Six couples will be honored on March 13 as the 2026 class of Kansas Master Farm Families in recognition of their leadership in agriculture, environmental stewardship and service to their communities.
The statewide awards program is in its 99th year and is sponsored by K-State Extension and Kansas Farmer Magazine.
This year’s honorees are:
· Dean and Marlene Davis, Maple Hill.
· David and Sheila Govert, Cunningham.
· Garry and Kathy Holloway, Kincaid.
· Caleb and Shanda Mattix, Colby.
· Keith and Connie Miller, Great Bend.
· Roger and Elizabeth Ploeger, Morrill.
The annual awards banquet will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 13 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan.
From Barton County, Keith and Connie Miller were nominated and will be honored at the banquet. Perpetuating the family farm homesteaded in 1920 northeast of Great Bend, the Millers have steadily grown their diversified operation over the last 49 years.
Coming out of high school, Keith put in one year at Barton County Community College before returning to the farm for good. Starting in 1976, he and Connie partnered with Keith’s parents, Carl and Evelyn, raising beef cows, hogs and 500 acres of crops on the farmstead just south of the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Refuge.
Keith and Connie fully took over the operation in 1990, which has now expanded to several thousand acres of wheat, corn, alfalfa, soybeans and grain sorghum. They also run a 200-head beef cattle herd. Their three daughters, Amber, Brooke and Dara, were all active on the farm growing up.Currently, Dara and her husband Jason are directly involved in the operation, as is a nephew, Brad Birzer. As the business manager for the operation, Connie is in the process of handing those duties fully over to Dara.
Keith and Connie have been fully committed to leadership and service at the local, state and even national levels. Keith is a past chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, and a past chair of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s international trade committee. He has also served on the Kansas Farm Bureau’s Board of Directors for 17 years, and is the current chair of the Kanas Soybean Commission.
Connie was a long-time 4-H community leader and church youth leader, among other local leadership positions. Keith and Connie fully credit their family support system for their extensive accomplishments.
Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact her by e-mail at aboor@ksu.edu or calling 620-793-1910.
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity employer and provider. Kansas State University, County Extension Councils, Extension Districts, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating.