Producers from eight South Dakota conservation districts have been selected to receive the 2012 Soil Conservation Award.

The winners include: Kenneth Dickson of Beadle County; Raymond Urban of Brule-Buffalo; Will and Kathy Roe of Codington County; Tom Barnes of Custer County; Dennis Namken of Hamlin County; Heinricy Brothers of Moody County; Ron and Janeen Kohl of Roberts County; and Larry Skorepa of Yankton County.

Each award winner will get a certificate and a recognition sign that recipients may install on the property for which their conservation efforts are being recognized.

SD Presents Eight Farmers/Ranchers With Conservation Award

"Even though agriculture is the largest industry in South Dakota, the land stewardship ethic of producers is often overlooked by the general public," says Walt Bones, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Agriculture. "This award highlights their dedication to natural resource conservation and demonstrates that South Dakota farmers and ranchers are leaders when it comes to sustainable agricultural production."

The Soil Conservation Award Program was created by the 2008 state Legislature to recognize exceptional farming and ranching practices in South Dakota that conserve soil and other natural resources. The program was implemented by the State Conservation Commission.

Current state residents or groups may nominate any South Dakota farming or ranching operation for the award by submitting a nomination form – available at any Conservation District office – to the producer's local Conservation District.  Nominations must be received by Jan. 1 of each year.

Producers are eligible for the award if they make use of grassed waterways, terraces, crop rotations, sufficient crop residue to protect soil stability, no-till, grasslands managed for sustainable productivity, livestock management to limit soil and nutrient runoff, or forest lands managed according to a forest stewardship plan. 

Source: SD Department of Agriculture