew up in the nearby rural community of Leoti, population 1,450 people. Now, that’s rural.

After college, Lona came to Garden City where she worked in banking. In 2010, she joined the Finney County Economic Development organization as its business retention director and was promoted to president in 2011.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Lona DuVall, DFA and milk processing

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Production leads to processing which leads to progress. That is the desired path of value-added economic development.  It was true for the Kansas beef industry in the 1980s and 1990s, and it is now coming true in the Kansas dairy industry. Milk production in western Kansas has grown to the point that new milk processing capacity has developed there as well.

Last week we learned about the western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance, or wKREDA, which works on various regional issues including growing the dairy industry in western Kansas. Many of the leaders of wKREDA had seen the boom in jobs which resulted from the growth of meatpacking in the region during the 1980s and `90s. It was a long progression. The production of irrigated feed grain led to the creation of concentrated cattle feeding. Then the packing plants wanted to be close to the source of production, and large beef packing facilities were built in southwest Kansas.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Herd about Kansas?” I saw that phrase – with “heard” spelled “herd” as in a herd of cows – on a cap which displayed a picture of a cowherd. The cap was colored in black and white splotches like a Holstein milk cow. That cap is the type of eye-catching item which might have been used in the early 1990s to recruit dairies to western Kansas.  This jointly-supported recruitment effort has not only sparked remarkable economic growth, it has been part of the spirit of regional cooperation.

In previous weeks, we’ve learned about leading dairymen in three different regions of the state. The dairy industry has grown significantly in this state, particularly in western Kansas.

In the early 1990s, community leaders in western Kansas recognized that there were opportunities to grow and attract the dairy industry.  The Western Kansas Dairy Coalition was formed.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Donna Pearson McClish, Common Ground

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Common ground.” That term typically refers to shared values. Today, we’ll learn about an initiative where the name applies to people who are literally using their farm ground or garden acreage for a common purpose, to help feed the needy, elderly and others in their communities.

Donna Pearson McClish created this initiative known as Common Ground Producers and Growers Mobile Market. Donna grew up in Wichita where she lives today.

“My dad was a truck farmer,” Donna said. “In 1968, my folks bought a 40-acre farm northeast of town.” Today, the city of Wichita has grown entirely around it. On this acreage, her father raised vegetables and had a community garden.

“My mother rounded up the neighborhood children and would teach them canning and sewing,” Donna said. She also raised 12 children, of whom Donna is the oldest. Today, Pearson Farms continues to raise produce for the community.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Roy and Bobbi Reiman, Netawaka Family & Fitness Center

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Our fitness center – is getting nearer – use it often – you’ll love your mirror.” That’s a message on a series of roadside signs in sequence – Burma Shave style – that one sees on the way to the fitness center in Netawaka, Kansas.  It’s today’s Kansas Profile.

Bobbi and Roy Reiman

Roy and Bobbi Reiman are major donors who helped build this wonderful family fitness center in Netawaka. Bobbi is from Netawaka and graduated from high school there. In fact, she was valedictorian – of a class of 9. Her parents ran the Snappy Inn Café in Netawaka.

Bobbi went to work in Topeka. She became executive secretary to the editor of Capper’s Farmer newspaper. There she met a young man named Roy Reiman. Roy had grown up on a farm in Iowa and graduated from Iowa State before taking the job in Topeka. The two married and began a long life and career together.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Starbuck Fire – Gardiner Ranch, Part 3

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

March 6, 2017. Members of the Gardiner family were working cattle on their ranch in southwest Kansas when they started to smell smoke. Little did they know that almost their entire ranch was about to be consumed by the largest wildfire in the history of Kansas.

The March, 2017 Starbuck Fire in Clark County, Kansas.

In the last two weeks, we’ve learned about Mark, Greg and Garth Gardiner who operate Gardiner Angus Ranch. They were at the epicenter of this disastrous fire in 2017.

In February 2017, an ice storm loosened overhead power lines in Oklahoma. When high winds arose in March, the lines banged together, arced and started to melt, causing sparks which set fire to the dry grass below.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: U.S. Premium Beef – Gardiner Angus Ranch, Part 2

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

How can beef be better? How can producers be compensated for improved quality?  Those vexing questions were facing the cattle industry in the 1990s when an innovative group of producers tackled those issues head on. Their work became a success story in building demand by responding to customer needs.

Last week we learned about Mark Gardiner of Gardiner Angus Ranch. He told us about changes in beef marketing through the years.

As mentioned, the 1990s were a challenging time for the beef industry. Beef demand had fallen, compared to other proteins. Industry leaders commissioned a national beef quality audit, and the results were not good. “The audit said that one in four beef eaters was not getting a good steak,” Mark Gardiner said. “We were losing beef demand left and right.” The cattlemen felt they were being taken advantage of in the marketplace by the beef packers and wanted to capture more of the processing value.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Mark and Greg Gardiner, Gardiner Angus Ranch – Part 1

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

From a dugout to data. From cowboying to customer service.  From grassland to global food. Those terms describe the progression of a remarkable family ranching enterprise located in rural southwest Kansas.  It’s today’s Kansas Profile.

Mark, Greg and Garth Gardiner and their families operate Gardiner Angus Ranch in Clark County, Kansas. They have deep roots and rich heritage in the Kansas cattle business.

In 1885, the Gardiners were among the families who came to southwest Kansas by covered wagon. They lived in a dugout for nine years on their homesteaded 160 acres where their son Ralph was born in 1889. In the 1920s, Ralph put together the Gardiner ranch which was passed on to his son Henry and wife Nan after Henry graduated from Kansas State.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Dan Senestraro, Kansas dairyman

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Go East, young man, and grow up with the country.” Actually, that is the opposite of the original saying made famous by editor Horace Greeley, who told his readers to go west in 1865. But in 1994, one entrepreneur found that his path to growth was to go east, and that led him to rural Kansas.

Dan Senestraro

Dan Senestraro is the owner of Eastside Dairy in Stanton County, Kansas. Dan is the westernmost Kansan on the Board of Directors of the Dairy Farmers of America.

Dan grew up on a dairy farm in California. He went to veterinary school at the University of California at Davis. “I was determined not to be in the dairy business,” he said with a smile. He graduated in 1986. By 1989, he found himself in the dairy business again.

“I was in a partnership on 800 dairy cows in rented space in southern California,” Dan said. As California became more crowded and urbanized, he looked to relocate and grow.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Byron Lehman, Kansas dairyman

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Young cooperator.” That is a nice combination of positive terms. In this case, it literally refers to a young adult who is active in his or her dairy cooperative. Those young cooperators tend to continue to be involved in their cooperative’s leadership. Today we’ll meet a dairy farm family which began as young cooperators and are continuing that legacy into another generation.

Byron Lehman

Last week we learned about dairyman Steve Strickler, a member of the board of directors of the dairy cooperative known as Dairy Farmers of America.  Byron Lehman from Newton also serves on that board.

Byron’s family came from a dairy farm in upstate New York and moved to Kansas in 1953. His family farmed and Byron’s dad started dairying with Byron and his brother. “I think he dairied to keep his boys out of trouble,” Byron said with a smile.

Byron went to Hesston College and then finished a degree in dairy science from K-State.  He joined the family farming partnership that continues to this day. Byron’s wife DeDee is from Denver. They have a daughter named MeLissa who is married to Steven.  Steven is a police officer and also helps them farm.

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