Keith Rexroth receives Panhandle Outstanding Service to Ag Award

      Keith Rexroth, who farms near Sidney and has a passion for conservation, has been recognized with the annual University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center Outstanding Service to Panhandle Agriculture Award.

      The award was presented to Rexroth Tuesday at the High Plains Ag Lab field day near Sidney.

      Rexroth is a longtime supporter of agricultural research in the High Plains. A member of the High Plains Ag Lab Advisory Board since 1973, he chaired the committee to raise funds for a new headquarters and laboratory building. Ground was broken on the project at the Aug. 6 open house. He also served on the board of the USDA Agricultural Research Service station at Akron, Colo.

      A well-known figure in statewide conservation circles, Rexroth has served on the South Platte Natural Resources District Board of Directors since 1993, including a stint as chairman. He has been the NRD’s delegate on Panhandle Area Development District (PADD) and Panhandle Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D). He served eight years on the Nebraska Association of Resource Districts Information and Education Committee, including five years as chair. He was named NRD Director of the Year for Nebraska in 2005.

      He was appointed by the governor as advisor for the Three-State Cooperative Agreement on the Platte River. He also served on the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission and volunteered in classrooms for 15 years.

      Rexroth also has a long involvement in ag leadership positions, both on the local and state levels. In 1983-84 he received the Outstanding Young Farmer Nebraska award. And he served for 10 years in state management for Outstanding Young Farmer program, during which time there were seven national winners from Nebraska. He served on the Dalton Co-op Board, and in the mid-1990s served two years as the Mid-States Advisory for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Chief Pearlie Reed. He has been Cheyenne County Extension Board Chair and South Panhandle Chair. He served two years on the UNL Chancellor’s Advisory Board, and was vice president and held other offices on the Nebraska Wheat Growers.

      Rexroth organized the Tri-State Ag Summit, which included the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the agriculture directors from Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado.

      Rexroth has worked to pass on his love and knowledge of agriculture, volunteering in classrooms for 15 years and hiring high-school and college students to work on the family farm, a “classroom without walls.”

      The Outstanding Service to Panhandle Agriculture Award is given by Panhandle Research and Extension Center faculty in recognition of a person or group who has provided outstanding service to Panhandle agriculture. Award criteria include value of work done or cooperation with UNL specialists or educators; leadership in agriculture; community service other than agriculture; and level of impact on Panhandle agriculture.