Finding a finer day or a finer selection of farm visits will be a tall order for next year’s Farm Bureau-sponsored Governor’s Farm and Ranch Day.

   On this year’s tour in Cheyenne County, the temperature topped out in the low 90s accompanied by low humidity and a gentle breeze. A handful of billowy, white clouds punctuated the blue summer sky. The tour buses followed by a few cars and pickups rolled through the fertile countryside where content cattle grazed on green buffalo grass. Milo, irrigated corn and fields of sunflowers added a bold splash of red, green and gold.

   This year marked the 32nd edition of Farm Bureau’s farm and ranch tour. It was the sixth time Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has made the trek – her first as a candidate and fifth as Kansas governor. Kansas legislators from western Kansas and a handful from as far away as Manhattan joined her. Farm Bureau members from northwest Kansas also made the tour featuring three main stops.

   This tour is designed to provide the state’s chief executive and legislative members a firsthand look at family farming operations and ag related businesses in Kansas.

   As on her previous tours, the Governor enjoyed herself and at each stop, thanked the families for hosting the farm tours.

   “I appreciate the opportunity to see your operations and to meet your families,” Sebelius told her hosts at each stop. “I want to thank you very much.”

   The day began at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds Building in St. Francis, with a panel discussion on community and rural development. Cheyenne County exemplifies many of the issues facing rural Kansas. Its population is among the oldest in the nation and as a result, Cheyenne Countians are tackling the multiple challenges of youth retention, nurturing leadership, expanding entrepreneurial opportunities and holding on to the wealth that – left unchecked – will leave the area within a generation.

   In these communities where life is centered on agriculture, family and community, Kody Krien, who operates the only pharmacy in St. Francis, lived in Omaha, Nebr. for three years before returning home.

   Krien understands the reality of living in small, rural communities like St. Francis where farmers have to turn a profit for those on Main Street to make a living. The young pharmacist and father of three spoke for all those who hosted this year’s farm and ranch tour when he told Gov. Sebelius, “My family is out here – everything I like is out here. I’m excited about living out here.”

   The first stop on the tour showcased the farm of Melvin and Louise Schlepp, where current environmental and conservation trends were the topic of discussion. The Schlepp’s employ the relatively new technology of drip-tape irrigation and practice no-till crop management. They have adopted many conservation practices, including terraces, waterways and windbreaks.

   Stop number two featured the farm of Roger and Melissa Zweygardt, where water management issues were the key concern for these northwestern Kansas operators. Cheyenne County has suffered through years of drought. In such an environment, Zweygardt told Gov. Sebelius managing water becomes complicated, sensitive and vital.

   “Farmers out here must continue to conserve water and find new ways to do even a better job with this crucial natural resource,” Zweygardt said. “We have to make sure we maintain the viability of our irrigation and not hurt our economy. Irrigation is just huge when it comes to maintaining our livelihood out here in western Kansas.”

   The third stop was the Douthit operation. Here, Gov. Sebelius heard drought and rising input costs have made the past several years tough on western Kansas farmers.

   Steve Douthit hopes with two daughters who are interested in agriculture, his children will carry on their family farming legacy.

   “It would be nice if the economic climate was such they could come back,” he told the Governor.

   On this last stop, while visiting with Walter Douthit about the day’s events, you could tell the day had been full, but his face beamed with pride as he told me, “It was a privilege to host her (Gov. Sebelius).”