By Ken Preston

Wayne Jensen has called five different places his home, but all of them are within one mile of the house he lives in now! Wayne attended Genesee schools and then went to the University of Idaho, where he received a bache­lor's degree in Ag Business in 1979. He married his wife, Jacie, in 1982. They have two sons, aged 21 and 23, both of whom are now attending college. Wayne's interests and hobbies include skiing, bike riding, golf, and read­ing-especially epic novels by authors such as Follet and Archer.

Wayne's involvement with the Latah Soil and Water Conservation District (Latah SWCD) began nearly a quarter century ago. Bob Borgen was a Latah SWCD Board member at that time and he sought Wayne out as a replace­ment for the spot he was planning to vacate. Wayne served for approximate­ly nine years consecutively, and then took a hiatus for ten years. He returned about five years ago and continues serving today. Wayne's past and current involvement with the Latah SWCD was, and is, fired by his passionate inter­est in soil conservation.

During his farming career, Wayne has transitioned his farm Wayne's past and from one of conventional tillage to current involvement an environmentally friendly no-till operation. This transition took many years, much experimentation, and an investment in five different types of no-till drills. Today Wayne proudly states that he is "finally comfortable with control of the soil erosion" on his acreage. The path of success in that regard was not a linear one. Numerous structural methodologies were tried prior to unrav­eling many of the secrets to a no-till system. Wayne has used such things as gully plugs, terraces, grassed waterways, and divided slopes. His no-till system has allowed him to do away with many of those types of labor- and management-intensive, and often times problematic, methods. Wayne is especially pleased to have been able to eliminate the divided slopes from his fields. "They are a very inefficient way to farm", he states. Always looking to improve, Wayne's current emphasis is on enhancing his soil quality beyond the gains he has already realized. Presently, he is experimenting with vari­ous crop options that he can insert into his current no-till cropping and rotation system.

Wayne says the biggest catalyst for change during his many years with Latah SWCD has been the hiring of Ken Stinson as District Manager. Wayne notes, "There were always good ideas and dreams and plans to do things as a proactive Conservation District. But when it was just a bunch of farmers meeting once a month, things never got followed through." He points to Stinson's gifted and tireless leadership as bringing much of the desired prog­ress of the Latah SWCD to fruition. Wayne envisions more changes for the future of agriculture in Latah County. He sees more opportunities for conservation farming and believes the science of preci­sion agriculture will continue to mature. As the tech­nical and scientific extents of agriculture continue to expand, Wayne foresees a much greater need for Ag consultants, especially in the areas of GIS and nutri­ent management. Wayne notes, "One of the stum­bling blocks in this region is being able to calculate fertility on topography that undulates with different soil types and varying geographic aspects."

One of the things Wayne attributes much of his success to with respect to conservation farming, is his participation in a partnership with three other area farmers. Together they found mutual interests, and pooled their resources into a group venture called VICO. VICO serves as a sort of "think tank" for the exchange of ideas, plans, strategies and even the wis­dom extracted from failures. It has also allowed the farmers to form an LLC and purchase a no-till drill and a sprayer. The sharing of the equipment on all three operations fits into the narrow window of agri­cultural opportunity because of the geographic loca­tions of those operations. The season, and subsequent use of the equipment, begins earliest on land near the breaks by Colton and ends on fields near Lenville Road in Latah County.

Wayne is a busy contributor to Latah County on numerous other fronts besides serving on the Latah SWCD. He is also a Board member of Crites Seed in Moscow and the Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative. Wayne is also a proud member of Shepherd's Grain, a local growers' alliance of twenty-eight farmers dedicated to sustainability through environmental health, social and economic equity, and economic profitability. "Products made from Shepherd's Grain (www.shepherdsgrain.com) can be found in local universities, select restaurants, and your favorite bakery." Recently Shepherds Grain began a partnership with Stone Buhr Flour (www.stone-buhr.com). Stone Buhr Flour provides information on each package that makes the exact origin of its contents known to the con­sumer. Furthermore, this partner­ship mandates all crops grown by its members must be Food Alliance Certified. "For clients, Food Alliance (www.foodalliance.org) certification provides independent verification of marketing claims for social and environmental responsibility, differentiating and adding value to products, and protecting and enhancing brands." Wayne proudly states that all of his crops have passed the rigorous certification process, "Our farming practices and the crops we produce have all been certified environmentally and socially responsible by Food Alliance." Part of Wayne's operation also includes a close working relationship with his wife, Jacie, who oversees much of their Thorn Creek Native Seed Farm enterprise. Their native seed farm produces seed from wild flowers and plants native to the Palouse region, and in particular, those found in remnants of the original Palouse Prairie. Information and/or purchase of native seeds and seed mixes can be obtained from the website at www.nativeseedfarm.com.

Wayne's biggest concern for the future of farming in Latah County is the ever widening urban-agricultural interface. He says, "It's a huge challenge trying to figure out not only how to farm responsibly, but also, how to get urban dwellers to understand the difficulties and everything we are trying to accomplish as farm producers." The complexity of the agricultural busi­ness just keeps expanding. Wayne points out how farm children used to be brought up doing farm tasks right along side their parents. This is no longer the case. "One obvious change in agriculture is there are almost no non-technical jobs anymore", he says. This is just one of many reasons kids seem less inclined to become imprinted with the agricultural heritage, and are much more likely to seek other professions. Wayne points out, "It's hard to find a job a kid can do on a farm nowadays." Such was not the case when Wayne was young. (And speaking of young-Wayne's dad is 89 years young, and still works in the shop and runs equipment!)

Wayne's love for farming has not only worked out quite well for him, but it continues to work out extremely well for Latah County. On behalf of all its citizens, we say, ‘Thank you, Wayne, for your commitment to excellence and all you do for everything from our daily food supply to the future of our environment.'

Ken Preston is a Resource Conservation Planner for the Latah Soil and Water Conservation District