Now That's Rural

A Kansas farmer looking to diversify the income from his farm found bird hunting was a good complementary business. The farm now hosts hundreds of hunters from around the nation each year.

A family-owned welding business in rural Kansas expanded its business by manufacturing attachments for skid-steer loaders. These attachments are now being shipped coast to coast.

An entrepreneur, farmer and real estate broker is working to revitalize his rural community through a no-cost community betterment program offered by K-State Research and Extension. The program builds awareness of a community’s strengths and areas of concern, using feedback from outside the community.

It’s often said that we learn by watching. An educator and school superintendent learned the importance of entrepreneurship and small business ownership by watching his father run a business in rural Kansas. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says that knowledge helped to implement entrepreneurial programs that provide a community service and hands-on educational experiences for students.

A skid steer loader has many uses – moving pallets, receiving deliveries, relocating products, along with hundreds of outdoor tasks. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, introduces us to a rural Kansas family that’s built a business marketing used skid steers.

For the Full List of Kansas Profiles by the Huck Boyd Institute visit https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/radio-network/other/kansas-profile.html

A rural telecommunications company founded in 1950 in southwest Kansas is still working hard to meet the needs of its customers. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says that starts and ends with providing great customer service – something its CEO definitely understands.

For the Full List of Kansas Profiles by the Huck Boyd Institute visit https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/radio-network/other/kansas-profile.html

A fourth-generation rancher in southwest Kansas launched a meat company that markets directly to consumers and ships its beef across the nation. The company also personally delivers its beef in the region.

For the Full List of Kansas Profiles by the Huck Boyd Institute visit https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/radio-network/other/kansas-profile.html

Over the last two weeks, we learned about Roger Barta, the legendary high school football coach who led Smith Center to the nation’s longest high school winning streak and about his son, Brooks, a standout player for Kansas State and the head coach of three-time state champion Holton High School. This week, Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, concludes his three-part series by introducing us to the youngest branch on the football family tree: Mason Barta. The son of Brooks and Tonya Barta, he’s making a name for himself as a fullback and blocker for Kansas State.

For the Full List of Kansas Profiles by the Huck Boyd Institute visit https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/radio-network/other/kansas-profile.html

Last week, we learned about Roger Barta, the legendary high school football coach who led Smith Center to the nation’s longest high school winning streak. This week, Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, introduces us to Roger’s son, Brooks. He was a four-year starter and a three-time co-captain under coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State and has led Holton to three state championships.

For the Full List of Kansas Profiles by the Huck Boyd Institute visit https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/radio-network/other/kansas-profile.html

When Roger Barta became the head football coach at Smith Center, he began building a program that would eventually set the record for the longest winning streak in the nation. As Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, tells us, the impact he has had on his players and family extends well beyond the football field.

For the Full List of Kansas Profiles by the Huck Boyd Institute visit https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/radio-network/other/kansas-profile.html