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from the issue of September 2, 2004
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Farm manager marks 50 years of UNL service
BY JILL KOSLOSKY, NEBRASKA COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL AGRICULTURE
In November 1954, Andy Knepp, then 18 years old, stood in the Nebraska School of Agriculture heating plant shoveling coal into the furnace. It was his first job on what is now the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture campus. Three months later, he shoveled coal into the heater during one of the biggest blizzards of the year when all the other help had quit. It was a Sunday morning, and he braved the cold to take care of the 400 head of cattle on the campus farm.
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| | | Andy Knepp, farm manager at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, studies some of the farm's cattle. Knepp will receive an award on Sept. 10 for 50 years of work for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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He has been taking care of that farm ever since.
Over his 50 years, he has seen a lot of changes in the agricultural and education businesses. Early in his career after becoming the farm manager at NCTA, a man named Red Lane visited from Lincoln. He wanted to try a new farming practice called no-tillage.
"All the neighbors thought we were so dumb and what a mess we were making," Knepp said. "Now no-till is what everyone does."
In 1965, when the campus changed from a state high school to the college, Knepp began employing an average of three students each year. More than 100 students have worked with Knepp over the past 39 years, and many have fond memories of Knepp.
"Andy was always a nice guy and he kept us college kids in line when we worked for him," said Jay Chytka, who worked with Knepp from 1989-92. "He was organized, knew what was going on and got things done. He had a lot of trust in us. It was a good place to work - easygoing. He let me plant some corn once - that was pretty neat."
NCTA alumnus Larry Cooper said Knepp always kept an open mind.
"The great thing about working with Andy on the NCTA farm was that he would educate students on his farming practices, but he would always be open to suggestions and ask for ideas from the students he worked with," Cooper said. "I don't remember the exact words he used, but riding in the pickup one day he said, 'This old farm boy will always listen to the ideas of the young farmers I work with.'"
Aside from his own cattle, Knepp also raised hogs and at one time had Palomino horses. He used his experience with hogs to care for the college swine operation. He remembers one situation that had the potential to be deadly.
"We had electric hog waterers and one was wired wrong," he said. "It had rained one night and when I arrived at the operation, all the hogs were in the shed. I had on rubber boots and it wasn't until I stepped into the water that I realized something was wrong. If those hogs had come out of the shed, there would have been a lot of fried pig. I threw the breaker."
Knepp's care for the students and the animals at the farm blended well in his career.
"The quickest way to get my dandruff up is to mistreat the animals or not work them right," he said. "It you study cattle long enough, they can just about tell you the weather. Some people think I'm crazy."
While Knepp is now working part time at NCTA, he says his 50 years of work have been worth it.
"When (the students) come back after 10 or 15 years and make that one statement - 'You made a difference to me' - the (work has) been worth it."
IANR information also contributed to this article.
GO TO: ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 2
NEWS HEADLINES FOR SEPTEMBER 2
Farm manager marks 50 years of UNL service
Awards, address, picnic are Sept. 10
Study focuses on kids' speech, motor skills
A Piece of University History
Film-makers could win $1,000
More than 900 to receive awards for dedication to UNL
Prize-winning author to speak Sept. 9
UNL, South Sioux City schools partner for reading skills project
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