Perched high above the Mississippi River on the Wisconsin side, Nolls’ Dairy Farm near Alma in Buffalo County is a breathtaking piece of land. Brothers Mark and Curtis Noll and Curtis’ son Scott and their families have long appreciated and enjoyed the natural resources in their care.

Their farm consists of 400 acres of contoured fields where they grow corn, soybeans and hay to feed their 115 cows and 95 heifers and calves. The cropland is managed in concert with 450 acres of adjacent forests, oak savannas and prairies that provide timber production and wildlife habitat.

For their sustainable farming practices and efforts to improve soil health, Nolls’ Dairy Farm is the 2023 Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award winner. The Nolls were recognized in November during a meeting of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Board in Madison. The family receives $10,000 and a crystal award for being selected. A video celebrating the farm’s conservation success was shown during the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting Dec. 3 in Wisconsin Dells.

“Through their farm, the Nolls have demonstrated their dedication to conservation and preserving soil health and water quality,” says Randy Romanski, Wisconsin DATCP secretary. “The Nolls are committed to educating others by posting signage, offering education courses and hosting tours, teaching the next generation about our state’s strong agricultural industry and valuable natural resources. Families like the Nolls help ensure Wisconsin agriculture is sustainable now and into the future.”

Mark Noll, 71, says the entire family is proud of the award.

“We are quite honored to win this award,” Mark says. “We were inspired by our father [Andrew] to continue the conservation efforts that he started on the farm nearly 70 years ago. If he were alive today, I’m sure he would be very proud.”

The Nolls restored a dry bluff prairie remnant. These ecologically rare landforms, which are nicknamed “goat prairies,” are found along the Mississippi River bluffs of western Wisconsin.

With sweat equity from family and friends, and a little monetary assistance from state and federal programs, the Nolls removed undesirable trees and brush, and conducted prescribed burns. Today, they actively manage one of the largest dry bluff prairie remnants in Buffalo County.

Nolls’ Dairy Farm is located along a winding road that leads to a popular overlook of the Mississippi River. A roadside sign informs motorists of the rare ecosystem that was brought back from the brink.

“My wife [Cherie] and I like to make a pot of coffee in the morning before the sun comes up and ride our ATV out to our picnic table overlooking the Mississippi River, drink our coffee, and watch the world wake up,” says Mark, adding he never gets tired of the view.

Also noticeable from the road is the contour strip-cropping system that divides the farm into 121 fields. This configuration, coupled with a no-till system, helps prevent soil erosion.

The Nolls also plant winter rye, turnips and tillage radishes as cover crops to improve soil health and prevent erosion.

On a mission

Given the farm’s location 500 feet above the Mississippi River, and the fragile wind-deposited soil that blankets the property, Andrew Noll started installing contour strips in 1954 to help fight soil erosion. Since 1964, the family has installed more than 20 earthen dams and erosion control structures to better manage water during heavy rain events by slowly releasing that water and also recharging the aquifer.

Manure from the Nolls’ dairy cows is kept in a storage facility before its nutrients are spread as fertilizer on fields.

Since drafting their first timber harvest management plan in 1997, the Nolls have continuously improved timber stands for future generations, and enhanced wildlife and pollinator habitat.

The Nolls enrolled 735 acres in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Deer Management Assistance Program in 2014. DMAP manages deer populations at levels that support hunting and regeneration of woodlands. The Nolls have since attributed a reduction in crop damage to giving deer a choice of habitats due to dozens of different forestry projects underway.

Avid hunters, the Noll family annually hosts a hunter education course to ensure a conservation ethic is instilled into youth. By hosting tours for schools and conservation organizations, they show others what dry bluff prairies, oak savannas and a strong ethic toward preserving the land look like.

Award finalists

Among the many Wisconsin landowners nominated for the 2023 Leopold Conservation Award were these finalists: Bartling’s Manitowish Cranberry Co. of Manitowish Waters in Vilas County, Full Circle Farm of Seymour in Shawano County, and Joe Hovel of Conover in Vilas County. Earlier this year, owners of Wisconsin farmland and forests were encouraged to apply or be nominated for the award. Applications were reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders.

To view videos about the Nolls and past recipients of the Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award, visit sandcountyfoundation.org. 

The Leopold Conservation Award in Wisconsin is made possible thanks to contributions from American Farmland Trust, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Sand County Foundation, Culver’s, Compeer Financial, McDonald’s, The Nature Conservancy, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, We Energies Foundation, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association, and Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association.

The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. In addition to Wisconsin, Sand County Foundation presents the award in California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and New England.

Sand County Foundation contributed to this story.