While ranching and wildlife can be perceived as competing threats, but that’s not the case at Tim and Laurie Munns’ Flying M Ranch. For decades the Munns have understood that a healthy landscape is key to sustainable wildlife populations and a successful cattle ranch. They achieve this by employing conservation practices that benefit livestock, wildlife, crops, rangeland, and water resources in northern Utah’s Hansel Valley. The land ethic they share with their sons, Sonny and Bud, is grounded in science, technology, and wise management. The Munns stay up to date on sustainability issues and techniques, and utilize the resources available to them through partnerships with conservation agencies and consultants. Over the years, the Munns converted many acres of dry cropland to perennial vegetation to prevent erosion and build soil health while enhancing biodiversity. Other parts of Flying M Ranch that were once grazed by sheep had become dominated by broom snakeweed and rabbit brush. The Munns worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to remove invasive brush species and reseed the range to provide improved livestock forage and wildlife habitat. Populations of Sharp-tailed Grouse, Mourning Dove, Chukar, and Gray Partridge have since flourished. The Munns have enrolled 3,000 acres of their ranch in Utah’s Walk-in Access program, allowing public access for upland game hunting. Likewise, biologists are welcomed to track migration patterns, survival rates, and health of mule deer, elk, and pronghorn. Flying M Ranch had just one water trough when Tim and Laurie bought it in the 1970s. They’ve since installed 30 miles of water pipeline and 40 water troughs to distribute water to cattle and wildlife across thousands of acres. Cattle are grazed in Promontory in the winter, and spend their summers in nearby Caribou County, Idaho. The land use and grazing management plan they created with the NRCS allowed them to increase their herd size while improving pasture conditions. Advancements in crop irrigation technology allows Flying M Ranch to conserve water and electricity. Precision nozzle tips reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation. Alfalfa fields are irrigated only at night during the off-peak power rate times, which reduces the demands on the electrical grid and lowers energy costs to the ranch. Erosion control structures such as terraces, diversions, and debris basins have been installed at Flying M Ranch to manage water movement and prevent destructive erosion from rainstorms. The Munns were early innovators in demonstrating the grazing benefits of forage kochia which was first introduced to the United States in 1960 as an ornamental plant. The Munns found the semi-evergreen half shrub to be highly nutritious late season grazing plant for cattle while providing cover for wildlife and upland game birds. Well-suited for dry rangeland conditions, forage kochia competes well against aggressive annual weeds like cheatgrass. The plant is a valuable fire deterrent when used in green strips in high-risk fire areas. The Munns developed a successful business of planting, harvesting, processing, and selling certified forage kochia seed. Most seed sales are to government agencies planting it to prevent the spread of wildfires. Off the ranch, the Munns have served in a variety of leadership positions that advance conservation practices. Laurie has served as president of the Utah Cattlewomen’s Association and Tim is a long-time board member of the National Grazing Lands Coalition.

Dick and Megan Lanford are brutally honest when asked about raising cattle near a place named Truth or Consequences. With just 8 inches of annual rainfall, they can’t think of a more difficult place to ranch than on their nearly 20,000 acres in Sierra County, but they are finding ways to make it work. In 2017 the couple moved back to the ranch to help Dick’s father raise between 100 and 200 head of cow-calf pairs. The Lanfords also run a construction business that specializes in ranch and wildlife habitat excavation services. Megan is a wildlife biologist and Dick is a numbers guy. Tests showed high levels of potassium and salt in their soils, and some of the ground water they are able pump is undrinkable due to alkaline. Given the arid conditions, they quickly surmised that raising crops was not feasible. They took what had been marginal farmland and planted grasses and legumes to establish permanent pasture that was nutritious for cattle and beneficial to the soil. They amended their soil’s organic matter by disking manure and grasses into it. “The cheapest hay baler and fertilizer has four legs” is how Dick explains their decision to graze cattle year-round. Despite access to thousands of acres of rangeland, the Lanfords rely on 60 acres of irrigated pasture to feed their cattle during dry summers. This gives the rangeland months of rest until rains arrive in the winter. It’s a unique take on rotational grazing that is gaining traction in their region. Megan monitors the herd of crossbred cattle’s body conditioning scores, and their fecal samples, to gauge the effectiveness of their grazing management practices. “From day one, their goal has been to not only improve the condition of their livestock, but to better the land they steward and own,” said Kristi Wright, USDA NRCS District Conservationist. “Lanford Livestock takes a holistic approach to solving current and potential issues and challenges. The Lanfords have instituted basic principles of range, pasture, and wildlife management on their operation while moving to greater levels of conservation.” With cost-share assistance from their local Soil and Water Conservation District the Lanfords land-leveled their 60-acre pasture to prevent erosion and conserve water while irrigating and installed solar irrigation pumps to conserve electricity. Wildlife habitat at Lanford Livestock has been enhanced due to its participation in the federal Conservation Stewardship Program. The wildlife-friendly legumes and shrubs that have been planted feed deer and javelina. Large brush piles provide refuge for a growing population of quail, and bat boxes have been installed. The Lanfords have worked to eradicate non-native vegetation such as Saltcedar and spiny trees on the ranch they have owned since 1981. Off the ranch, the Lanfords are active members of the Sierra County Farm Bureau. Dick fights wildfires with state and federal forestry departments. Megan has served as the educational coordinator and district supervisor for the Sierra Soil and Water Conservation District board. Lanford Livestock regularly hosts youth at the SSWCD’s summer camp, and other county agricultural events. Described as an innovator, natural educator, and tireless advocate for agriculture, Megan visits local schools to teach youth where their food comes from.

