Green Horizons

Missouri Tree Farmer of the Year Richard Boyt was the featured speaker at the 2007 Missouri Woodland Owners Conference, held in February in Columbia, Mo. Richard and Libby Boyt have been Missouri Tree Farmers for 35 years. Their 715- acre farm in Neosho, Mo., is a testament to sustainable forestry.

You're Never Too Old
Hank Stelzer and Richard Boyt

This was my fifth year serving as coordinator for Missouri's annual Woodland Owners Conference. And I must admit, during the awards luncheon my mind was drifting off to all the "small stuff" that coordinating an event like this entails. But, I could not wander very far because of the words our Missouri Tree Farmer of the Year, Mr. Richard Boyt, was speaking.

Richard and Libby Boyt have been Missouri Tree Farmers for 35 years. Their 715-acre farm in Neosho, Mo., is a testament to sustainable forestry. A major part of their activity has been planting tens of thousands of walnut seeds and seedlings, building ponds for water containment and erosion control and timber stand improvement -- which continues today.

My dad always said that experience was the best teacher. Not only did Richard share his years of experience, but his intense passion for being the best steward in his corner of the earth that he could be. I have attended a lot of meetings over the years, but I cannot remember a single one that generated the spontaneous standing ovation this one so richly deserved.

Richard said he was a teacher. In my opinion he still is. Like all good teachers, Richard wrote down what he wanted to share with attendees that day. And with his permission, here are some of those shared words:

Above: Richard Boyt, the 2007 Missouri Tree Farmer of the Year, shares his passion for trees at the annual Woodland Owners Conference in Columbia, Mo. Below: Richard's sketch of Libby, his wife of 58 years, who was unable to attend the conference. "I confess that I am mystified why Libby and I were chosen to receive this award. There are so many of you who have achieved so much more than we have. … I suspect that Libby and I were chosen because we are so old we would be leaving soon. Well, I have news for them. I have every intention to attend this conference in future years and to applaud you when you stand here where I stand. In the meantime, I intend to plant trees; as many as I have the time and energy to plant. There is a saying, "Young men plant turnips. Old men plant trees." Perhaps as we grow older we feel the need to leave something lasting behind that shows that we cared. "The Gift of Green" is that wonderful substance we know as chlorophyll. It is found in nearly all plant life and even today continues to use energy from the sun to convert global-warming carbon dioxide into the very oxygen we breathe and biomass we can use in many ways. It is a gift we must pass on to the future. I must admit that there is nothing much we can do as individuals to solve the growing problem of global warming due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. It is as if we would try to bail out the oceans with a teaspoon. Yet, is it not better to light one small candle than to simply curse the darkness? So, today I bring with me 20 sacks of 50 nuts each from the finest two walnut trees I have so far found on the farm. The best tree is 25 inches in diameter and rises nearly flawless for 40 feet. Each sack should produce about 10 seedlings. If planted in good deep soil, and with luck, one might make a fine tree in a hundred years or so. Trees are our gift of green to future generations." - Richard Boyt, Missouri Tree Farmer of the Year