Three finalists have been selected for the 2021 Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award. Given in honor of conservationist Aldo Leopold, the prestigious award recognizes farmers and forestland owners who inspire others with their dedication to land, water and wildlife habitat in their care.
In Wisconsin, the $10,000 award is presented annually by Sand County Foundation, American Farmland Trust, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.
The finalists are:
Mike Berg of Blanchardville: Berg’s farm has long featured contour strips and no-till practices. Recently he’s planted more than 25,000 trees. Rip-rapping installed along the Pecatonica River has reduced erosion, minimized cropland damage from flooding, and improved fish habitat. Waterways are lined with grass buffer strips of at least 16 feet in width. Berg’s beef cattle are rotationally grazed in a manner than encourages grass growth while retaining soil.
Charlie Hammer and Nancy Kavazanjian of Beaver Dam: These early adopters of reduced-tillage farming methods are also leaders in other ecological ways to protect soil and water. Cover crops are incorporated into their corn, soybean and winter wheat crop rotation. Pollinator habitats and prairie strips of native wildflowers and grasses are installed within their crop fields. Duck scrapes and food plots provide wildlife habitat. Solar and wind energy systems reduce their farm’s carbon footprint and electrical bills.
John and Dorothy Priske of Fall River: The Priskes adopted no-till and rotational grazing practices, and installed grass waterways to improve water infiltration, sequester carbon and build organic matter in their soil. They raised and direct marketed Scottish Highland beef cattle until 2015. Their pastures provided deep-rooted ground cover to reduce soil erosion. The Priskes lease 165 acres of farmland to Madison College for use as an agricultural education facility.
This year’s recipient will be revealed later this year.
“Wisconsin farmers and farm families continue to innovate and excel towards sustainability goals,” says WFBF President Kevin Krentz. “These finalists are very deserving of the recognition for the work they are doing to leave the land, water and soil better for the next generation.”
The first Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award was presented to woodland conservationist Gerry Mich of Appleton in 2006. The 2020 recipient was John and Melissa Eron of Stevens Point.
In his 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.”
Sand County Foundation presents the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 23 states with a variety of conservation, agricultural and forestry organizations. See more information: www.leopoldconservationaward.org
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