Legislators honor ranch family with Leopold Conservation Award; ranchers describe deep well, rotational grazing

The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 14 heard from a family receiving the Leopold Conservation Award and learned how investments in water and pasture infrastructure reshaped the operation.

Angela Ehlers, representing South Dakota conservation districts, introduced the award and said it was created by the Sand County Foundation to recognize producers who integrate conservation into farm practices; recipients receive a $10,000 cash award and a commemorative trophy. Ehlers said the award package typically includes a tour of the operation and thanked supporting organizations, including the Grassland Coalition.

Larry, introduced by Ehlers as a member of the honored family, told the committee the ranch dates to a 1928 homestead and that he returned full time in 1995 after serving with South Dakota Game and Fish and the National Guard. He said the family expanded stewardship practices over decades and embraced cost‑share programs that provided funding to install a deep well and piped water. “We went 3,700 feet,” Larry said when asked about well depth, and he described how shallow, high‑sulfur wells had caused livestock health problems in earlier years.

The deeper, cost‑shared well and additional tanks allowed the family to subdivide large pastures into roughly 30 smaller units and adopt more intensive rotational grazing. Speakers described installing fiberglass posts and remote‑controllable fence energizers and using water infrastructure to move stock more frequently. The family credited a multi‑year BFSD program (described in testimony as a three‑year, fully covered program) with helping them plan and implement conservation practices.

Committee members asked technical questions about fencing, pasture maturity and whether the operation had shifted to cropping; Larry said the family remains strictly a ranching operation and that the combine shown in a video belonged to a neighbor. Representatives praised the family’s stewardship and noted the importance of programs that make conservation investments feasible for multi‑generation operations.

The session closed with brief introductions from legislative pages and a round of applause. Ehlers told the committee the pizza and juice at the event were provided by South Dakota Ag Unity and asked permission to take a photo of the award recipients for social media. The House Agriculture committee adjourned after the presentation.

What happens next: this was a recognition and informational presentation; no formal legislative action followed on the award itself.