Three finalists have been selected for the prestigious 2018 Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award. The award is given in honor of the renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold and recognizes farmers who inspire others with their dedication to land, water and wildlife habitat management on private and working land.

$10,000 award
The award is given in honor of Leopold. In Wisconsin, the $10,000 award is presented annually by the Sand County Foundation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association. This year’s recipient will be revealed at the Nov. 15 meeting of the Board of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in Madison, Wis. The award will be presented Dec. 2 at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting in Wisconsin Dells.

Here are the finalists:

• David Geiser of New Holstein in Calumet County, Wis. Geiser is an owner of Gold Star Dairy Farms. The home to 450 Holstein cows has hosted many tours on grazing and management of livestock on karst soil. Geiser builds soil health with the use of cover crops and no-till cultivation practices. Vegetated buffer strips and paved ditches collect and use rain and snowmelt rather than lose it to the nearby Manitowoc River.

• Laverne Hensen of Mineral Point in Iowa County, Wis. Hensen has revitalized the farm and wooded land he purchased in 1995. Invasive box elder trees were replaced with more than 400,000 black walnut, white fir and red oak trees on 500 acres. More than 30 new grass waterways were installed, as was a 2.5-acre pond for wildlife habitat. Soil for his 900 acres of corn and soybeans benefits from cover crops and no-till cultivation practices.

• Jeff Lake of Boyceville in Dunn County, Wis. Lake farms 1,500 acres of corn, soybeans, snap beans, kidney beans and alfalfa with no-till cultivation practices. To provide wildlife habitat and gain efficiencies, some marginal cropland has been converted into grass and full-season cover crops. Earlier this year, those efforts earned Lake the first-ever Precision Agriculture Farmer of the Year award from Pheasants Forever.

“Conservation and sustainability are important to farmers of all walks of life,” says Jim Holte, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation president. “These finalists really showcase the diversity found within Wisconsin’s agriculture industry and are a great example to us all of how conservation practices can be integrated into a successful farm.”

“The conservation efforts of farmers across the state are reflected in the strength of these candidates for the Leopold Conservation Award. Wisconsin continues to be a leader in land stewardship,” says Patrick Geoghegan, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s senior vice president of marketing and industry relations.

“The three Leopold Conservation Award finalists exemplify that conservation stewardship is as profitable as it is responsible for all kinds of agriculture, whether cash crops, dairy or forestry,” says Matt Krueger, Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association executive director. “These farmers consider the various environmental conditions unique to their area, knowing that their investment in the health of their land and water is an investment in the sustainability of their operation for years to come.”

The 2017 recipient was Brickstead Dairy of Greenleaf in Brown County.

The Leopold Conservation Award in Wisconsin is made possible by generous contributions from Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Compeer Financial, American Transmission Co., USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, and We Energies Foundation.

For more information on the award, visit leopoldconservationaward.org.

Source: Sand County Foundation