Jim McAdams, 2004 president elect of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, congratulates George and Elaine Work as the national winners of the Environmental Stewardship Award Program.

Work Family Ranch wins stewardship award

Elaine and George Work, owners of Work Family Ranch of San Miguel, Calif., were named the national winners of the 2004 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) during a reception Jan. 29 at the 2004 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show in Phoenix, Ariz.

Sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program recognizes cattle producers whose stewardship practices are inventive, cost-effective and contribute to environmental conservation. The recipients of this top U.S. beef industry environmental award are selected by a committee of representatives from university faculty, federal and state government agencies, and conservation and environmental organizations.

The Work Family Ranch is a combination cow-calf and stocker operation. It is family-owned and well on its way to being operated by the fifth generation. The ranch features guided hunts, a Farmstay program, public trail rides, and a girls’ horse camp.

The ranch, which was originally homesteaded in the late 1890s, is located in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. It 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 Conservaition Reserve Program (CRP) 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.

Seven families were recognized at the 2004 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show as regional winners of the 2004 Environmental Stewardship Award Program.

Seven ranching operations, including that of the Works’, were honored earlier as regional ESAP winners:
• Region I: Llangollen Farms, Middleburg, Va.
• Region II: Carlton 2x4 Ranch, Arcadia, Fla.
• Region III: M&M Cattle Co., Carthage, Mo.
• Region IV: Canyon View Farms, Geary, Okla.
• Region V: Frasier Farms, Woodrow/Limon, Colo.
• Region VI: Work Family Ranch, San Miguel, Calif.
• Region VII: Barenthsen Red Angus Ranch, Powers Lake, N.D.

Click here for NCBA release.