1999 Winners

Stewards of the Land:
Stories of Commitment and Pride

Environmental stewardship, taking care of the land, being a good neighbor. It’s something many cattlemen take seriously, take pride in, and usually talk very little about. But the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) believes it’s worth noting, both to the public and to encourage each other.

During its annual convention in January, the NCBA honored Anderson Farms and Cattle Company of Longmont, Colorado, with the Ninth Annual Environmental Stewardship Award. Sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, the award recognizes beef producers who use innovative practices to protect and enhance natural resources, all while maintaining or increasing the profitability of their business. Here’s a look at this year’s national and regional winners.

Anderson Farms and Cattle Company – Longmont, Colorado
Bartlett Island Farm – Mount Desert, Maine
Lykes Brothers Inc. – Lake Placid, Florida
Amana Farms – Amana, Iowa
Neill Cattle Company and Bar N Ranch – Welch, Oklahoma
Blanchard Ranch – Cayucos, California
Rhea Cattle Company – Arlington, Nebraska

Anderson Farms and Cattle Company – Longmont, Colorado

Anderson Farms is a diversified farming and cattle feeding operation with 750 acres of cropland and a 1,400-head-capacity feedlot. Located along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, where water is dear and the soils highly erodible, this year’s national and Region V winner Jim Anderson is committed to conservation.

Using minimum tillage, Anderson reduced fuel consumption by 60 percent between 1980 and 1998. Fewer trips across the field, coupled with applications of manure and compost from the feedlot, have increased soil organic matter by 30 percent and improved water-holding capacity. He also reduced labor by half and increased crop yields by 30 percent.

Concrete ditches and pipelines deliver water to fields, prevent seepage and eliminate erosion on steep slopes. Ponds collect runoff and tail-water for reuse in irrigation. These ponds also create habitat for ducks, geese, pelicans and blue heron.

A study of St. Vrain River drainage evaluated the quality of water entering and leaving the farm. Results: Water leaving the farm had far less salts, nitrates and total solids than the water already in the river.

Bartlett Island Farm – Mount Desert, Maine

One-half mile off the Maine coast, neighboring Acadia National Park and several seabird nesting islands, Bartlett Island Farm proves that you can manage cattle without harming sensitive environments. The island exists as a cattle farm because of the vision of owners David Rockefeller and his late wife, Peggy. John Pyne Jr. manages the Region I winning farm.

During the growing season, 70 percent of the forage acres are double-cropped as high-moisture hay and then rotationally grazed. Pyne has increased stocking density from one cow-calf pair per acre to three pairs per acre in the past five years. Cattle winter in dry lots. They compost and sell manure to gardeners.

Three fresh-water ponds, fenced away from cattle, provide wildlife habitat and serve as a water source for paddocks. Concrete pads protect soil around permanent waterers.

Solar-powered chargers maintain fences. With the farm open to public hiking, turnstiles in the fences preclude problems with fence climbing or gates.

Lykes Brothers Inc. – Lake Placid, Florida

With wetlands covering about 23 percent of the Lykes Brothers ranch, water and drainage management is critical to sustainable agriculture for the Region II honoree. A family owned corporation, Charles Lykes is executive vice president, and Mike Milicevic is cattle division manager.

Lykes Brothers maintains several thousand miles of ditches and canals, and more than 10,000 acres of water retention reservoirs. Water holes excavated on native range in upland sites provide water for cattle and wildlife, and reduce impact on riparian areas.

Lykes maintains one of the most pristine wilderness areas in the state, Fisheating Creek, the only non-developed waterway leading into Lake Okeechobee. The company also maintains wildlife habitat corridors through improved pasture and around wetlands.

Through an integrated approach, Lykes keeps in check several exotic, invasive plant species, including tropical soda apple, melalueca and Brazilian pepper.

Amana Farms – Amana, Iowa

An overriding goal at Amana Farms has always been to maintain the “look of the land” that drew the original settlers of the Amana Society to east-central Iowa in the 1850s. Another goal is to reduce the farms’ cost per lb on weaned calves to 50 cents.

John McGrath, beef manager for the Region III winner, says the two goals work together.

Amana Farms includes 26,000 acres of row crops, hardwood timber and pasture. They keep all marginal land (flood plain and anything with a 4 percent slope or greater) in permanent pasture. McGrath and four employees manage the 3,000-head-capacity feedlot and 2,200-head cow herd.

Inter-seeding legumes helps improve forage quality. Rotational grazing helps maximize forage yield and utilization and has improved bio-diversity. Feeding stockpiled forages and crop residue cut of winter feeding by 63 days, saving $1 per head per day. Since 1991, McGrath has cut harvested hay acres from 1,500 to 550. Reduced reliance on harvested feed has helped push cash costs to less than $144 per head weaned.

Grasslands, water systems, wetlands and shelterbelts provide habitat for deer, pheasants, ducks and geese. Bald eagles have paused at Amana Farms during their migration.

Neill Cattle Company and Bar N Ranch – Welch, Oklahoma

Joe and Dee Ann Neill, the Region IV winners, repeatedly “go the extra mile” to protect and improve the environment.

As they expanded their commercial feedlot to 14,000-head capacity, they bought 2,000 acres next to the lot to provide adequate waste disposal. They removed brush, planted grass, stopped erosion and quadrupled pasture carrying capacity.

Their waste disposal system uses a series of lagoons, five center-pivot irrigation systems and several thousand feet of buried pipe. They provide 50 percent more runoff water capacity than required by law, and double the acres required for waste irrigation.

Tree lines buffer the Neills’ feedlot from neighbors. Dedicated wildlife areas in pastures around the feedlot provide habitat for turkey, quail and waterfowl.

On Bar N Ranch, a native bluestem stocker operation, the Neills improved carrying capacity with intensive grazing and weed and brush control.

Blanchard Ranch – Cayucos, California

Operating on leased land in the coastal mountains, Region VI winners Bob and Terri Blanchard switched from continuous grazing to a high-density, short-duration system. They graze cattle and goats to manage a mix of grasses and shrubs.

The Blanchards use photo-points to document changes in the land. The shift in grazing management, along with water development, has resulted in more uniform use of even the most remote areas of the ranch. They’ve also reduced dependence on substitute feeding and reduced the number of bulls needed.

These efforts helped the Blanchards increase carrying capacity by about 30 percent and reduce operating costs.

Rhea Cattle Company – Arlington, Nebraska

Region VII winners Bill and Kathy Rhea state a simple stewardship goal: To leave the operation and the land in better condition than when they started.

Only a few miles from Omaha’s urban sprawl, Rhea Cattle Company includes a 6,000-head capacity feedlot and 4,000 acres of cropland. Minimum tillage has allowed them to reduce field time and fuel use in the farming operation by 50 percent. Application of composted manure during the last 15 years has tripled soil organic matter and improved water holding capacity.

Feedlot runoff water is collected and recycled onto cropland through a low-pressure irrigation system designed to minimize odor. Use of a bacterial agent and floating aerator windmills in settling basins also reduce odor. The Rheas use parasitic wasps to control flies and a sprinkler system to limit dust.

In addition to monitoring what they can see, the Rheas regularly test soil and water quality to ensure all their programs are working.

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