WEBBERS FALLS — Dairyman and rancher David Boyer said he’s not sure why his family has been named for an award for their success.

“It’s nice, but at this stage it’s hard for me to know what constitutes ‘outstanding,’” he said. “Other farmers in this area have done their best, and some succeeded while others did not. By God’s grace, we’re still here.”

After 31 years of hard work in agriculture, David and LaNell Boyer of Webbers Falls have been honored for their efforts and their contributions to the community.

The Boyers have been named Muskogee County Farm Bureau Farm Family of the Year.

According to Billie Seward, chairwoman of the Muskogee County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee, the Boyer family stood out for three reasons: the number of years they’ve been in agriculture, the diversity of their operation, and their community involvement.

David Boyer, 61, said he started his dairy and beef operations after moving to Webbers Falls from Oktaha in 1978.

“My dad was a farmer,” he said. “Before I began this, I’ve done some other things professionally, but they were always associated with agriculture.”

Their home is located on 240 acres near their dairy operation, he said. The beef operation is two miles west on 236 acres. Sixty acres of their dairy operation is crop land. Three employees help with everything.

“On the crop land we grow forage for the dairy cattle and feed that to them in winter time,” he said. “The balance is grass for grazing. We have about 250 dairy cows. At the beef operation we have about 100 head of an Angus and brangus crossbreed.”

Boyer said the beef side of his work is a cow-calf operation where the calves are raised to weaning age and then sold. He sells an average of 95 calves a year.

“We got a flock of sheep here also,” he said. “I call them scavengers. They graze the plant species that the cows don’t particularly care for. And, the weigh-back feed that the cows refuse to eat, we put that out for the sheep.”

Boyer said the sheep are sheared, but they do little more than break even on the wool. What has done well is the sales of lambs.

The bad economy has touched dairy farming as much as other businesses, he said.

“From the cost and return standpoint, it’s worse that is has ever been,” he said. “The price of milk received in August 2009 was about the same as August of 1979. I don’t say that to cry about 2009, but we have an extremely volatile industry, pricewise.”

Seward said her committee has heard from people they know and other organizations that the Boyers are highly respected.