By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University/Image: Kendall Hodgson
“We are leaning forward in our operation, not leaning back,” said one Kansas farmer.
That forward-looking perspective and multigenerational willingness to serve agriculture has made a difference for this ag producer through the years.
Kendall Hodgson and family are the owners of Lark Valley Farms near Little River. He grew up on the family farm and studied agronomy at K-State. After working as a crop scout in southwest Kansas and then for a local farmer cooperative, he returned to the farm and joined in partnership with his father in 1979.
The Hodgsons tend to “lean forward” – that is, to look ahead for ways to improve their farming operation for the long term.
“Grandpa was big on conservation,” Hodgson said. “He used terraces and shelterbelts for soil and water conservation in the early years.”
The next step was to transition to a no-till farming operation.
“We were early adopters of no-till,” Hodgson said of the management strategy that helps to conserve soil and enhance soil health. “This has been a big point of emphasis for us. Soil protection has been a big thing for me. With the right farming practices, we can build back organic matter over time.”
The Hodgsons expanded the farming operation through the years.
“My father grew up on the original family homestead called Riverview Farm and he wanted a name for our farm as well,” Hodgson said. “Since we farm along the Little Ark River valley, I combined those words and we named it Lark Valley Farms.”
After he moved back to the farm, the local minister’s wife suggested he meet Melinda, a farm girl from Dodge City who had recently moved to town to teach at Lyons. They married and have three children: Tanner, a K-State agricultural economics grad who has moved back to the farm; Logan, who works at a farm implement dealership; and daughter Bailey who went to nursing school.
Today, Lark Valley Farms produces soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, bromegrass and alfalfa with a 130-cow herd.
“We grow Enogen corn, which has an enzyme bred into it so that the ethanol plant doesn’t have to add that enzyme when processing the grain,” Hodgson said.
Another example of the forward-leaning Hodgson family is a willingness to serve agriculture and the community.
“My dad always was involved in activities and he’s my example,” Hodgson said. “I was in Class IV of the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership program and that really catapulted me to get more involved.”
Hodgson became president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers in 2005. He was then asked to serve on the National Sorghum Producers board at a time when the national board and the Kansas board weren’t getting along. He’s proud of the fact that he was able to help restore good relations between the two boards.
“Kansas is not just the wheat state, it is also the sorghum state, growing almost half of the nation’s sorghum,” Hodgson said.
In 2024, he was elected chairman of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, which promotes sorghum usage worldwide. “I get energized by the interaction with producers,” he said. At the community level, he is involved with the Lions Club, extension board, conservation district board, and more.
The Hodgsons have a special connection with the Kansas Master Farmer program. That program was founded by Senator Arthur Capper to recognize excellence in farming.
“My grandfather was selected for the first class of Master Farmers in 1927,” Hodgson said. Hodgson’s parents were selected for the Master Farmer/Master Farm Homemaker class of 1988. Kendall and Melinda were selected for the class of 2017.
It’s an impressive record for a farm family from the rural community of Little River, population 472 people. Now, that’s rural.
“We are leaning forward in our operation, not leaning back,” Hodgson said. Son Tanner is carrying on the family interest in conservation and innovative production.
We commend Kendall, Melinda and Tanner Hodgson and all those involved with Lark Valley Farms for making a difference with a commitment to conservation and service. Those are good values on which to lean.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at https://www.huckboydinstitute.org/kansas-profiles. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.huckboydinstitute.org.
