Home > Our Commitment > Environment > Education > Environmental Stewardship Award.
Our Commitment to the Environment
Yolo Land & Cattle Co.
Our philosophy at Yolo Land & Cattle Co. has always been "Take care of the Land, and the Land will take care of you." It is a philosophy we incorporate into all management decisions on our own ranches, as well as those we lease. Our goal is to leave the properties we manage in better condition than when we started as caretakers. The ranching business is dynamic and economically challenging, yet we believe that sound stewardship and regard for our impacts on the environment are critical for a viable future.
For many years, the working landscape of our ranch has been dramatically transformed, through the efforts of Scott Stone, our family visionary. In order to complete the numerous restoration projects on the ranch, we have developed close partnerships with multiple government agencies, non-profit organizations, universities, and private entities. With the help of these partners and allies, we constantly strive to improve our rangeland ecosystem, while producing a healthy product in an economically, yet environmentally sustainable manner.
As we evaluate new projects for our ranches, we examine several key components to determine if the benefits coincide with our goals and objectives:
- Will the project benefit the watershed, increase the wildlife density/variety, or improve forage conditions?
- Is there a public education benefit to the project?
- Can any research data be utilized to further benefit the cattle industry and working landscapes?
- Will the result enhance the long-term economic viability of the operation?
- Which partners can we involve?
Example - Perkins Pond Project:
Step 1a. Excavate decades of old silt to deepen pond and
increase storage capacity.
Step 1b. Install solar pump to pump stock water to a remote
tank & plant native grasses and trees.
Step 2. Re-Establish Native Perennial Vegetation. Student
Volunteers Place Protective Cages Around New Plants.
Step 3. Install Goose
Nesting Platform.
Step 4. Watch Nature
Flourish. This wildlife enhancement project was implemented by: Yolo
Land and Cattle Co., Audubon California, and Farms Leadership Inc. with
funding provided by State of California Wildlife Conservation Board and
Calfed Bay-Delta Program.
The First Goslings Enjoy our
Restored
Habitat.
Our greatest reward for these efforts is the increase in
wildlife that
frequents the ranch. When we see a muddy pond bank crowded
with 14 Western Pond Turtles, (a species of concern to state and
federal agencies), or a Canada goose hustling her yellow goslings into
a protective clump of cattails, it tells us that we’re on the right
track.
Conservation work done on the ranch enabled us to earn the 2007 National Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
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