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Environmental Stewardship Award

We are honored to tell you that we were awarded the National Cattlemen’s Foundation National Winner of the Environmental Stewardship Award. Last fall, we were awarded the winner of Region VII which consists of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.  This week, as part of the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in San Antonio, we were named the national winner.  It is hard to believe, given the caliber of the other six regional winners.  

There are many people to thank.  First and most important is our Creator for giving us the creation to care for.  We are in constant awe of all that surrounds us – its complexity, simplicity, beauty, and resiliency. We are very honored to have the privilege to care for it during our tenure in this life.

Our family:  the generations that preceded us may have done things differently than what we do today, but they still passed on a love of the land and the work ethic needed to care for it. I think they would approve of what we’re trying to accomplish, even if it isn’t “the way grandpa did it”.  Our present-day family as well, for continuing to stay connected to the land and care about what happens to it. We hope to make you proud when you tell people removed from agriculture that these are your roots.  (At least we hope not to embarrass you!)

Our neighbors and business partners: the Oxner family, the Vogele family, Jeff Marlette and Jeff and Dixie Beitelspacher, the Huber family, and the Rueb family.  Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we try new and different things to improve the land.

The agency folks at the Natural Resource Conservation Service and US Fish & Wildlife Service:  too many to name, but your technical and financial help in making improvements on our place have been a huge part of getting us to where we are.

The non-agency people who care about stewardship: SD Grasslands Coalition, World Wildlife Fund, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever.  Again, your partnership has been important in getting us here.

Our help over the years. All that fence didn’t put itself up.   There’s been a lot of people who have stayed for a few days, a few weeks, or a few months to help us get done what needed to be done. Your strong backs and willing attitude (genuine or not) have been essential to developing our infrastructure.  And you put up with us! That’s impressive in itself.

Thanks also to the sponsors of the ESAP program:
Dow AgroSciences
Natural Resources Conservation Service
US Fish & Wildlife Service
National Cattlemen’s Foundation
Tyson Foods

We are honored to receive this award and look forward to the upcoming opportunities we’ll have to advance the message of environmental stewardship and how grazing livestock are a vital part of that.

For more information on the Environmental Stewardship Program, visit http://www.environmentalstewardship.org

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2014 hunting report

The weather has turned colder but the hunting is as hot as ever around here. 

Pheasant season opened the third weekend in October as always.  The Wisconsin "Poachers" made their annual trip west to hunt here for the first five days of the season.  They had enough to shoot at, but with all the corn yet to be harvested and pleasant weather, there were not large numbers of birds in the food plots.

Tom Quinn, et al came for the first weekend of November and did quite well…as a group anyway.  One member of the group, who shall remain nameless, had a rough go of things.  But with the constant nagging and harassing strong support and encouragement of his peers, he plans to come out with the guys again in December to "face his demons."  That's what friends are for, especially hunting buddies.  They can really remind you of how far you've come.  Or not let you forget how bad you were, but I like to see the glass as half-full.

Rob Sundy met up with three of his old friends for a very successful four-day hunt.  Despite some brutally cold winchills, these men limited every day.  By the time they came, the corn was virtally all out of the fields and with the cold weather, the birds were holed up in the heavy cover and food plots.  It made for some explosive hunting opportunities when they got into the birds.

We've got some Missourians here this Thanksgiving week.  Yesterday they came up a few short, but today they were just one off their limit.  It's their first time here so there's some learning to do on where, when, and how to hunt our property.  They seem to be doing well.

Rifle deer season opened last weekend and goes through next weekend.  There have been some nice bucks taken in the area.  Archery has been open since late September.  We have much of the ranch enrolled in public walk-in area, so we often don't get to see the deer that are taken on our place.

I've uploaded some new photos in the hunting album, so be sure to check it out!

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Award videos are up!

2014 has been a big year for us, both personally and professionally.  We were awarded the Leopold Conservation Award for South Dakota and the Environmental Stewardship Award for Region 7.  Both have released short videos about our ranch and the things we have done to take care of the land.  You can view them below.