When Phil Jarred was young, his father, the late Dorrall Jarred, often offered a bit of advice: don’t ever farm ground without a terrace.
The lesson stuck, and proved true once again after Jarred bought about 200 acres of land on the east side of Humboldt Hill a few years back.
“We actually bought it for hunting,” Jarred said Tuesday, while receiving the Bankers Soil Conservation Award for 2021.
And while the high ground timber was ideal for seeking out trophy whitetail, the sloping areas leading up to the woods needed some work.
See, the slopes were riddled with sericea lespedeza, the invasive plant that has been a thorn in the sides of landowners for years.
Jarred, along with his brother, Jim, decided to tear up the farmland to get rid of the sericea lespedeza, but that led to another problem.
“The ground started washing away,” Jarred noted.
That led to a simultaneous effort to rebuild several terraces to stem the soil erosion, and reroute waterways through the parcel of land.
“It’s really made a difference,” Jarred said. “We’re pretty happy with it.”
Jarred, an accountant with Jarred, Gilmore and Phillips PA out of Chanute, was in Iola to receive the award from the Allen County Conservation District.
Typically, such an honor is recognized at the Conservation District’s annual meeting, but that meeting is being held virtually because of COVID-19.
In its stead was a decidedly more low-key ceremony.
On hand for the presentation were Chad Guthrie, representing the Conservation District, and Heather Curry of Piqua State Bank.
Jarred, whose brother oversees the terrace work and other farming tasks, co-owns the land with daughter Janae, who lives and works in Owensboro, Ky.
“She probably doesn’t have much interest in farm ground,” Jarred chuckled. “Her husband does, though. That’s why we started it.”
Jarred and wife Karen have three daughters, all grown.
