"He takes special pride in his Limousine cow and calf operation. He raises 45 acres of alfalfa and does an excellent job of improving his pastures by renovating them each year or when needed,� noted Martin.
Robertson has applied several conservation practices into his daily operations over the past three years that have helped prevent soil erosion and improve water quality. He has constructed water tanks, built ponds and even fenced his pastures in order to maximize and utilize all of his pastures on the farm. In addition, Robertson is fencing his cattle out of the forest to protect his trees for maximum growth.
"They've done an outstanding job in implementing conservation practices and, I hope I don't offend anyone else along that road, but, if you drive out Robertstown Road and pass by this farm, it will very well catch your eye due to its aesthetic beauty. This is all due to the hard work and conservation that has been applied on the Robertson family farm,� Martin said. "Due to their effort, it gives the Lincoln County Conservation District great pleasure in presenting the Robertson Family the 2006 Master Conservationist Award for Lincoln County.�
Harry Goggin, a third generation member of the Conservation District Board, presented the Goggin Award.
Lou Martin, wife of Conservation District Supervisor Martin, was the recipient of the Goggin Award. The award is presented to a person who has promoted Lincoln County and the work of the Conservation District and Martin was so honored because of her work and dedication to the District over the past 35 years. Mrs. Martin has attended and worked numerous district activities and, according to Goggin, is a "lady who is always ready to help the District in any way she can ... and we hope she will continue to do so.�
While the adults in the community are the ones actively implementing and promoting conservation practices, the Lincoln County Conservation District is mindful of raising the awareness of the county youth to the importance of conservation to protect our land. To involve the youth, the District hosts its annual art and writing conservation contests.
The topic of the 2005 contest was "Kentucky's Water - My Responsibility�. A total of 650 art works and 1,098 writing works were entered in this year's contest. Schools participating in this year's contests were Crab Orchard, Highland, Hustonville, Lincoln County High School, Lincoln County Middle School, McKinney, Stanford and Waynesburg.
Hustonville Elementary received a cash award from Kimberly Bartley of the Division of Conservation for having 100% participation in both the art and writing contests.
The first place county winner in this year's art contest was Tanner Erlandson. The eight year old artist is a second grade student at Hustonville Elementary School and is involved in Awana Clubs at his church and enjoys baseball and football. In his spare time, Erlandson likes to draw, work outside in the garden and collect tractors. As the first place winner, he received a $50 savings bond and a Certificate of Merit from the Courier-Journal.
Kayla Shelton, the daughter of Michael and Judy Shelton, is this year's second place county art winner. Shelton, 10, is a fifth grade student at Highland Elementary. She enjoys playing basketball, riding horses, doing art projects and playing Playstation. Shelton also received a $50 savings bond and was presented with a Certificate of Recognition.
