Dear editor,
A group of concerned citizens met Monday night at the Iola Senior Center at the request of the Allen County Farm Bureau Organization Board to discuss the planned sale of the ACC Farm.
We are surprised that the proposed sale has not generated more posts and discussion in the media, because we have heard plenty in person. I think that many people are shocked at the ACC board’s decision to sell the farm, since last spring a similar group of citizens were assured that the farm was off of the market. We know that there have been changes in the farm management since that time, but the ACC Ag Advisory committee has not been consulted or invited to discuss those management issues, or any other problems being cited by the ACC administration as a rationale for the decision to sell. Last month’s surprise announcement by the ACC Board concerning the sale of the ACC farm was greeted with dismay.
Monday night a group of interested persons listened to John Masterson, ACC president, Jenny Spillman, ACC board member, Terry Powelson, instructor, and Charles Kerr, former instructor and current IHS Vo-Ag teacher, give us the background and farm update that the ACC board used in arriving at their decision. We were advised of ACC’s plans for the future direction of ag education. We heard students (at least one from out of state, and others from beyond the southeast Kansas region) tell us that they had made their decision to attend ACC based on the opportunities provided by the farm facility and the Zahn scholarships. Other prospective students have already decided to attend elsewhere, reflecting how important the farm facility was to their attendance.
The eminent sale of the farm is currently unnecessary. Options exist to maintain the property until plans and programs can be set up to best utilize and manage the facility. The value of land and structures will still be solid for years into the future. There is no need to “fire-sale” this asset.
The plans to utilize the former Dieboldt Lumber property for technical programs on both the high school and collegiate level are exciting. Why are we not planning programs of a similar intent for the ACC farm? Agriculture milling, livestock feeding, entomology, crop insurance adjusting, soil remediation, truck farming and niche marketing, backyard poultry programs, as well as explorations in solar and wind energy, are all programs that benefit from a hands-on approach to learning and are programs that look to future agricultural careers.
To address specific current issues, a farm caretaker can be hired, while time is allotted to rethink current and future curricula and uses for the facility. Maintenance issues that have been allowed to slide can be evaluated and addressed. An accounting system that relates to farming reality should be instated, which would include a complete inventory, breeding plans, balance sheet and cash flow records, reviewed, at a minimum, once a semester. If there is an expectation that a farm facility be run on a “profitable” basis, do not issue a line item budget, which assumes success if the budget is under or at expected levels, and then maintain that the farm is an unprofitable facility. While we as taxpayers expect to see good stewardship of the finances, tax supported education is not thought of as a “profitable” enterprise. Were it so, we would not have access to libraries, workout facilities or team sports on campus. Re-activate the Ag Advisory Committee and seek guidance from a group of people who have an agricultural background and a burning desire to bring young people into the vocation.
Please think twice before selling an irreplaceable asset to the Allen Community College program.
Darrell R. Monfort DVM,
Iola, Kan.
Letter to the editor — February 4, 2016
