Haxtun Conservation District celebrates 75 years

Over 150 patrons of the Haxtun Conservation District joined together Monday, June 14, to acknowledge the accomplishments of the district over the past 75 years.

One highlight of the evening, in addition to the wonderful meal of smoked brisket, was entertainer Trent Loos of Loos Tales. Loos had not been featured in the county since 2016, and there had been requests to have him return.

Loos noted that in 1900 it took one person farming 10 acres to produce enough food to feed one person for a year. In 2021, it takes only one-third of an acre to produce enough food to feed one person for a year. “True conservationists are the ones that own the land. The land must be utilized, not allowed to return to its natural state,” he said.

Prior to the meeting, Daniel Palic of the Natural Resources Conservation Service presented a rainfall simulator that showed the difference of water holding capacity in the same soils based on surface residue.

The water ran off the tilled soils with muddy water running into the glass jars. The more residues on the surface, the more the soil absorbed the water and any runoff water was clear.

The wind erosion simulator also showed that soil with more residues had less soil movement. “One ton of soil loss over an acre is only as thick as a dime,” said Palic.

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