Every Earth Day since 1990, the owners of Hidden Valley Farm have taken a group of friends on a hike through their forests to revisit 40 trees marked with metal tree tags to show growth. But these trees only tell part of the story of their growth as landowners. For 45 years David Moskovitz and Bambi Jones have worked to produce a forest of well-spaced trees of various sizes and native species, where the best trees are left to grow to a large and valuable size. The couple are Cleveland natives who met as attorneys in Chicago. In the 1970s they moved to Maine as part of the back-to-the-land movement. They bought their first 100 acres to begin organic farming. Bambi ran a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program for 120 customers for the next 20 years. Like most rural New England parcels, part of their farm was forested, so they harvested some timber to build a house and barn. “I liked that forestry was not as urgent as farming,” said David, who used the lessons learned from farming and running a CSA to inform his work in the woods. Over time, the couple purchased more than 15 nearby forested properties. David and Bambi shifted much of their attention to practicing sustainable forestry and began building a trail network for hiking and cross-country skiing. They worked with licensed consulting foresters to accomplish their management goals: earning income while continuously improving the quality and quantity of standing timber, creating wildlife habitat, and ensuring the forests’ health. David and Bambi’s discovery of a scenic pond near their farm’s border inspired them to reach out to neighbors in hopes of preserving and utilizing this special spot. Their CSA experience led them to try a membership-based program for outdoors enthusiasts to financially contribute and help establish a trail system. In 2007, they established a non-profit organization called the Hidden Valley Nature Center (HVNC) that operated on 1,000 acres assembled from seven purchases over 15 years. With help from a hired director and volunteers, David and Bambi held educational tours on conservation and forestry practices. Their conservation-minded philanthropy led them to sell the land on which the HVNC operated at a bargain rate in 2016. It was part of a merger with four local land trusts to create the Midcoast Conservancy. At their urging, sustainable forestry is one of its founding pillars. The trend of forest fragmentation has an impact on biodiversity and wildlife habitat. Both the Hidden Valley Farm and HVNC are unique consolidations of contiguous parcels managed to build resilience and provide continuous cover. Like at HVNC, Hidden Valley Farm maintains a trail network for non-motorized recreation. Although not a public preserve, Hidden Valley Farm is open year-round to all. Of its 1,200 acres, 15 continue to be managed organically for a neighborhood CSA. Hidden Valley Farm also contains wetlands, streams, and vernal pools. More than 20 miles of carefully designed logging roads and recreational trails prevent soil erosion and protect water quality. Soil-disturbing management activities are limited to frozen or dry-ground conditions, and brush piles, bird boxes and retaining trees – which provide habitat or food – are maintained or installed for wildlife. It's clear that David and Bambi’s collaborative conservation efforts have taken root. Just as their forestland has grown, so has their impact.

