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Fort Scott Community Closet Needing Volunteers: Workday Nov. 2
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Hedgehog.INK Celebrates First Anniversary With Cake Today
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The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports Oct. 30
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First Snow of the Season
First snow of the season!
Today’s weather forecast from weather.gov
Sunny, with a high near 42. Wind chill values as low as 19. West wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
Southwind Judging Team Wins American Royal
The Southwind Extension District 4-H Livestock Judging Team of Jillian Keller (Piqua), Brody Nemecek (Iola), Haydon Schaaf (Uniontown), and Clay Brillhart (Fort Scott) participated at the American Royal Livestock Show last week in Kansas City, MO.
By a large margin of 30 points, Southwind District was named Champion 4-H Team. They were selected as the only team to represent Kansas 4-H because they were the State Champion 4-H Livestock Judging Team in August 2019.
With 19 different state teams and 70 youth in the contest, this group continues to work hard to earn national recognition.
In addition to being the High Team Overall, they were also 1st in Reasons, 3rd in Sheep/Goats, 2nd in Swine and 2nd in Cattle.
Individual results include: Jillian Keller – 2nd High Individual Overall, 1st in Cattle, 9th in Swine and 10th in Reasons;
Haydon Schaaf – 4th Individual Overall, 3rd in Reasons, 7th in Sheep/Goats, 8th in Swine;
Brody Nemecek – 2nd in Swine and tied for 10th Individual Overall;
Clay Brillhart, 4th in Sheep/Goats and 7th in Swine.
The team continues to be coached by Carla Nemecek, Southwind District Director.
David Foster, Local Farmer, Expands Horizons
David Foster, who is a fourth-generation Bourbon County dairyman, still makes his living providing for his wife and children on the family farm at 1035 Hwy 39.
In addition to tending to his milk cows, he started a new business this year called Terrakat LLC.
The equipment spreads the manure that his herd of dairy cows produces daily.
“The equipment allows the farmer to spread manure on the field providing nutrients to the soil that is needed to raise crops,” Foster said. “Manure is fertilizer.”
“Terrakat (his business) was formed in March once I knew I had found a product that not only would be beneficial for Foster Dairy but also be beneficial for others as well,” he said.
The equipment is manufactured in Turkey.
“I flew over to Turkey in March (2019) to meet with the manufacturers, that I would then contract to produce my first ag equipment product of a manure spreader,” Foster said.
He had done his research but wanted to see first hand the product.
“I have a good company with good quality steel, good workmanship and willingness to allow me to make any changes I feel necessary to make the product better,” Foster said.
“Once I had returned, I placed an order for two units that had a capacity of 20 tons of manure each,” Foster said. “We planned to keep one for ourselves at Foster Dairy and then to sell the second unit.”
Foster began the business to save money on agricultural equipment for Foster Dairy, and then to build a business that can save others money on needed equipment, he said.
“I am providing a quality product that is more cost-effective and (additionally)then spending dollars locally for my business needs, for example, Captured Images Photography, SkyyFoxx, My1Stop.com to name a few,” he said.
It’s been a project that has unfolded this year.
“They (two pieces of equipment) arrived in a shipping container in July during the Bourbon County Fair,” Foster said. “After getting them unloaded and finishing some assembly, we waited for a window to demo the spreader where the ground was not too wet to spread manure. Which was difficult this year. When we did, we hired a drone company to take some professional footage as well as a photographer to take some high-end photos.”
He made his first sale this month.
“I took one of the units to the Ozark Fall Farmfest farm show in Springfield at the beginning of October where I made my first sale!” he said. “To my surprise, it wasn’t the model on display but one size bigger. That order for a T28 Terrakat Manure Spreader was placed last week and expected to ship this Friday.”
“The highlight of my first farm show wasn’t simply making a sale, but more importantly, to get feedback from other farmers and ranchers in the four-state area and to compare Terrakat to five other well-know brands of manure spreader,” Foster said. “After hearing from them, I was even more pleased to learn that I not only beat the competition on unit price, but had more features packed into a lower maintenance design with more volume capacity!”
