Submitted
The Ellis County Conservation District has selected L & N Farming for the 2024 Conservation award.
L & N Farming is co-owned by brothers Leon and Norbert Kuhn of Victoria.
Leon and Norbert’s father, Alfred Kuhn, inherited a quarter section of land then bought another quarter section of land in 1965. He and his wife raised four children together: Leon, Norbert, Donna, and Diane. The Kuhn family was living in Plainville, Kansas, and in 1965 they moved near Victoria.
The Kuhn kids were raised helping with their family’s dairy business, they grew up milking cows and selling milk.
The brothers started farming in 1978 with the help of their Uncle Eugene Schmeidler. L & N Farming was established.
Leon graduated from Fort Hays State University in 1978 with a bachelor of arts in ag business. He married Colleen Dinkel from Victoria, Kansas, in 1991. They have two sons, Dylan and Nathan Kuhn. Dylan is married to Heather with two children and another child expected in May. Nathan is engaged to Kylie Benear who has three children.
Norbert and Donna live in Alfred’s house north of Victoria and Leon and Colleen live in Alfred’s father’s house two miles away. Diane lives in Victoria.
The original Kuhn homestead has been in the family for over 100 years.
Their great-great-grandfather received a quarter section of land from the railroad through the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act allowed people to claim 160 acres of government land for free if they met certain requirements. He built a house on the property, lived on the property, and farmed the land.
Leon and Norbert are continuing with their family’s stewardship of the land.
Their father put in waterways and terraces when he acquired his property. In 2010 his sons went no-till on everything and started rebuilding the terraces. They found that the terraces didn’t have to be plowed after going no-till. During the December 15, 2021, storms, Leon and Norbert didn’t have problems with blowing dust due to no-till practices.
Their crop rotation used to be wheat, milo, and sunflowers. In 2016 the sunflowers were replaced with corn. They are considering replacing corn with something else. They have dabbled in planting cover crops with success, and they grow forage sorghum for cows.
L & N Farming farms 1,300 acres of mostly rented ground and they have run a cattle truck since 1984. They run a cow-calf operation of forty-five heads. They wanted to stop the trucking part of the business when the farming part took off but haven’t stopped yet. One brother runs a truck and the other brother farms. Every week they swap roles so it’s one week in truck, one week on farm, one week in truck, one week on farm.
Leon and Norbert’s business has become a family affair. Dylan and Nathan help with the crops and have cattle of their own. Heather, Kylie, Colleen, Donna, and Diane pitch in and help with things that need to be done. According to Leon, “We wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”