Every seed is planted with purpose at Sunnyside Farms. Brothers Greg and Neil Rejman say it has been that way since their grandfather milked 14 cows by hand. Today the Rejmans manage a dairy herd 378 times its original size, but the farm’s commitment to conservation has not changed. With 5,000 dairy cows, and 4,000 heifers and calves on 7,500 acres, the sheer size and scale of Sunnyside Farms is impressive, but what happens behind the scenes and beneath its soil is what’s most remarkable. The Rejmans have managed their family’s farm in New York’s Finger Lakes region since the 1990s. The farm is situated six miles to the east and west of Cayuga Lake and Owasco Lake, which provide drinking water to nearly 150,000 people. They’ve done what is right, instead of what is easy, to protect the water quality of area lakes. Buffer strips and grass waterways line their corn fields. Facilities were designed to recycle wash water from the milking parlor and capture leachate from their silage storage bunkers. Instead of growing corn on about 900 acres of steep-sloped, erosion-prone farmland, permanent hay fields and grasslands have been established. Each year 100 acres of grass is reseeded to maintain soil stability. Soil stabilization practices, like growing cover crops and reduced tillage, increase the soil’s capacity to infiltrate water, cycle nutrients, and sequester carbon, while decreasing erosion and runoff. Cover crops provide a year-round layer of protection and biodiversity to the soil on the farm’s more than 3,500 acres of corn. To reduce the negative impacts of soil compaction, machinery at Sunnyside Farms is purposely equipped with flotation tires. The Rejmans completed stream stabilization projects, and a variety of conservation practices, in collaboration with the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District, which underscores their dedication to environmental stewardship. Their efforts have resulted in more habitat for wild turkey, geese, ducks, bald eagles, and ospreys. In 2008, in addition to its significant manure storage system, the Rejmans invested in a manure digester which separates solids from liquids. Solids are recycled as bacteria-free livestock bedding. As part of the farm’s precision nutrient management system, liquids are injected as fertilizer into crop fields, rather than spread, to reduce runoff potential. More than 10 miles of underground piping transfers manure from the storage facility to the field. This reduces the need for heavy manure hauling equipment on rural roadways, and likewise eliminates the potential for manure spillage onto roads or ditches. Recently, cover and flare systems have been added to manure storage facilities to mitigate odor and methane’s greenhouse gases. Sunnyside Farms has also adopted an experimental pest management plan, utilizing nematodes in place of pesticides, to reduce or eliminate chemicals that can persist in the environment. Such innovations are aided by the farm’s proximity to Cornell University. As host for a variety of crop and dairy research projects, the Rejmans consider themselves lucky to learn from the expertise of Cornell’s professors and graduate students. They also credit Sunnyside Farms’ team of about 70 staff with helping them demonstrate agriculture’s resiliency in a changing climate. Off the farm, the Rejmans are members of Partners for Healthy Watersheds, Owasco Lake Watershed Inspection Committee, and Cornell’s External Nutrient Management Committee.

With a winning entry of 459.91 bushels per acre, Russell Hedrick shattered the dryland corn yield record in 2022. Not bad for someone who began farming 10 years prior on tight red clay with a propensity for erosion. A few months after his win, Russell shared the secret of his success at the National No-Till Conference. His open-book approach is a testament to his passion for helping other farmers achieve yield, while promoting soil health principles and conservation. Over the course of a decade, this student became the teacher. Russell has spoken to agricultural audiences in 46 states and eight countries. Not limited by constraints of conventional or regenerative agriculture dogma, he is revered as an approachable, sensible expert in nutrient management, farm equipment, and business. Along the way he earned the moniker of The Regenerative Farmer. It’s quite a transformation for a first-generation farmer who watched his grandfather, Robert Richard, work a factory job while tending to 15 cows and a hay field. That glimpse into agriculture was enough to spark something within Russell. He’d spent a decade working as a firefighter before saving enough money for used farm machinery and his first 30 acres. He began focusing on yield. After watching winter rains erode his soil, he investigated how conservation practices could prevent erosion. Russell devoured everything he could learn on the topic. He attributes his successes to the luck and grace of meeting the right mentors at the right time. He stopped tilling the soil and began planting cover crops and diverse crop rotations to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff while increasing biodiversity. He added compost to his fields and integrated grazing livestock to build the soil’s organic matter. This combination of conservation was working. The cornfield that produced the record-breaking yield saw its organic matter levels rise from 1.7 percent to 8.2 percent by early 2022. Russell also reached out to the developer of the Haney Test, which uses a unique method to determine which nutrients are available in soil. Having that information in hand helped him drop his input costs, especially nitrogen, by an estimated 70 to 80 percent. By comparison, there are farmers applying the same amount of fertilizer as Russell does, only to achieve one-third of the yield that his rejuvenated soils do. Russell now grows 650 acres of non-GMO corn and soybeans, along with barley, oats, triticale, and wheat. His crops thrive amid drought thanks to the soil’s improved capacity to infiltrate and hold moisture, while cycling biological nutrients. He credits soil health practices with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting nearby streams from sediment runoff. Russell is described as an innovator who is willing to try anything to improve his farm’s profitability and resilience. He has co-founded a handful of farmer-first businesses. Regen Mills is a mobile grain milling operation that increases returns on investment for its farmer-owners. Heritage Ground is a direct marketing company that saves farmers the time and effort required to market their milled products to consumers. Farmers Reserve Distillery sells bourbon and other liquors made from grain grown by regenerative farmers. Through Soil Regen, an organization advancing regenerative agriculture, his advice to other farmers about their production systems impacts more than one million acres. As for the red clay he purchased in 2012, its texture now resembles black cookie crumble, a sure sign of soil health.

