Area farmers make it on their own
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff reporter
In this day and age, when grain prices are low and many inputs are high, it takes good management to survive on the farm, especially without farm subsidies.
Don Stenzel and Ed Vinduska are two rural Marion farmers who are survivors. They don't believe in spending idle hours at the local elevator or coffee shop complaining about how tough it is on the farm. Rather, they get out there and do what needs to be done to make it.
"It's a basic philosophy that the government isn't the answer to your needs," Vinduska said with conviction. "You have to get out there and be more efficient."
The 43-year-old Vinduska manages 1,900 acres, of which about 850 acres are cropland. He grows wheat, corn, and milo, avoiding the higher-risk soybeans. His main tractor is a three-year-old four-wheel drive which he bought used. Other equipment includes a rotary combine. He said milo and corn have paid the best in recent years.
Vinduska also has a 120-head cow herd. After the calves are weaned each year, they are retained and fed to weigh about 750-800 pounds before being sold. He puts up silage every year which, he said, is the most economical feed. He said silage crops fit well into a rotation program. Any extra hay can be sold for cash.
At age 57, Stenzel farms with his 32-year-old son, Jeff. They each have their own ground, (together about 2,500 acres of pasture and cropland), but they share a lot of equipment and frequently work together. Most of Stenzel's tractors and other pieces of equipment are at least 20 years old, and he strives to keep them in good working order. He said the new equipment is technologically complex and harder to maintain.
"With our crop prices the same as 40 years ago, it's hard to justify this new equipment. It doesn't pencil out," he said.
He takes pride in keeping a neat place and uses a rotary mower to keep weeds down around the perimeter of his fields.
Stenzel has a two-tiered, cattle-feeding operation. In February each year, he purchases about 200-300 light-weight calves which are put out to pasture for the summer. They are brought home in the fall and fed until they are sold in December.
Every fall, he buys about 300 head of 500-550 weight calves and sells them in spring when they've reached 800 or more pounds.
Both men acknowledged that cattle are the only thing that is working for them right now. Stenzel said he has some on-farm grain storage. Some grain is sold to help pay bills and the rest is marketed through his cattle.
"We're told to be more efficient all the time and it gets to the point you don't know what more you can do," he said.
He said no-till farming methods don't work in his operation but he does a lot of minimum tillage which he believes helps the environment. He said when diesel fuel is cheap, working the ground with a four-wheel drive tractor is just as economical as the additional chemicals needed for no-till.
The men are neighbors and often help each other out.
They recently were faced with demands from Kansas Department of Health and Environment to move their cattle-feeding facilities.
Stenzel has feedyards that are adjacent to Mud Creek. He designed the layout while a student at Kansas State University in 1956, and it was approved by his superiors. Vinduska has a draw running through his property which leads to Mud Creek.
In 1996, all cattle feeders were asked to register their operations with the state. They were told that, if they registered, their operations would be "grandfathered" in and they could not be forced to move them in future years. Both men complied.
Inspectors came out and looked at their operations, then sent them letters stating that Marion County Conservation District could help them with relocation plans if they voluntarily chose to do so. They chose to keep operating as before.
Last spring, the KDHE sent an engineer out who said the state required that they move their operations because of new water-quality standards.
The men were cynical about the whole thing because officials didn't have facts. One man told Stenzel that Mud Creek feeds into Marion Reservoir, which is used for drinking water, thus the needed relocation. Stenzel informed him, however, that Mud Creek does not feed into the reservoir. Other such mis-information was forthcoming.
Nevertheless, Stenzel sought in good faith to comply. He drew up a plan, took it to the county office for assistance, and found that he had violated the rules by not having a county-approved plan.
See FARMERS, Page 5
