Finalists for the prestigious Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award, which honors Wisconsin landowner achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources, have been announced. The finalists are:

• Dan Brick owner and manager of Brickstead Dairy in Greenleaf

• Ronald Brroks owner and manager of Brooks Farms, a crop and dairy operation in Waupaca

• Glen and Susan Wohlk own and manage Rainbow Valley Farm, a dairy operation in Almena.

Dan Brick and his family own and manage Brickstead Dairy in Greenleaf.

The award is co-sponsored by Sand County Foundation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association. It is also made possible through the generous support of American Transmission Company, Badgerland Financial, We Energies Foundation, Alliant Energy Foundation and USDA NRCS.

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Leopold Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. It inspires other landowners through these examples and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are recognized as conservation leaders. In his influential 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.”

The 2016 Leopold Conservation Award, which consists of $10,000 and a crystal depicting Aldo Leopold, will be presented at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in early December.

Ronald Brooks and his daughter Zoey own and manage Brooks Farms, a dairy and crop farm near Waupaca.

“The dairy farmers of Wisconsin are proud to be partners with the Leopold Conservation Awards recognizing that farmers live lives dependent on sound conservation practices,” said Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board Sr. V.P. Corporate Communications Patrick Geoghegan.

In addition to Wisconsin, the Leopold Conservation Award is presented to farmers in California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. For more information about the award, visit leopoldconservationaward.org. 

Source: Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation