Pribbeno: we are in this business for the long-term

    Logan Pribbeno, his family and employees take conservation seriously
    With Wine Glass Ranch selected recipient of the 2022 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award, the sole winner in the state, others are recognizing their efforts, too.
    Given in honor of conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes farmers, ranchers and forestland owners who inspire others with their dedication to the land, water and wildlife habitat resources in their care.
    Logan and Brianna Pribbeno, and his parents Jeff and Connie Pribbeno, all of Imperial, own and operate the 30,000 acres of crops, rangeland and grazing lands at the ranch, north of Imperial.
    A tour of the ranch and celebration dinner were held Saturday.
    The afternoon tour took in several areas of the ranch, and those on the tour viewed a warm season cover crop mix, a first calf heifer group of 350 and a yearling group of 700 heifers.
    Pribbeno said they go to a lot of lengths for conservation, and there’s a reason.
    “We have a long-term view, so we are managing this business and ground for generations to come instead of doing what we can do to get the most out of it the next 5-10 years,” he said.
    Rather than decades, they are looking at their operation in 100-year increments.
    “We hope to be in the same position 100 years from now. It’s a long-term timeline that drives us,” he said.
    Pribbeno said it’s nice to be recognized with this award for doing things “the right way.”
    “And, we like to promote Imperial and Chase County and with this award we are doing that,” he said.
    Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 24 states for extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation.
    In Nebraska, the $10,000 award that comes with it is presented with Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska, Cargill and the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
    “Agriculture has to be economically sustainable along with environmentally sustainable in order to function. The fact that the Pribbenos have been tending this land for five generations is a testament to their big picture view of sustainability,” said Steve Martin, AFAN Executive Director.         “They are a great example of how conservation practices can enhance modern farming and ranching practices for greater profitability while also improving the land,” he said.
    As the national sponsor for the Leopold Conservation Award, American Farmland Trust celebrates the hard work and dedication of the Nebraska recipient, said John Piotti, AFT President and CEO.
    “At AFT, we believe conservation in agriculture requires a focus on the land, the practices and the people and this award recognizes the integral role of all three,” he said.
    The Pribbenos are examples of how Aldo Leopold’s land ethic is alive and well today, said Kevin McAleese, Sand County Foundation President and CEO.
    “Their dedication to conservation shows how individuals can improve the health of the land while producing food and fiber,” he added.

    The first Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award was presented to Wilson Ranch of Lakeside in 2006. The 2021 recipient was Switzer Ranch of Loup County.  
    In his 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called “an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity.”
About Wine Glass Ranch
    Logan Pribbeno grew up around rotational grazing and no-till farming in the 1990s when both practices were still hotly debated by academics and farmers alike.
    Today, the self-described “second-generation conservationist” prioritizes rebuilding the light soils his family farmed for over a century, while making a living.
    They manage the 30,000 acres of crops, rangeland, and grazing lands at Wine Glass Ranch to be productive, progressive and profitable.
    The Wine Glass name of their integrated farm and ranch is a nod to the wine glass shaped cattle brand that Logan’s great-great grandmother registered in the 1930s.
    One example of how the Pribbenos have combined conservation with profitability is their use of “ecological edges” as habitat for beneficial insects.
    All 4,500 acres of their cropland is bordered with a mix of perennial native grasses. Beneficial predator insects like lady beetles, flower flies and tachinid flies thrive in these areas. When pests descend on crops, the predator bugs descend on them. By shifting the ranch’s insect ecology, broad-spectrum insecticides are never used.
    The Pribbenos grow a diversified crop rotation of corn, millet, milo and wheat to optimize soil fertility with crop residues. Minimum-till or no-till is used on all cropland.
    Over time, the Pribbenos have come to utilize cover crops not just a long-term regenerative practice, but a short-term profit center. They graze livestock on fields of cover crops and harvested crop residues on their own farm and on rented fields. Doing so puts money in their neighbors’ pockets while helping recycle nutrients. It’s a win-win for the local farm economy and soil community.
    Winter grazing of cover crops and harvested crop residues allows the native range to rest, while maximizing snow catch and minimizing wind erosion.
    Since dividing 18,000 acres of Wine Glass Ranch into 90 paddocks in 1987, 120 stock tanks, 50 miles of pipeline and more than 100 miles of cross fencing have been added to allow for high intensity, short duration grazing. Rather than trampling watering areas and over grazing pastures, a planned grazing system increases the vigor of their grasses thanks to increased rest periods for each paddock.
    The Pribbenos continue to refine their system.
    Data from an annual evaluation of each paddock’s vegetation and soil type helps create the next grazing season’s herd size and moves.
    Proving their system is working, Wine Glass Ranch’s stocking rates speak for themselves. Few graziers can keep as many as 3,000 beef cattle in a single group while regenerating the soil.
    More than 10,000 trees and shrubs have been planted across Wine Glass Ranch to provide windbreak protection and wildlife habitat areas. A waterfowl pond was constructed and four wildlife water guzzlers were installed to provide drinking water for wildlife.
    In addition to 750 environmentally-sensitive acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, another 61 wetland sites on 107 acres have been enrolled into CRP wetland restoration and buffer strip programs.
    And Pribbeno said they are always looking ahead.
    “We’re always testing new stuff,” he noted.
    For the coming year, thanks to the lingering drought, Pribbeno said they will take a long rest period, and will only hit each pasture once.
    They will also go to more cover crops on their pastures and dryland farmground.
    When asked how they plan to use the $10,000 cash award, Pribbeno said it may have to go to their increased operational costs the past two years, which have about doubled.
    “Anyone trying to run a business right now, especially in agriculture, is seeing big cost increases,” he said.
    The cash award will be presented in November at the AFAN annual meeting.
    A press release from Sand County Foundation was used in this story.