Photo courtesy of John Liston and the Great Falls Tribune The Boettcher Connections to the land by Carol Flaherty · MSU Communications Services If we could see the invisible connections that tie a person to society and this earth, Robert Boettcher, '62 M, might seem very like the interrelated soil microorganisms he fosters on his organic Rob-An Farms near Big Sandy. Boettcher, who received a Master of Science degree in economics from MSU in 1962, believes in staying connected . . . . connected to his family, of course, but also connected to his land and the broader world, including MSU. "We're lifetime alumni members," says Boettcher. Threads of interest tie him not just to MSU-Bozeman but also to other universities and organizations across the country. "We need to be aware of what's going on in these institutions, and alumni organizations are a part of that," says Boettcher. In addition, he has been not just a member, but often a member of the boards of directors of nearly 20 organizations, from the National Farmers Organization to a dozen years with the Organic Crop Improvement Association. There is hardly an organization working to maintain and improve farm and open lands that he hasn't been a part of in his 40 years of farming. Recently, Boettcher has received several awards acknowledging his efforts to create an organic and sustainable approach to farming. In 2003, he traveled to Washington D.C. and was honored by the USDA's National Resources and Conservation Service with its Excellence in Conservation award for "outstanding efforts to conserve, maintain and improve the natural resources on America's private lands." In 2002, the national Soil and Water Conservation Society presented him with its national Honor Award in recognition of significant contributions to the conservation of soil, water and related natural resources during its annual meeting in Indianapolis. He has received many other state and regional awards centering on his conservation and farming efforts, among them being named by MSU's College of Agriculture as one of three Outstanding Agricultural Leaders for 2003. Boettcher says he didn't start out interested in organic and alternative farming. He grew up on the Big Sandy farm, doing traditional wheat/fallow and barley/fallow grain production. He met his wife while at the University of California at Santa Barbara in the 1950s, and, after marrying her in 1963, they became more and more involved with helping his parents on the farm. He can mark almost exactly his progression to organic farming and alternative crops. In 1978 he planted sunflowers. They did well and he continued trying alternatives to straight grain production. By 1986 he and his wife started to transition what had become Rob-An Farms to organic methods, and in 1992 the whole farm was certified organic. He has grown up to 12 different crops in a year. In 1997 he even went on a trade mission to Taiwan sponsored by the Montana Department of Agriculture and the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association. Visiting delegations from Taiwan and elsewhere frequently visit his farm, and the Boettchers hold annual field days to show how their organic methods work on their and two other farms in the Big Sandy area. That seems reasonable for a man who says the most fun he had while at MSU was meeting "a lot of interesting people. I also got an excellent education at MSU," he added. While the farm is now in the process of being passed on to Robert and Ann's son Earl, it seems unlikely that Robert Boettcher will decrease the connections that seem such a part of him.