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Governor Vilsack congratulates Dick Thompson.
Governor Vilsack (left) addresses the gathering.
Marvin Shirley (right) explains the award's purpose.
Dick Thompson offers encouragement
to younger members of the audience.
| 2004 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture
Presentation at the Iowa State Fair |
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It was a likely venue -- the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion at the Iowa State Fair -- for Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to honor two of Iowa's pioneers in sustainable agriculture, Dick and Sharon Thompson of Boone.
Speaking to a standing room-only crowd gathered for a charity steer show fundraiser, Vilsack reminded the audience of the fair's roots 150 years earlier.
“The concept of sustainable agriculture is consistent with the Iowa State Fair," Vilsack noted, adding that agriculture has helped sustain two of Iowa's biggest assets -- its people and its productive land.
"I'm very happy to present this award to
someone who has been committed to sustainable agriculture
for a very long time," he said. “Throughout the
years, the Thompsons have tested their alternative methods
and have worked with countless researchers at Iowa State
University. They are truly leaders in their community."
Vilsack then presented a plaque and $1,000 check to the
Thompsons, surrounded in the dusty show ring by many members
of their immediate family that includes two sons who farm in
Boone County. Dick Thompson used the opportunity to offer
words of encouragement to younger members of the audience.
"It's nice to be a winner here today, but not everything I've done has been a winner," Thompson said. "Failures and bumps in the road can help us find where we fit, to find our destiny."
Thompson said competition is helpful, and successes help build self-confidence, but he was more interested in following a complementary lifestyle and using success to help others.
"You can't give up, you must stay in the game or try something different," he advised. "And sometimes those bumps in the road can make you a better person."
Leopold Center advisory board chair Marvin Shirley, who operates a farm in Dallas County, said the Thompsons are a good example of sustainable agriculture in practice. The two previous winners of the award also were farmers.