Richard Lyons says his conservation ethic began to evolve shortly after the death of his father. He began noticing things about the land they had farmed together. Crops wilted sooner over areas of compaction from tractor and truck tires. Water running from grassy areas after heavy rains were free of sediment. Without a father or grandfather to explain how they had farmed in the past, Richard began farming with an open mind to prevent soil erosion from wind and rain. With dual careers of farming and teaching agriculture, Richard was in a unique position to give his students first-hand knowledge of what it means to be a conservation-minded farmer. During 37 years as a high school and college agriculture instructor, he taught students what he practiced on his own land. Early on he retired his moldboard plow and began to chisel plow cornstalks to prevent erosion. In 1976, he also began planting no-till corn into soybean stubble to reduce fuel and labor costs. At that time, research showed that nearby Lake Lou Yaeger was Illinois’ fastest-silting lake. It provides drinking water for 10,000 Montgomery County residents. Determined to be part of the solution, Richard took steps to improve the water quality in a creek that runs through his farm and into Lake Lou Yaeger. Richard undertook a ditch and streambank stabilization project using large rock to prevent the undercutting and eventual collapse of the streambank where it curves. He installed filter strips to capture runoff between farmland and the creek. These areas provide wildlife habitat in a region primarily used for row crop production. Improved nesting areas support pheasant and quail, and their predator, the coyote, which aids pest control in soybean fields. In addition to contour planting crops parallel to the filter strips, Richard has targeted nutrient management plans created for his farmland. He conducts soil tests every three years to guide the application of commercial fertilizer using variable rate technology. In 2012, Richard began growing deep-rooted cover crops of rye, oats, and radish to improve soil health by encouraging biodiversity, breaking up soil compaction, recycling nutrients, and sequestering carbon. Covering soil with year-round living roots improves water infiltration while preventing erosion. Since 2019, Richard has grown overwintering cover crops of winter barley and Austrian winter peas for their ability to further reduce sediment loss. Richard initiated a soil health training program by collaborating with individuals from various conservation organizations in Illinois. This summer he established pollinator-friendly habitat on a two-acre triangular parcel that was difficult to plant with large machinery. These are the latest examples of how Richard’s readiness to embrace new ideas and technologies, while remaining grounded in practical considerations, sets an example for others. “In my heart and soul, I believe that soil and water conservation on my farm is an ethic that I wish to live by,” Richard said.

