Soil conservation is a family tradition for Harold Jehle.
In the 1930s, his father was among the first to enroll a family farm in a terracing program. That and other conservation measures have kept the land productive for the more than 100 years the Jehle family has lived in Douglas County.
"My dad terraced the homeplace," Jehle said. "It would have washed away if it wasn't for that."
Jehle and his wife, Wincel, will receive one of three Kansas Bankers Assn. Conservation Awards at the Douglas County Conservation District annual meeting Monday.
Jehle, 79, has farmed just north of Worden since 1966. They own about 300 acres in Douglas County and 160 in Osage County. Jehle's son, Charles, now does most of the farm work.
Jehle also received a conservation award in 1975 and said he didn't deserve another one.
"Surely someone else that hasn't had it deserves it," he said.
But in recent years, the Jehles have done conservation work that deserves recognition, judges said.
They began putting some of their acres into the Conservation Reserve Program three years ago. The federal program offers incentives for planting permanent vegetation on idle, erodible land. The Jehles now have about 50 acres planted with big and little bluestem, switchgrass, grama grass and forbs that Jehle calls "weeds with pretty flowers on them."
Last year, Jehle said he spotted a bobcat, deer, a covey of quail and pheasants on the CRP land.
"I was thrilled to see that," he said, "but I don't know whether pheasants will ever establish themselves back there."
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