“I also had a promising meeting with one of the country’s largest farm cooperatives last week in partnering with Terrakat to offer my manure spreaders to all of their 14000 members across the country,” he said. ” I have generated a lot of interest in a very short time. Terrakat is still in the startup/launch phase. I’m booked to go to the Tulsa Farm Show on December 12-14th. I have already had people tell me they are looking forward to seeing a Terrakat spreader at that show.”
“Meanwhile, I have been working on some added features to include scales, removable beaters, and GPS-ready variable rate flow control to name a few,” he said.
Besides being a dairyman and this new business venture, Foster owns another business called Cash Cow Enterprise LLC where he has reclaimed and salvaged used metal buildings for the last 12 years.
Foster is still working on website design for Terrakat LLC, a promotional video, establishing a nationwide dealer network, designing feature enhancements, and “my next product- line rollout, and another trip to Turkey to work on designs and other products with my manufacturer.”
Foster’s phone is 620-224-9433, and website: www.terrakat.com
or his Facebook page.
Foster graduated Uniontown High School in 1998, Fort Scott Community College in 2000, and Kansas State University with a degree in animal science and a degree in agricultural communications
He is involved in his community through Farm Bureau, 4-H, FFA, Bourbon County Fair Board, and Dairy Farmers of America.
Foster is the only employee at this time for Terrakat LLC, but expansion will require employees in the future, he said.
“Overall, I believe my new company will be successful because I am modeling it after my successful business of Cash Cow Enterprise LLC,” he said. ” I have learned that I don’t sell anything that I don’t use myself. I work on slim margins to make the best deal and to remain competitive. I take pride in feeling like I am helping farmers and ranchers like myself by providing a good quality alternative at a lower price than the competition.”
Veterans Day Parade Registration
Veterans Day Parade Entries are now being accepted
Live Local Bourbon County is hosting the 2nd Annual Veterans Day Parade to be held on Saturday, November 9, beginning at 3:00 pm through downtown Fort Scott.
Entries for the parade are now being accepted at the Fort Scott Regional Tourism Center at 231 E. Wall Street in Fort Scott, or at Bids & Dibs.
Parade entries should honor our veterans, showcase patriotism, and celebrate Veterans Day.
Entries are being accepted for floats, marching bands, foot units, antique or classic cars, horse units, golf carts, or anything fitting for a Veterans Day Celebration.
The parade route will follow the normal parade route through Fort Scott, beginning on Main Street at 6th, traveling north to Wall, east on Wall Street to National, and south on National to 6th.
The parade staging area will be at Fort Scott High School.
For more information, or to volunteer, contact the Fort Scott Convention & Visitors Bureau at 620.670.2750 or online at visitfortscott.com.
Contact: Ally Turvey
Phone: (620) 670.2750
Email:[email protected]
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports Oct. 30
The Fort Scott Police Department Daily Reports Oct. 29
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Rotary Taco Salad Dinner Nov. 5
Kansas Medicaid Expansion Continues
Second meeting for the Governor’s Council on Medicaid Expansion concludes
The second meeting for the Governor’s Council on Medicaid Expansion concluded this afternoon. The bipartisan group of policy experts, community leaders and stakeholders is studying Medicaid expansion from the 36 other states that have expanded to determine the best version for Kansas.
The meeting began with Cindy Mann, partner at Manatt Health, who presented information on the national overview of the Medicaid expansion population. The occupations with the largest number of workers covered by Medicaid are service workers such as cashiers, nurse and health aids and retail salespersons.
Hemi Tewarson, director at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, gave a brief overview of Section 1332 waivers, the way they have been implemented in states and how they interact with Medicaid 1115 waivers.
The Council is tasked with identifying three to five guideposts or goals for responsible, sustainable expansion in Kansas. The Council will supplement the legislative work that is already underway.
The Governor’s Council on Medicaid Expansion’s next meeting is Dec. 12.