February 2024 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN 53 doing,” Martin says. “It’s important to show the public that agricultural producers are taking care of their environment, their land, their animals and their resources. They are thinking long term about how they manage things, and they want their operations to sustain the generations that are coming behind them.” Environmental conservation is the key to making farms and ranches last long after older generations are gone. “We saw what happened in the Dust Bowl in the ʻ30s, and that kind of thing doesn’t do a farmer any good,” Martin says. “We implement these practices to address problems like soil erosion, water scarcity and other environmental challenges.” He says the award application process is lengthy but worth it in the end. “The application requires you to describe your farming operation, how you manage your land on a day-to-day basis and methods you’ve used to improve environmental conservation,” Martin says. “The documents are judged by a committee of conservation experts from Nebraska.” The program is crucial to encourage other landowners to gain interest in conservation. “We schedule a farm tour in the summertime for people to come out and see what the winner is doing,” Martin says. “The idea is that we want to inspire others to adopt more practices that are conservation focused by letting them see what other people are doing.” Wine Glass Ranch In 2022, the Nebraska award recipient was Wine Glass Ranch, and they are a shining example of conservation. Logan Pribbeno, Wine Glass Ranch president and Nebraska Cattlemen member, says the employees work together as a team to practice responsible stewardship of the land and its resources. “We really focus on a team approach,” Pribbeno says. “We have great managers and cow bosses who have helped us achieve the best year we’ve ever had. We’re a team of people collaborating on ecosystem management.” This Nebraska ranch has a unique system that it employs to offer their customers a wide variety of services. “Five out of 10 years, we’re a cow-calf operation, and the other five we’re grazing stocker cattle,” Pribbeno says. Wine Glass Ranch markets 800- to 1,000-pound feeder cattle for shipment from July through September. They also sell 3- to 6-year-old bred cows each year. Pribbeno grew up in the ranching world and is a fifth-generation Nebraska cattle rancher and a second-generation CONTINUED ON PAGE 54 Logan Pribbeno, left, his wife, Brianna, right, and their daughters at Wine Glass Ranch. Logan and Brianna, along with Logan’s parents, work alongside a team of employees to implement a variety of methods to improve soil health, manage natural resources ethically and maintain wildlife habitats. Photo courtesy of Emma Harms
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