Kansas Forest Service
2025 Kansas Agroforestry Award
Written by Thad Rhodes, Kansas Forest Service District Forester
We are pleased to recognize Jim and Janet Woolsoncroft of Marshall County, Kansas, as the recipients of the 2025 Kansas Agroforestry Award.
Jim and Janet Woolsoncroft received their 2025 Agroforestry Award at the November 2025 KACD Annual Conference.
Their commitment to conservation, water quality, and long-term land stewardship is evident across every acre they manage. For more than three decades, Jim and Janet have thoughtfully restored and protected their land through extensive riparian forest buffer plantings—work that has improved soil health, enhanced wildlife habitat, and safeguarded local waterways.
Jim and Janet Woolsoncroft
The Woolsoncrofts’ agroforestry journey began in the late 1980s. After noticing trees being cleared on their land, Janet encouraged Jim to preserve existing timber and consider planting more. That conversation launched a project that would span multiple farms and generations. Beginning around 2000, Jim and Janet established 116 acres of riparian forest buffers across eight quarter-section parcels in southeast Marshall and southwest Nemaha Counties. The original planting plans called for more than 10,000 seedlings, many of which were installed over a focused 10-day period using a tree planter —with Jim, Kansas Forest Service staff, and even visiting K-State students working side-by-side.
Woolsoncroft Property
These buffers were designed with conservation at their core. Most sites include a three-row configuration of bur oak, black walnut, green ash, northern red oak, and American plum, flanked on each side by 30–40 feet of native grasses to filter runoff and stabilize soil. Over the years, Jim has personally watered young trees, hand-planted more than 2,000 replacement seedlings, and has been vigilant in mowing between rows and removing encroaching volunteer trees. Despite challenges—such as ongoing emerald ash borer impacts—Jim has maintained healthy, vigorous stands, with some oaks now reaching 40 feet in height.
These plantings were part of the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), in which the Woolsoncrofts enrolled for more than 30 years, concluding in 2024. The environmental benefits of their dedication are undeniable: improved water quality, reduced streambank erosion, habitat for wildlife, and the long-term protection of local agricultural soils. As Janet proudly notes, “Every tree prevented runoff.” Today, their riparian areas stand as living proof—cool, shaded corridors that filter sediment and nutrients, prevent flooding impacts, and create spaces that look, as Janet describes, “like a park along the creek.”
Jim and Janet Woolsoncroft in front of a windbreak on their property.
Beyond the ecological value, Jim and Janet are community-minded stewards. Their work has been recognized locally, including receiving the 2024 Kansas Bankers Association Water Quality Award for Marshall County. Jim has also contributed to his community as a longtime Vermillion city council member and former mayor. Even now, he continues caring for the land—mowing hay, pruning trees through the winter, and planning future thinning to ensure long-term forest health.
Jim and Janet Woolsoncroft
Their Agroforestry Award was presented at the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts Awards Banquet. Their decades of perseverance, innovation, and care have shaped land that will continue protecting soil and water far into the future.
Congratulations, Jim and Janet, and thank you for your extraordinary dedication to agroforestry in Kansas!