The Jim O’Haco Cattle Company of Winslow, Arizona, was named winner of the 2017 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) this week.

The award was presented at the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jim O’Haco Cattle Company was established in 1898, is owned by Jim and Jeanne O’Haco, and includes about 60,000 acres in eastern Arizona. O’Haco’s grandfather first came to the area from the Basque Pyrenees in Europe. Two generations later, O’Haco has spent his lifetime continuing the legacy and implementing land management programs to restore grazing land and improve water infrastructure on his family’s operation.

One important property improvement was the installation of theirir High Point Well. Initiated over a period of ten years, the well features 42 miles of buried pipeline, supplying livestock water to 60,000 acres of land. The increased water access has benefited grazing conditions, and increased wildlife populations throughout the ranch. Water improvements were coupled with efforts to manage invasive juniper and other brush. Much of this progress has been supported through partnerships with state and federal agencies, including the Arizona Game & Fish Department, and the United States Forest Service, and local conservation groups.

Each year, six operations are recognized with regional Environmental Stewardship awards, with one being honored as the national winner. The four sponsors – Dow AgroSciences, the US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, McDonald’s, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service – partner with the National Cattlemen's Foundation in an effort to promote environmental stewardship throughout the beef supply chain.