California Ranch Wins National Environmental Stewardship Award

Elaine and George Work, owners of Work Family Ranch, have been selected as this year's official winners of the National Environmental Stewardship Award, announced by members of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA).  The national and regional award winners were recognized at last week's 2004 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show in Phoenix, Ariz.

"The Work Family Ranch is most certainly a national leader in environmental stewardship," exclaims NCBA President Eric Davis.  "They were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants across the country.  Ranchers like Elaine and George Work have an innate love for the land that benefits the environment, their communities, their businesses, and serves as an example for all of us."

The Work Family Ranch was initially selected as one of seven regional winners nationwide, representing NCBA's Region VI, which includes five southwestern states and Hawaii.  Established in 1991 by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, LLC, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) recognizes cattle producers whose stewardship practices are inventive, cost-effective and contribute to environmental conservation.

A national committee of representatives from university faculty, federal and state government agencies, conservation and environmental organizations selects the recipients of this top U.S. beef industry environmental award.

"We're so proud of our ESAP winners and the philosophies they embody," says NCBA President Eric Davis.  "These innovators exhibit to the rest of the world how cattle producers are actively working to protect and improve the environment.  We depend on the land and its resources for our livelihood.  Therefore, good management demands that we care for the environment for our own welfare as well as for future generations."

Nestled in the Cholame Hills of Central California, the Work Family Ranch is a combination cow/calf and stocker operation.  This family-owned operation provided a livelihood for four generations, and is well on its way to being fifth generation operated.  Guided hunts, a Farmstay program, public trail rides, and girls' horse camp make up the rest of this unique ranch.  The original ranch was homesteaded in the late 1890s and has been thriving ever since.

The ranch consists of 12,000 owned acres, with 9,000 acres for grazing on native and non-native perennial grasses, 1,000 acres for dryland farming, 1,000 acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, and 1,000 acres rotated between pasture and crops.  The ranch is considered a year-round grazing operation with no supplementation to their 200 head of mother cows and 200 head of stockers.

"George Work has been recognized for his pioneering work in soil and water conservation.  He was one of the first ranchers in the United States to begin practicing Holistic Management," says California producer and California Cattlemen's Association President Darrel Sweet.  "The Work Ranch sets an example that needs to be shared with as wide an audience as possible."

The Works have been involved extensively with various conservation groups, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service through the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program and the Environmental Quality Incentive Program.  These partnerships have helped fund such ranch improvements as ground level troughs that not only provide their livestock with water, but service the needs of birds and other wildlife.  Other conservation projects include ground squirrel disease research, conservation/no till methods, windmills to help distribute water, no-till planting, leaving some grain crops for wildlife, and other habitat improvements like crushing brush using hay and some hungry cattle.

"Since first learning about the stewardship from my father," says George Work, "I have understood the importance and responsibility of using management techniques and processes that help ensure the future operation of the ranch for all life."

The Work Family Ranch, through their operation and outreach, has shown that cattle are not just a commercial product but also a very valuable tool for the environment.  The optimum level at which their ranch operates today is due in part to the many groups that the Work family has been involved with, such as: University of California Cooperative Extension, California Department of Forestry, California Department of Fish and Game, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the California Native Plant Society.