The San Saba Soil and Water Conservation District, along with LCRA, recently sponsored an essay contest and poster contest for the local schools.

San Saba High School students participated in the essay contest "What Soil and Water Conservation Means to Me." The first place winner was Jack Whitten; second place winner, Tarah Crosby, and third place winner, Audrey Pierce. Each received a ribbon and cash award. C. K. Stevenson, chairman, of the local board, presented these awards.

Mrs. Brockman’s fourth grade class, Richland Springs, participated in the poster contest "Conservation Habits = Healthy Habitats." The first place winner was Chandler Lusty, second place winner, Paige Sloan, and third place winner, Brandon Tharp. Each received a ribbon and cash award. C. K. Stevenson also presented these awards.

The following is Jack Whitten’s First Place Winning Essay.

What Soil and Water Conservation Means to Me

by Jack Whitten

Soil and water conservation is a big part of my life. Together both soil and water help keep my family's farm and ranch in business. This helps us make our living and live our lives as farmers and ranchers. We depend on our rich soil and a good hearty rain to get our crops harvested and sold.

Throughout the years, I have learned from my dad how to take good care of our land. Mostly, I have learned when to plow the fields and when not to, so the land will be clean for our crops to be planted and have better success in growing our crops. We like to keep the weeds and trash out of our fields and manage how the water drains. When plowing we make sure we have enough moisture in the ground to plant so the dirt doesn't blow away. To help erosion in our fields we can plant various crops to hold the soil in place.

On our ranch we also have stock tanks where we let all our run off water get trapped in. This helps us preserve water for our cattle and helps again with preventing erosion from happening anywhere else on the land. These techniques also help us plan when to buy water troughs and run water pipeline under all our land. Windmills help manage our water supply at my cabin. I can save water in the reservoir tank and use it for many different purposes. Being able to shut the windmill on and off helps save the water so the mill won't go dry.

These are some things I have learned over a period of time to help preserve our water and soil. I plan on learning more about soil and water conservation as I keep working with my family on our farm and ranch. Thanks to the knowledge and training that my dad has given me, I intend on passing this valuable information down to future generations. My goal is to help them understand the true meaning of taking care of the land and be successful in soil and water conservation.