Evans receives local conservation district’s award

Arvid Evans was the recipient of the Adair Soil and Water Conservation District’s award for 2022 at the Adair County Fair’s gazebo presentations Wednesday, July 20.

Adair SWCD chairman Randy Caviness presented the award.

“I’ve always thought very highly of being conservation-minded,” said Evans, who farms near Bridgewater with his son, Warren, and brother Dale.

Evans is a sixth-generation farmer and sees farming as “the good life, and about all he knows.” His earliest memories of the farm are walking out to the hay field barefoot or playing in the river near his house, where he would catch minnows and crawdads. He would then sell the minnows to fishermen in town for a little childhood spending money.

Evans will retire from the Adair SWCD board in December, having served 16 years as a commissioner. He joined the board in 2006 to help “save the soil,” Caviness told fair-goers.

Over the past several years on his farm, Evans has planted about 600 acres of cover crops and installed over 17,000 feet of terraces. Evans thinks that is about the best way to improve soil erosion and water quality. Basins, grade stabilization structures and waterways are also each utilized effectively on Evans’ farms.

“I think we need to keep our soil here and not let it go down the rivers,” Evans said. “It’s pretty important because we don’t have much soil in some places now. We try to conserve as much as we can with no-till. Dad used to plow but we don’t plow anymore.”

Ultimately, Evans said he’s very grateful to have received this recognition.

“You go around and talk to farmers and you can really learn a lot,” Evans said.