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LandCAN Conservation Success Stories

LandCAN Conservation Success Stories

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LandCAN Conservation Success Stories

Browse our Growing Library of Success Stories

Gerry Mich

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Gerry MichGerry Mich's story of a lifelong commitment to conservation began 30 years ago when he and his two brothers purchased 20 acres of woods in Portage County. There, they and Gerry's future wife, Margo, planted 1,000 red pine seedlings by hand.



 

David Geiser - Gold Star Dairy

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David Geiser - Gold Star DairySome farmers focus on yield and profit. David Geiser is also driven by conservation and education.



 

Cates Family Farm

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Cates Family FarmWhen Dick Cates’ father purchased the family’s Iowa County farm in the 1960’s, it consisted of a few small tilled fields and largely unmanaged pastures. Today, it is a model of how to farm in a manner that is good for the business and good for the land.



 

Brooks Farms

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Brooks FarmsWhen Luther West acquired his 160-acre homestead in 1855, he was required to clear at least 5 acres and build a claim shanty. However, in less than three years, he cleared nearly 80 acres and built a large home on what is now Brooks Farms. Luther’s spirit of going above and beyond what is required remains a driving force for Ron Brooks and his daughters Alyssa, Kelsey, Zoey and Sydney, who each strive to conserve, improve and in some cases restore the same land Luther tamed over 160 years ago.



 

Brickstead Dairy

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Brickstead DairyEstablished in 1848, Brickstead Dairy is a fifth-generation farm in Brown County, Wisconsin. Since partnering with his father in the 1990s, Dan Brick has grown the farm's dairy herd to 900 cows.



 

W.F. Goring and Son Inc.

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W.F. Goring and Son Inc.Near the west side of the Wellsville Mountains is Goring Ranch, a third generation sheep outfit owned and managed by Bill Goring, his wife Sherie and their son Blake. Bill attributes his family’s good fortune in the business to the hands-on approach and strong initiative passed down from his father, who built the ranch from scratch.



 

Bragger Family Dairy

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Bragger Family DairyEverything on Joe Bragger’s Buffalo County farm is connected and has a purpose: The cows and the chickens, the trout and the trees, the soil and the stream. He not only loves the land, but clearly sees what it can do for him and what he can do for it.



 

Red Pine Land & Livestock

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Red Pine Land & LivestockWhile managing their 178,000 acres of land near Park City, Steve Osguthorpe and his family carry on a tradition of conservation and sustainable agriculture that Steve inherited from his father, D.A. “Doc” Osguthorpe.



 

Tavaputs Ranch

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Tavaputs RanchButch and Jeanie Jensen’s fifth generation T.N. Ranching Company and Tavaputs Ranch, located in Carbon County, is a cow-calf operation, encompassing two herds of more than 1,200 cattle on approximately 30,000 acres of private rangeland and 320,000 acres of state and federal rangeland.



 

Johnson Ranch

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Johnson RanchOne would be hard pressed to find someone more connected to their land than Darrell and Carol Johnson. The Johnson Ranch, in Tooele County, has been part of Darrell’s life for longer than he can remember. He grew up working on the ranch and planned how he would run the operation until he got his opportunity in 1962 when he began to purchase land from his uncles. He partnered with his father, Orson, until 1988.



 

Johnson Mountain Ranch

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Johnson Mountain RanchJohnson Mountain Ranch is owned and operated by Stuart Johnson with this wife Carma, along with their son Jared. Stuart’s grandfather started the original family farm and ranch in Utah’s Sevier Valley in 1904.



 

Jerrold Richins Ranch

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Jerrold Richins RanchIn the early 1990s, the Chalk Creek Watershed was considered one of Utah’s most degraded watersheds. The creek suffered through years of erosion-induced silt from hundreds of miles of backcountry mining and oil exploration roads. When the area experienced rain and record floods in 1983, the creek was in ruins. To slow channelization, some residents in the area simply began rolling old car bodies into the creek.



 

Heaton Livestock Company

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Heaton Livestock CompanyCousins Karl and Raymond Heaton are fourth generation ranchers responsible for the management of over 140,000 private and federal acres at Heaton Ranch, located in Alton. The ranch consists of approximately 1,250 head of cattle.



 

Llano Springs Ranch

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Llano Springs RanchThe Llano Springs Ranch, located 20 miles north of Rocksprings in Edwards County, is a true, family-run operation. The 5,100 acre ranch is owned and operated by Dr. Tom G. Vandivier, his children, Tom M. Vandivier and Ann Vandivier Brodnax and their families.



 

Harold Selman Ranches

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Harold Selman RanchesThe fourth generation Harold Selman Ranches has a long tradition of land stewardship, beginning in the 1940s with Harold and Dorthella Selman. Their land ethic was passed on to their son, Fred, who, along with his wife, Laura, and their son, Bret, and his wife, Michelle, continues to manage the ranching operation.



 

Winston 8 Ranch

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Winston 8 RanchWhen the Winston family acquired their property just south of Nacogdoches in the 1980s, it was largely land that had been cut and not replanted. Since then, it has been carefully restored and transformed into a showplace on how to produce timber and quality wildlife habitat.



 

Cronin Farms

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Cronin FarmsCronin Farms was established in 1910, when Carl Cronin moved from Nebraska to South Dakota. Ever since the beginning, the farm has been a diverse mix-livestock and crop enterprise. Today the farm is managed by Monty and Mike Cronin, along with their agronomy manager Dan Forgey.



 

Doud Ranch

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Doud RanchRick and Marlis Doud’s ranch, near Midland, is comprised of 6,000 deeded acres and 2,500 leased acres on which they run nearly 400 cow-calf pairs.



 

Guptill Ranch

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Guptill RanchGuptill Ranch is a 7,000-acre cattle operation that Pat and Mary Lou Guptill have owned and managed for the past 25 years. With their five children, they are caretakers of this special landscape in western South Dakota. The area features grasslands with rolling hills and a wooded creek running through the ranch.



 

Jorgensen Land & Cattle Partnership

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Jorgensen Land & Cattle PartnershipThe Jorgensens have made a living from farming and ranching for more than 100 years. Humbly beginning as a small family farm, Jorgensen Land and Cattle Partnership has grown to include livestock, a large variety of crops and a hunting business.