TIFTON — The Middle South Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District held their 47th annual Conservationist of the Year banquet Dec. 4 at the Agrirama in Tifton.

Winners were selected from the following nine counties: Ben Hill, Brooks, Colquitt, Crisp, Irwin, Thomas, Tift, Turner and Worth.

The Tift County Conservationist of the Year Award Winner for 2008 is Ray Beasley. Beasley comes from a long line of conservationists in Tift County. His granddaddy, E. T. (Earnest) Beasley, was honored as the conservationist of the year in the 1960’s.

Beasley is a fifth-generation farmer who is continuing to care for the natural resources on his farm. His farm operation includes 200 acres of land in row crop production growing peanuts, cotton and small grains. He also manages a cow herd of 90 pairs and has 110 acres in pasture or hayland use. The remainder of the land is forested, predominately in pine-hardwood timber and managed for wildlife and watershed protection. Cropland is protected with terraces, contour farming, grassed waterways and field borders. Pasture and hayland are managed with prescribed grazing, nutrient and pest management.

The farm has recently signed an agreement under the Partners for Wildlife Program to install a stream crossing and exclude livestock from Ty Ty Creek and associated wetlands to help protect water quality in the creek. Beasley serves as a volunteer with Excelsior Fire Department and his wife, Kim, teaches at Omega Elementary School in Tift County. The Beasleys are the parents of two sons, Tyler and Scott, who are also involved with farm activities. They are members of Salem Baptist Church.

The Georgia Bankers Association and Ag Georgia Farm Credit helped with the event.