Sand County Foundation and Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation are proud to announce the finalists for the prestigious Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award®, which honors Wisconsin landowner achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources.
The finalists are:
* David and Leslie Meuer who own and operate Meuer Farm, LLC, a crop and beef cattle farm in Chilton.
* Jack and Pat Herricks who, along with their three children and their families, operate a dairy farm in Cashton
* Milk Source, LLC, of Freedom, which operates four dairy farms in Wisconsin and one in Michigan. Above: farm partners and vice presidents, Todd Willer (left) and John Vosters. Below: farm partner, president and chief executive officer, Jim Ostrum.
Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Leopold Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. It inspires other landowners through these examples and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are recognized as conservation leaders. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called “an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity.”
The 2014 Leopold Conservation Award recipient will be announced at the Wisconsin Board of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection meeting in Madison on November 19. The award recipient will be presented with $10,000 and a crystal depicting Aldo Leopold at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting on December 7 in Wisconsin Dells.
The Leopold Conservation Award in Wisconsin is made possible through the generous support of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Badgerland Financial, Alliant Energy Foundation, American Transmission Company, DuPont Pioneer, Farm Credit, The Mosaic Company and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
Visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org.
ABOUT THE LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD
The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. The award consists of $10,000 and a crystal depicting Aldo Leopold. Sand County Foundation presents Leopold Conservation Awards in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
ABOUT SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION
Sand County Foundation (www.sandcounty.net) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to working with private landowners on voluntary, ethical and scientifically-sound land management practices that benefit the environment.
ABOUT WISCONSIN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation (www.wfbf.com) is Wisconsin’s largest general farm organization. It represents nearly 24,000 farms and agriculturists who belong to one of 61 county Farm Bureaus found across the state. Much like Wisconsin’s diverse agricultural landscape, Farm Bureau members represent all farm commodities, farm sizes and management styles. Farm Bureau’s mission is to lead the farm and rural community through legislative representation, education, public relations and leadership development.
Carl Sinderbrand says
Milk Source?!?! They run the biggest factory farms in the state, and have little concern for protecting groundwater quality or quantity. For their latest CAFO, they fought efforts to protect trout streams, lakes and a calcareous fen in the Central Sands. This is not what Aldo Leopold stood for!