If Kelly and Candace Patrick ever thought they would they would win the 1997 Conservation Farmer Of The Year award, you could have fooled them. This quiet Kelvington area farm team along with their sons Sean and Charles have become something of a celebrity group of late. This is just a natural outcome of a hard working and very involved farm team according to their nominator, when contacted to notify him of the judges selection.
The Patricks were honored at the banquet of the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association during the annual Direct Seeding workshop and annual meeting held February 12 and 13 in Saskatoon before nearly 1000 people. They received a gift from The Royal Bank Of Canada and had their name engraved on large plaque beside the names of previous winners. The Royal Bank are new sponsors of the award and were pleased with the number of nominees for both the individual farmer, and the Group Conservation Awards.
Conservation Group Of The Year award went to the Direct-Tech group of Leroy. This group had great success in holding four large field days to raise funds for their local community. These field days introduced direct seeding to many farmers from all parts of Saskatchewan. Ken Crowter accepted the award on behalf of the group at the SSCA banquet.
The Patricks were selected by the judges as a result of their community leadership and their innovative methods of farming. Kelly has been known to invent and redesign machinery to make it work better on his farm. He has been a leader in adopting new technology and has continually strived for maximum economic returns and sustainability on the farm. They believe direct seeding to be one of the most valuable tools in a long term plan to enhance rural living. Kelly has also shown great leadership by helping his community found a diversification project for other farmers in building a large hog enterprise.
The Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association is proud to assist the Royal Bank Of Canada each year in the identification and selection of outstanding individuals and groups in achievement and support of soil conservation.