Guest Blog Post: Family rice farm among the finalists for prestigious conservation award

Since 2006, Sand County Foundation, in partnership with the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation, has identified outstanding landowner conservationists across California and recognized them with the Leopold Conservation Award (www.leopoldconservationaward.org). This year, we have the pleasure of adding a rice farmer, Al Montna, to the distinguished list of Leopold Conservation Award recipients.

Aldo Leopold believed that farmers and ranchers best understood how to nurture the land that gives so much back to them. His perspective is still relevant today. One simply needs to look at Al Montna and the two finalists for this year’s award, Bill and Kay Burrows and Tim Koopmann, to realize that improvements to grassland, water quality and wildlife habitat can, indeed, go hand in hand with a successful agricultural operation.

Al Montna’s operation consists of over 2,500 acres of specialty short grain rice in Sutter County. His remarkable commitment to the enhancement of natural resources has led him to implement several conservation practices on his land. Among other efforts, he helped pioneer the practice of knocking rice stubble down into the flooded fields, rather than burning it, which creates winter habitat for many wildlife species. This process allowed Montna Farms to bank and sell Emission Reduction Credits for added revenue. He also monitors the quantity and quality of water on his farm and utilizes laser leveling of his fields, which results in lower herbicide costs due to better water management. In 2008, Al built a solar power facility to offset energy usage at Montna Farms Rice Dryer.

Bill and Kay Burrows employ Holistic Management techniques in the operation of their ranch. They work to improve the biodiversity on their land, increasing the productivity of the soil, plants and animals. The Burrows run cattle, as well as meat goats and sheep for brush control. Bill and Kay also engage in community outreach, hosting an annual “Stewardship Day” at the ranch.

Tim Koopmann is a third generation rancher who owns and operates a cow-calf operation, which he has been able to maintain due to conservation easements that were the first of their kind in Alameda County. Koopmann was instrumental in the creation and implementation of a pioneering approach to watershed management, which has improved water quality in the Alameda Creek watershed, as well as San Francisco Bay.

You likely know someone who deserves to be recognized in this manner. I ask that you take the time to honor their good work by nominating them for a Leopold Conservation Award in 2011. You will be doing your part to ensure that agricultural and environmental success continues to flourish in California.

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Brent M. Haglund, Ph.D., is President of Sand County Foundation.