The Back 40

Sand County Foundation and the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation selected Jim and Val Hebbe as the recipients of the 2012 Leopold Conservation Award. “Jim and Val Hebbe’s commitment to no-till and other conservation efforts that benefit soil and water is exemplary” said Dr. Brent Haglund, Sand County Foundation President. “Their on-the-farm practices and off-the-farm leadership make them [...]

Leopold Conservation Award By Jeanne Byrne, High Ground Ground Organics We have been named one of three finalists this year for the Leopold Conservation Award. The Leopold Award recognizes “extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation on the land of exemplary private landowners.” It is given by the Sand County Foundation, in conjunction with the California Farm Bureau [...]

Building off of a solid family history of sustainable farming, Steve and Pat Kling purchased their 65-acre farm in Jackson County, Wisconsin in 1981. They credit their transformation to a managed intensive grazing (MIG) program as a primary catalyst for their success. They have found that MIG has helped revitalize their land, while reducing costs [...]

The first commercial no-till crop was planted 50 years ago this week. It was less than an acre of corn planted by Kentucky farmer Harry Young, Jr. From there, Young and Shirley Phillips, a University of Kentucky field crops specialist, began to champion the benefits of no-till agriculture. Research on the practice had been conducted [...]

A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture entitled, Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 2012 examines “trends in economic, structural, resource, and environmental indicators” in the agricultural sector that have developed since the previous report was published in 2006. We are encouraged to see improvements in water efficiency, conservation tillage, nitrate recovery, as well [...]

A recent paper argues that sound grazing management, while fairly popular in the American West, is an “underused and underappreciated” conservation tool in the eastern United States. The authors argue that well-managed pasture systems have multiple benefits, including enhanced vegetation, reduced use of pesticide and fertilizer, and, perhaps most important to livestock producers, increased economic stability. They [...]