2026 Appreciation Banquet
By Elizabeth Davis
The Bates County Soil and Water
Conservation District Annual Cooperator Appreciation event was held March 19, 2026,
at the Adrian Optimist Building, Adrian, MO.
63 people attended and enjoyed a catered meal served by The Coop.
The program included speakers from partner agencies. Katrina O’Farrell, District Conservationist for FOSA 4A which covers
Bates, Vernon, Barton and Jasper Counties. Katrina went on to say “The Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Soil and Water District have a
very unique partnership where we share resources, staff and customers. We
strive to work with each other in order to service the producers in not only
Bates County but throughout the FOSA and State. Cheyenne Reinke, NRCS Soil
Conservationist and I are the only NRCS Staff assigned to Bates County. We are
grateful for the help provided by Soil & Water 50/50 Technician position
out of Vernon County and other counties for filling in while we are still
unable to hire additional staff. Bates County is currently managing 17 CSP
Contracts & 50 EQIP Contracts. We have issued about $665,141 in EQIP and
$171,777 in CSP Payments in FY 25 and $477,487 EQIP in FY26 to date. We are in
the process of assessing and ranking several new FY26 CSP & EQIP
Applications, including some new EQIP & CSP initiatives for this year
including (but not limited to) the Regenerative Pilot Program (RPP) and the
RCPP Mo Targeted Watershed which includes a small watershed targeted area in
the Northwest corner of Vernon County/SW Corner of Bates. If any of you have
questions about CSP or EQIP Programs feel free to stop by the office and make
an appointment with Cheyenne Reinke or myself’.
Jim Plassmeyer, DNR Director of the Soil and Water Program, gave a reviewed
the history of the sales tax related to the need for funding to support the
state parks and addressing soil erosion in the early 1980s. The tax was last
approved by 80% of the voters in 2016 and is up for renewal in 2026. The funds
from the tax support upgrades to state parks such as new playground equipment,
trail improvements and other building upgrades. The tax supports the state
cost-share program and soil and water conservation district administration
costs. Since the beginning of the tax there has been over 194 million tons of
soil saved which could fill 39,629 Olympic size swimming pools. There has been
over $975 million from the sales tax paid to landowners installing over 294,426
conservation practices. In Bates County since 2016 there have been $1.6 million
paid to landowners to install 314 conservation practices saving 57,383 acres.
Brad Powell, Missouri STAR coordinator, explained that Saving Tomorrows Agriculture
Resources program is a national, non-profit organization leading work with state
level affiliates and conservation partners to empower farmers and ranchers to choose
conservation as the standard on all agricultural lands to ensure a legacy of economic
sustainability and clean, abundant water and healthy soils for future
generations. Designed and led by producers, the STAR tool utilizes science and
experience to target local solutions for local natural resource concerns, and
to support farmers and ranchers on their conservation journey – wherever they
are. The STAR framework inspires, guides and standardizes conservation practice
adoption and implementation across a variety of agricultural production systems.
State Representative, Dane Diehl, talked about what it’s like to raise a
family in Bates County while being a representative, discussed the counties
that he covers as a representative (Bates, Vernon, Cedar), mentioned the bills
that he has sponsored and the ones he is supporting and talked about water
rights and solar energy.
The Annual Fourth Grade Poster
Contest is always a favorite part of the banquet, and this year was no
exception. This year’s theme was “Soil.
Where it all Begins.” 178 fourth graders from eight area schools
participated. A first-place winner is selected
from each class; four county winners are then selected from this group and
announced at the banquet. The top contest
winners from each class receive a ribbon and a cash prize.
This year’s
4th Place – Ellie Powell
– Miami Elementary, daughter of Craig & Kayla Powell
3rd Place – Holtin
Gander – Hume Elementary, son of Kayla Gander
2nd Place – Briella
Dizney – Adrian Elementary, daughter of Brian & Starla Dizney
1st Place – Dyxon
Reinke – Butler Elementary, son of Tyler & Cheyenne Reinke
Each county winner received a
plaque in addition to the ribbon and cash prize for their first-place class win. The first-place county poster will advance to
the State level competition. State
Poster Contest winners will be announced at the Annual Training Conference held
in November, at TanTarA Resort. We would
like to thank the schools, teachers and parents for allowing their students to
be a part of this activity. We are
especially thankful to all the students who submitted a poster. You are the future of our conservation
nation. All of the posters showed a
genuine interest in preserving our Natural Resources through good conservation
practices.
Board Members in attendance were
Mike Rapp, Chairman; David Yarick, Vice-Chairman; David Thurman, Treasurer and Tyler
Reinke, Member. Ramon Arancibia, Secretary of the board, was unable to attend.
Personnel attending were NRCS
Staff: Katrina O’Farrell, Cheyenne Reinke. MDC Staff: Austin Worth. DNR Staff:
Cody Tebbenkamp and Jim Plassmeyer. SWCD Staff: Elizabeth Davis and Victoria
Bruck.
We would like to thank everyone that attended our Appreciation Banquet. Your presence was much appreciated, and we hope the evening was as enjoyable for our guests as it was for our Board Members and Staff.
