Lambdin Honored As Master Farmer

A Union County resident has been recognized as a 2009 Illinois Master Farmer.

This year's Master Farmers were announced in the March issue of Prairie Farmer magazine.

Those honored as Master Farmers are Randy Lambdin of Wolf Lake, Rick Nelson of Paxton, Doug Block of Pearl City, Kent Schleich of Fairview and Tom Block of Pearl City.

The Master Farmers program recognizes the finest farmers in Illinois.

Prairie Farmer shared the following news release which outlined Lambdin's work in farming, as well as his contributions to the community:

Rather than fearing a drought, Randy Lambdin of Wolf Lake spends most growing seasons worrying about too much rain.

Randy farms 1,980 acres in the Mississippi River bottoms of Union County.

Randy graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau in 1983.

A seventh generation farmer, he took over the 1,000-acre operation from his father in 1989.

In 1992, Randy purchased his grandfather’s original 240 acre farm, remodeled the home, and moved his family there in 1994.

Randy and his wife, Kathy, have three sons, Matthew, 22; Eric, 18; and Aaron, 16.

Currently, the three run a straw business and help out with an on-farm Precision Planting dealership. Plus, they mow lawns and sell sweet corn in the summer.

Bound by the Mississippi River to the west, Randy is always looking for ways to branch out.

“It’s tough to pick up acreage in this area; that’s why we’ve had to diversify so much,” he adds.

In recent years, Randy has added custom lime application and seed production to his resume.

Last year, Randy bought 140 acres of timber and enrolled it in the Wetlands Reserve Program. Over the years, he added six water holes to the property. In the future, he plans to dig a well and install drainage pipe so he can control the ponds’ water level.

Currently, he and his sons hunt ducks and deer on the land. Randy says hunting has been a great bonding experience for them.

Randy has given back to the Wolf Lake community in a number of ways. Most recently, he was elected to the Union County Board of Commissioners. In doing so, he’s sat through his share of six-hour meetings. And yes, some have been during planting and harvest.

Randy is grateful his sons are able to pick up the slack on the farm.

“The boys have been a tremendous help as far as covering for me when I go to meetings,” he notes.