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CORVALLIS - Hugh Kennington of Ontario will be honored as a 2002 Diamond Pioneer Thursday, Oct. 17, by the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences.

He is one of the 43 men and women being added to the college's Diamond Pioneer Agricultural Achievement Registry. The registry, now in its 19th year, began when the college marked its 75th anniversary. The registry honors those 75 and older for their contributions to agriculture, natural resources, and OSU.

The 2002 class will be guests at a luncheon hosted by Thayne Dutson, dean of agricultural sciences, at the OSU Alumni Center. The featured speaker will be Gary Stewart of the Leadership Oregon Institute.

Kennington, who started his dairy operation southwest of Ontario more than 50 years ago, is being cited particularly for his continual interest in new farming methods and water management as well as his cooperation with the OSU Extension Service and Malheur Experiment Station.

Kennington and his wife, Carol, bought a small dairy farm and over the years enlarged it by buying adjoining farms. Their son, Clinton, joined the operation in 1974.

Hugh Kennington served 13 years on the Owyhee Irrigation Board, including one term as president, during which he helped spearhead the development of the power plants at Owyhee Dam.

He also sat on the advisory committee to the Malheur Experiment Station during which he encouraged the development of two wells at the station, which proved useful during drought conditions.

Kennington Farms strives to minimize the use of pesticides and herbicides and has developed a system of rotating pastures. To improve their operation with the latest information available, the farm operators have worked with the Extension Service, OSU Agricultural Experiment Station, Malheur Soil and Water Conservation District, the Natural Resources Council and the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association.

While building his dairy operation, Kennington also found time to be involved in the community through Cairo School PTA and Boy Scout Troop 420. He served as a director of the Eastern Oregon Dairy Association.

He and his operations have twice been honored by the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association. In 1999 he received the association's Community Service Award for his interest in growing new varieties of crops and stock and for trying new approaches to farming. In 2000, Kennington Dairy received the Environmental Stewardship Award for pioneering work in processing and utilizing dairy manure to benefit land and crops while keeping it from entering the water system.

Kennington was nominated for the registry by Clinton Shock, superintendent of the Malheur Experiment Station, and Oris Rudd, OSU Malheur County Extension agent emeritus.

Others being honored are Marjorie Luce, Ashland; Forest Sneva, Burns; Fred Panusis, Central Point; John Adair, James Baggett, Norman Bishop, Dave Church, Howard Horton, Glenn Klein, Francis Lawrence, W. Orvid Lee, Robert Schoning, William Stephen and Maxine Thompson, Corvallis; Wren Case, Cove; E. LeRoy Stone, Eugene; Lyell Gardner, Gaston; Walt Schroeder, Gold Beach; Thomas Davidson, Russell Dorran and Charles Norris, Hermiston; Rob Hukari and Robert Nickelsen, Hood River; Bill Howell, Imbler; Henry Krebs, Ione; James Pitney, Junction City; Mary Fitzgerald, Lakeview; Jay Binder, Madras; Stanley Christensen and W. Wayne Roberts, McMinnville; Darrell Maxwell, F. Vance Pumphrey and Charles Rohde, Pendleton; Broughton Bishop and Donald Ostensoe, Portland; Lyle Klampe and Kenneth Meier, Salem; E. E. Bonham, The Dalles; Bill McKee, Tigard; Hank Hess and James Wampler, Waldport; and Te May Ching, Fremont, Calif.