Lewis Heaton is a farmer, rancher, hunter, conservationist, and budding photographer. He does more than just capture the beauty of landscapes and wildlife; he has been prioritizing their care at Heaton Ranches for decades. Lewis returned home with a degree in diesel mechanics in 1975 to take over the family farm. The 160 acres near McKenzie in Burleigh County had been in his family since 1926. From the start, Lewis realized developing resilient and sustainable farm and ranch methods would be key to his long-term success. Long-held practices like traditional soil tillage and calving during the winter wouldn’t be sustainable. Experimentation took time, but gradual improvements fueled his growing interest in improving soil health, wetland and freshwater resources, and habitat for wildlife and pollinators. He embraced conservation practices that were both environmentally and economically beneficial as his business grew to 20,000 acres in four counties. Today, he and wife Sherry, daughter Ella, and sister and brother-in-law Colleen and Albert Kershaw, graze 800 cow-calf pairs on 14,000 acres of rangeland, and grow 6,000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, and flax. Lewis began using no-till farming practices in the 1990s to reduce erosion by leaving crop residue on harvested fields. To introduce more organic material to the soil, he later began growing cover crops of rye grass, turnips, and radishes. By reducing fertilizer costs the profitability of crop production increased. He also sought new ways to make raising beef cattle more profitable. Grazing cattle on corn stalks following the harvest reduces feed costs while naturally fertilizing cropland with manure and urine. Moving the calving season to later in the spring reduced feed, building, and energy costs during the winter, while improving calf health and mortality rates. During the growing season, cattle at Heaton Ranches are rotationally grazed across more than 50 pastures. Depending on the pasture’s size, location, and water sources, the cattle are moved every three to 20 days. Wetlands are fenced off from grazing when native vegetation diversity and water quality can be improved. Lewis is a grazing mentor to other ranchers and is a frequent guest speaker on wildlife-friendly grazing practices. Likewise, he only cuts hay after the grassland bird nesting season and starts cutting hay in the field’s center to reduce the risk of harming wildlife. Like Aldo Leopold before him, Lewis understands the importance hunting plays in wildlife management. For the past 20 years, Heaton Ranches has enrolled more that 3,000 acres into the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s program that opens private land to sportsmen. This, coupled with planting trees and preserving wetlands, has increased the quantity and quality of wildlife found at Heaton Ranches. To protect pollinators, Lewis limits insecticide use and only plants wheat and soybean crops with noenicitinoid-free seeds. Heaton Ranches also participates in a project examining how carbon can be captured naturally by grassland ecosystems and how grazing cattle can enhance carbon uptake. Selling carbon credits from rangeland is something Lewis hopes will soon be available to more ranchers to provide income and preserve grasslands. Lewis is passionate about sharing what he’s learned with others. He’s one of two landowner representatives on the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture management board that oversees issues impacting this environmentally important region. Photographer or not, Lewis Heaton is the picture of what a conservation ethic looks like.

Eric and Emma Wickens want to leave land, water, wildlife, and relationships better than they found them. As engaged college graduates, they returned home to take the reins of his family’s Wickens Salt Creek Ranch in 2007. They have since prioritized conservation practices to improve the health of their grasslands. Doing so nourishes their cattle and builds a more resilient ranch and rural community for their five children. By emulating the natural behaviors of bison herds, rotationally grazing their Black Angus cattle contributes to nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. With assistance from the federal Conservation Stewardship Program, prairies have been restored for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. Elsewhere on their 4,700 acres they grow a diverse rotation of peas, barley, hay, and wheat using no-till practices. A mix of sunflower, turnip, sorghum, and radish cover crops maintains continuously living roots in the soil to improve water infiltration and increase soil health. “There is a large circle of life to study on our ranch,” Emma said. “Recognizing how each part has an important purpose really serves to inform the stewardship decisions we make.” Healthy grasslands provide habitat for sage and sharptail grouse, which eat fly larvae, naturally controlling pest populations around cattle herds. The Wickens have reduced their reliance on surface water for their cattle by plumbing their pastures with water lines and drinking tanks equipped with escape ramps for birds and wildlife. Strategically fencing water tanks forces cattle to naturally disperse their urine and manure elsewhere across pastures to feed the soil’s microbes. Bale grazing is also used on areas of thin or clay soils to provide the benefits of hoof impact and to supply additional organic matter from manure and compost. To slow the flow of water through their hilly terrain, the Wickens have installed analog beaver dams. In addition to creating a deep, slow-flowing creek, and recharging a water table recently stricken by drought, beavers are returning to the ranch. Eric is noticing a wildlife resurgence. Deer and bird populations are more abundant than they were in his youth. For the first time in his life, herds of elk migrate through Wickens Salt Creek Ranch, and grizzly bear are returning to central Montana. Early on in their ranching career the Wickens decided to move their calving season later into the spring. Warmer weather and drier ground reduced sickness in the calves. They also switched from raising only cow-calf pairs to raising yearlings, stockers, and bred heifers. In addition, they developed a backgrounding lot to feed calves and finish fat cattle in the winter with a locally grown ration of barley, peas, and legumes. Wickens Ranch Beef, a direct-to-consumer branded beef business, offers an opportunity to share their conservation story with consumers. Diversifying their livestock and crop production has generated new streams of cash flow. “Resilience is directly related to diversity,” Eric summarized. “The diversity of our business and biological communities within the ranch create resilience in our entire operation.” Later this year, Wickens Salt Creek Ranch will become a regenerative agricultural education center known as a “Savory Hub.” Off the ranch, Eric’s community involvement ranges from fighting local fires, to serving on “One Montana” a non-profit striving to bridge the gaps between rural and urban communities.