Strategic Partnership Seeks to Grow Children, Alfalfa

Strategic Partnership Seeks
to Grow Children, Alfalfa

(Louisville, Ky) - Sunshine, hard work, and responsibility, those were the benefits of farm life a generation ago. For a very special Roosevelt County farm, they still are. That is why Monty’s Plant Food Company is joining forces with the Baptist Children’s Home Of New Mexico, located in Portales. The home seeks to offer a home for troubled or orphaned youth from across the state of New Mexico. By using agriculture as a classroom, the home hopes to instill in their youth a sense of pride and accomplishment while producing reputable agricultural crops for their own usage as well as for the local ag community.
“The Baptist Children’s Home has a long standing reputation as a model for how farming, combined with counseling and a stable environment can be used to bring about positive values in the lives of children and teens,” according to the Home’s Director, Geraldine Dooley. Recent droughts, prairie dog colonies, and transition over the past several years have resulted in challenges developing on the 350-acre farm. But through a partnership with Monty’s Plant Food Company she is hopeful that the alfalfa field can be revitalized through better soil management, weed control, and nutrient application.

Baptist Children’s Home Of New Mexico

Monty’s Plant Food Company will be donating their materials necessary for improvement of the soil and fertility program. Price Allan, a former student at Eastern New Mexico University, volunteered at the home while a student in Portales. Allan is the current Director for Strategic Communications at the Louisville Kentucky-based company. “I have very fond memories of my time working with the ag program at the children’s home and always respected their integrated approach to impacting the lives of New Mexico’s youth.” Allan continued. “Monty’s is definitely a commercial company, with a bottom line and budgets, but we will avail ourselves of every opportunity we can to help with mission-related efforts. Our founder, Monty Justice, is a Southern Baptist and committed to missions. We are currently donating product to several projects in South America and Africa to help alleviate hunger in an affordable and environmentally responsible way.” The joint project was initially suggested by Dwayne Disney of Slash-D-3, a local farm store serving farmers and homeowners in the local area. As local dealer for Monty’s Plant Food Company, Disney will help coordinate delivery and assist with specific application directions for the project.

Monty’s Liquid Fertilizer will be applied in conjunction with Liquid Carbon to the alfalfa field beginning this month and continuing throughout the growing season. The combination will assist in improving the water holding capacity and lowering the salt levels. In addition, the fertility program has been shown in university trials to improve yield and quality on alfalfa crops from Kentucky to Montana by unlocking nutrients within the soil and enabling better movement of nutrients within the plant. The Children’s Home will be dividing their circle in half so that they and interested local farmers can see the difference between traditional practices and Monty’s Liquid Fertilizer. Dooley concluded “Once we have achieved our goals on the alfalfa plot we will look at improving our wheat and native grass pastures.” Allan added “This is a long term project and we look forward to working with the Children’s Home for years to come. Monty’s and The Baptist Children’s Home will be working in conjunction with Floyd McCallister, Roosevelt County Extension Agent.