Conservation district to give Texas woman Kansas Bankers Award

Ever since she was a young woman, growing up in Bourbon County, Mary Lou Davis Margrave has known the importance of land conservation. It was a lesson she learned growing up on her parents' farm in northwest Bourbon County.

And though she now resides in Bellaire, Texas, and has since 1963, she still remains active in maintaining that same Davis-Margrave Farm, which she now owns.

It's for her continued efforts in land conservation over many years that Margrave was awarded one of two Kansas Bankers Awards, to be presented at the annual meeting of the Bourbon County Conservation District at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at Uniontown Junior Senior High School.

Margrave, the granddaughter of former Kansas governor Jonathan Davis, said she was surprised to win the award.

"I never expected anything like this," she said. "I'm very proud for my family. It's a nice honor, and I've very pleased."

Margrave said many of her conservation practices are to be credited to Cecil Post, a soil conservationist who works for the Natural Resource Conservation Service and with the conservation district. When Margrave took over the family farm, Post laid out a conservation plan for her that included the building of terraces and waterways, as well as proper crop rotation methods. She said she has stuck to Post's plan over the years, and that her award is a result of carrying out that plan.

"You have to dedicate yourself," she said. "You don't just have a dream, you've got to carry it out. With land comes responsibility, and I care about the land."

Margrave said that growing up on her parents' farm, which is located not too far from her grandfather's farm, taught her the importance of land maintenance and conservation.

"My interest in conservation goes a long way back," she said. "My heritage in taking care of land is there. If you're brought up on land or are close to land, it's always in your heart."

Though she lives hundreds of miles away from her farm, Margrave said she's "on the phone a lot" with the people who operate the farm. She added that she does visit the area several times throughout the year.

"I believe in good communication," she said.

She also said that, although she's a Texas resident, she's never forgotten where she came from.

"Even though I'm away, I'm proud to be a native of Kansas, and I have my heart in Bourbon County," she said.