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PENQUIS - The Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District will host their Annual Tour and Banquet beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Each year the district recognizes a Cooperator of the Year and an Outstanding Conservation Teacher of the Year. Cooperators are landowners who implement conservation practices on their property. This year's award winners are Pete and Tonya Patten and their five children, of Atkinson. Patten Farms has undergone extensive renovation over the past few years. In 2000 a new milking parlor was built to accommodate the 260 head now being milked. The Pattens have more than 300 milk cows plus 250 replacement heifers. They raise their own feed corn and hay for silage. The farm employs four full-time and three part-time workers. The Pattens are second (Pete) and third (Tonya) generation farmers and have been nominated two years running as Maine's Farm Family of the Year. There will be a tour of the Patten farm, and guest speaker Dave Marcinkowski, a University of Maine Cooperative Extension Dairy Specialist, will speak about biosecurity. This will be followed by a buffet picnic lunch and the presentation of awards. The Outstanding Teacher of the Year is Selina Tardiff of Union 60 in Greenville. Tardiff, a forester herself, attended district forestry education training this year, brought students to tour the district's Demonstration Forest, worked with her class and a lake monitoring program, and fielded two teams at the Central Region Envirothon in May. Despite the fact that Greenville has not had an Envirothon team for several years, one team took third place in the regional competition. Please call the district office at 564-2321 to pre-register for meals, which will cost $6 per person. |