The scientists from NASA are studying the landscape closely. But they aren’t viewing a satellite image of the moon. This is a group of NASA earth scientists who are visiting a Kansas farm in person so as to better understand the challenges facing farmers in water resources.
The farm they are visiting is a leader in conservation practices.
Ray Flickner is the Kansas agriculturalist who met with the NASA scientists on his farm. He is the fifth generation to farm his family’s land. The Flickners’ base operation is an irrigated row crop operation that has been in his family since 1874.
Flickner grew up in Moundridge and studied agricultural education at Kansas State University before earning his master’s degree. He met and married Susan who also earned bachelors and masters degrees in education from K-State.
Susan became a family life and resource management teacher and served as executive director of the Kansas Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Ray Flickner taught college agriculture classes before pursuing a career in agricultural lending. He described education and finance as the first two phases of his life.
“In 2007, a couple of years after my father passed away, I made the decision to enter the third phase of my life and began tending the land full-time,” Flickner said. The current operation produces irrigated corn, soybeans, sorghum and wheat. Through it all, an important theme has been the importance of conservation.
