Pictured, from left, Volunteer of the Year winner Brooks Shirk, Grazing Management of the Year winner Bret Wolf and Conservation Farmer of the Year winner Shawn Krull.

WARSAW —  Several local individuals were recognized Thursday, March 16, at the 60th annual Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District meeting, which was held at 2517, Warsaw.

Greg Peterson of Peterson Farm Bros. was the guest speaker at the event. Peterson and his siblings farm with their parents in Kansas. They also create and post entertaining and informative farming videos on their website. Peterson said he feels there is a lot of misconception about farming and modern day farmers. He and his siblings hope to educate people and clear up some of those misconceptions through their videos and blog.

Each year the SWCD recognizes the top four high school individuals in the area of soil judging. This year, the four students recognized were Hannah Gibbons, Tippecanoe Valley High School; and Bryce Wuthrich, Brooklyn McCulloch and Christy Carson, all from Wawasee High School.

The award for Forestry of the Year went to Baker Family Forest Company. The Grazing Management of the Year award was presented to Bret Wolf. Brooks Shirk received the Volunteer of the Year award. Conservation Farmer of the Year award went to Shawn Krull.

In 2016 two supervisors were given the oath of office. Jon Roberts was sworn in as an appointed supervisor and Stan Moore became the newly elected supervisor. Both are serving a three-year term on the board.

The Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District is responsible for the conservation and development of local soil, water and related natural resources. The Kosciusko SWCD was formed in 1957.