2000 Conservation Award for Lincoln-McPherson Counties

Richard & Elaine Bode

North Platte, Nebraska

In April of 1978, Richard and Elaine Bode began their farming operation located 3 miles south and 3 miles west of Hershey, in partnership with Elaine's parents, Orval and Frieda Einspahr. Orval and Frieda retired in 1984. Elaine's grandparents, Fred and Ruby Hackbarth had originally owned the land. Rick farmed with his family and worked as a well driller for Staska Well Drilling Co. at Albion, Nebraska before he and Elaine moved to the Hershey area.

Irrigated and dry land corn, wheat and irrigated soybeans are the crops that are grown. Minimum and no-till farming practices have replaced conventional farming practices to maintain cover, conserve moisture and to prevent soil erosion. Two years ago, the Bodes' discontinued the use of a wheat, ecofallow corn and summer fallow rotation and began to use a continuos crop rotation of wheat and shrot-season corn.

23,000 feet of terraces have been installed to treat the highly erodible land. 1,900 red cedar, juniper, cottonwood, honeylocust and Austrian pine trees have been planted by the Bodes to provide windbreak protection.

Rick and Elaine have three children, Jason of Long Island, NY; Jennifer of Hershey; and Josh, a sophomore at UN-L. Rick and Elaine are active in school, church and community programs.