WenMar Farms recognized as Ohio Conservation Farm Family
WenMar Farms receive Ohio Conservation Farm Family Award at the Farm Science Review. L to R: Yvonne Lesicko, Ohio Farm Bureau; Greg Waters, Marcia Waters, Angie Edie, Erin Ferris, Cannon Waters, Wendell Waters, and Brad Bucher, ADS Hancor, Inc. Contributed | Beacon
WEST LAFAYETTE – WenMar Farms of West Lafayette was recognized at the Farm Science Review for being a 2017 Ohio Conservation Farm Family. Wendell and Marcia Waters, along with their grown children Greg Waters, Erin Ferris, and Angie Edie and their families attended the special awards ceremony at the review. WenMar Farms was one of five farm families to receive this prestigious award.
Wendell Waters grew up farming with his family in Coshocton County, and then attended Ohio State before returning home and teaching for four years. He and his wife, Marcia, began their own farm in 1969 and merged their names to create the farm name, WenMar. Today, their three adult children all work with them on the farm.
“The farm has grown over the years to provide opportunities for the entire family,” said Greg, “I’m lucky to work with my family every day.”
At WenMar Farms, the Tuscarawas River provides a constant reminder of the importance of conservation. Wendell said, “It’s right here, we farm on both sides of it.” By carefully managing the manure from their sow-hog operation, WenMar Farms not only protects water quality, but also recycles manure nutrients as fertilizer on their crop ground. The Waters family protects their land from soil loss as well, correcting trouble spots like an eroding riverbank on land they recently purchased.
The Water’s family farms about 4,000 acres of crop land in Coshocton, Tuscarawas, and Madison counties and produce corn and soybeans. Their 3,500 head swine operation includes two sow farrowing facilities with a third facility devoted to gilt development. Breeding, gestation and farrowing is managed on the farm and then weaned pigs are fed to market weight by contract growers. Intensive soil testing and variable rate application of fertilizer and manure help protect water quality. They also have a timber management plan for their woodland acres.
The Ohio Conservation Farm Family Awards program recognizes farmers who are doing an outstanding job of protecting and conserving soil, water, and related natural resources on the land they farm. Coordinated by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Soil and Water Conservation and co-sponsored by the Ohio Farmer magazine and The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, the program emphasizes the application of technically sound, innovative, and cost-effective conservation practices and encourages the sharing of this information with other farmers and the general public. WenMar Farms was nominated for this award by the Coshocton Soil and Water Conservation District.
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