Weld farm, Brighton farmer to be recognized at Centennial Farm ceremony

DENVER — A Weld County farm in the eastern part of the county near New Raymer has been named a Centennial Farm by History Colorado and the state Department of Agriculture.

To qualify for the program, a farm or ranch has to be owned by the same family for at least 100 years and still be in operation. The Schmeeckle Farm was established in 1917. It is listed in Weld County Assessor records as owned by the Dale and Edith Schmeeckle Trust. 

“We draw strength from the rural stories of endurance and persistence from the farmers and ranchers who personify Centennial Farms and Ranches, as well as some of the cultural practices that have helped innovate and sustain agriculture. We are thrilled to celebrate the combination of Colorado history and culture,” Dawn DiPrince, History Colorado’s executive director and state historic preservation officer, said in a press statement. 

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This year’s honorees are:

• Vermillion Farm (Elbert County), since 1914.
• Sonnenberg Farm (Logan County), since 1919.
• Schmeeckle Farm (Weld County), since 1917.
• Koeller Farm (Kiowa County), since 1921.
• Dorenkamp and Harper Ranches (Prowers County), since 1920.
• Curtis Ranch (Morgan County), since 1914.
• Blake Ranch (Routt County), since 1905.
• Johnson Reaphook Ranch (Mesa County), since 1900.

In addition to working farms, History Colorado expanded the program this year to include other categories of agriculture.

DiPrince said the organization wanted to “recognize new categories of ag contributors who are also preserving important pieces of our state’s commercial and cultural history, and who also define the legacy of ag.” 

“Agriculture is many things, but one thing it is for all of us is the sense of deep roots in the love of the land. The Centennial Farms and Ranches recognition ceremony [to be at the State Fair] honors the depths of these roots. Century-long survival in agriculture requires an alchemy of past and future, innovation plus generational intuition, and technology combined with ancestral land practices,” Kate Greenberg, Colorado commissioner of agriculture, said in a written statement. “This program highlights the statewide impact and resilience of farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses, of cultures and communities. Even with the pressures of growth,drought and climate change, and uncertain economic conditions, farmers, ranchers and all who work in agriculture feed us, no matter what. It is an honor to get to celebrate them.”

The late Bob Sakata, a vegetable farmer well-known along the Front Range, will be recognized with the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Legacy in Agriculture Award.

Sakata died this year at the age of 96. According to History Colorado, he “was known for his farming contributions and leadership in Colorado agriculture, but he had challenging beginnings. He was born in California, was sent to an internment camp in Topaz, Utah, as a teenager in 1942, and then gained early release through his work on a dairy farm in Brighton, where he was able to raise his family and grow his produce farm from 40 to 3,000 acres. Later, he was recognized nationally for changing the sweet corn industry with innovations in seed development and consumer packaging. Sakata’s outstanding contributions to Colorado agriculture were marked by this in his early years, as well as his hard work, stewardship, and leadership in the community, state, and country.”