|
DENVER (Oct. 28, 1999) -- More cattle producers than ever will be eligible for the industry's leading environmental award, thanks to new criteria for the Environmental Stewardship Award announced today by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). With the changes, any organization or group may participate and nominate producers for the award.
“Organizations from the Sierra Club to local garden clubs are now able to nominate competitors for the award,” said Bob Lee, co-chair of the Environmental Stewardship Award Selection Committee. “ Our only requirement is that nominees must raise or feed cattle.”
While it's never been a requirement that winners of the award be NCBA members, nominations previously were open to only NCBA state affiliates, breed organizations and beef councils. The NCBA expects the change in the nomination process to spawn more interest and participation.
This Environmental Stewardship Award Program is now in its 10th year. Nominees will compete for one of seven regional awards based on the state of residency of the nominees, and the seven regional winners will compete for the national award. Regional winners and the national winner each receive a bronze statue and are recognized at the cattle industry summer conference and annual conference.
The selection committee is a diverse group of 14 people from wildlife, environmental, agriculture and land management organizations. It selects winners based on the use of natural resource stewardship practices that contribute to the environment and enhance productivity and profitability. Innovative management and conservation practices in energy, water, air, vegetation, wildlife and soil management are considered.
“The selection committee will look at what each nominee is doing that is above and beyond normal practice,” Lee said. “They’ll also look at whether others can emulate the practice while protecting and enhancing their bottom lines.”
Some past winners of the award were recognized for exemplary practices in groundwater protection, land improvement and wildlife enhancement, diversifying native range, cropping and feedlot operation, progressive agriculture, returning abandoned mining land to a productive position and minimizing erosion while providing excellent drainage.
# # #
Initiated in 1898, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry. NCBA is producer-directed but consumer-focused, with offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington D.C. |