Seven U.S. farms and ranches have been recognized for their outstanding environmental stewardship practices. The winners were announced at the 2002 Cattle Industry Summer Conference.

The Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) recognizes cattlemen whose natural resource stewardship practices are inventive, cost-effective and contribute to the environment while enhancing productivity and profitability. The program,sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, was created in 1991.

"Managing natural resources and implementing environmentally sound practices are essential in running a successful cattle operation and this year's winners exemplify this," stated NCBA President Wythe Willey, a beef producer from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The recipients of this U.S. beef industry award are selected by a committee of representatives from university faculty, federal and state government agencies, and conservation and environmental organizations.

This years regional ESAP winners were:

• Armstrong Farms, owned by John and Kathy Allen of Saxonburg, Penn., and in the Allen family since 1816. They run a purebred Angus and Shorthorn cow/calf operation;
• Brad Z Ranch, located in Guthrie Center, Iowa, a seedstock operation owned by Jim and Mary Bradford;
• Goodson Ranch, owned and operated by Larry and Tom Goodson Cannon, Blackwell, Okla. The ranch is an integrated cow/calf and stocker operation;
• Kelly Ranch, located in the Sandhills of Neb., a cow/calf and stocker operation owned and operated by Michael and Cynthia Kelly;
• Seiben Live Stock Company, established in central Montana by Henry Hibbard and today owned by his three grandsons;
• Y Bar D Ranch, a cow/calf operation located on the Horseshoe Allotment of the Prescott National Forest in central Arizona. The ranch is owned by George and Sharon Yard; and
• Wakefield Farm, located in Hartwell, Ga., a cow/calf operation owned by Asa and Julie Phillips.