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Iowa ranchers recognized for environmental efforts

The Rowe Ranch, owned by Glenn and Bev Rowe of Lorimor, Iowa, is one of seven regional honorees in the national Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP).

The award recognizes the outstanding stewardship practices employed on the ranch.

Glenn Rowe says rotational grazing is a big part of what they do.

“We rotate our cows about every week. We have three different groups right now and about 23 different paddocks,” Rowe says. “It just stimulates the growth of the grass and the ground. And being able to rejuvenate some of these paddocks, we have a lot of native grasses and forbs come back that hadn’t been there for years.  It’s just been amazing to see this happen.”

Other practices the Rowes have implemented include the installation of rural water pipeline, reseeding and fertilizing after soil testing, and stream bank stabilizations.

Glenn Rowe says those investments are paying dividends.

“If you better something, it improves the quality of everything,” he says. “We’ve improved the quality of our grazing and that improves the body condition of our cows. It increases their efficiency and it increases their ability to reproduce.

“We just feel that every penny we’ve spent has been money well spent—it comes back to double up for you.”

The Rowe’s were recognized at the recent Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver. They will now compete for the national award, which will be announced in January of 2016.

Other regional winners are: Valley View Farms, Harrisonburg, Virginia; Bull Hammock Ranch, Fort Pierce, Florida; 6666 Ranch, Gutherie, Texas; American Fork Ranch, Two Dot, Montana; Maggie Creek Ranch, Elko, Nevada; and Kopriva Angus, Raymond, South Dakota.

ESAP is sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation.

AUDIO: Glenn and Bev Rowe