Enter Your Farm Today! Deadline: August 5, 2011

For more than a decade, the American Soybean Association (ASA) has been recognizing U.S. soybean producers' outstanding environmental and conservation achievements through the Conservation Legacy Awards.

As stewards and partners with the land, today’s farmers understand the responsibility of protecting one of our most precious natural resources and are dedicated to enhancing the quality of the land entrusted to them. As 2011 National Conservation Legacy Award Winner Ed Ulch stated, “I feel morally obligated to manage the land in a way that improves the productivity of the soil and keeps it in place. Conservation also includes managing water for the benefit of both the land and the water. We need to strive for sustainability.”

“I feel morally obligated to manage the land in a way that improves the productivity of the soil and keeps it in place.     Conservation also includes managing water for the benefit of both the land and the water. We need to strive for sustainability.”     -2011 National Conservation Legacy Award Winner Ed Ulch

The Conservation Legacy Awards are open to any U.S. soybean producer to showcase their farm management practices that are both environmentally friendly and profitable. Growers using reduced-tillage systems, such as no-till, strip-till, minimum-till or other conservation practices are encouraged to submit a nomination form. The registration deadline is August 5, 2011!

Awards are given in three regions:

Three regional winners will be selected and a national winner is selected from the three regional winners. All winners and a spouse/guest receive an expenses-paid trip to Commodity Classic, the annual convention and trade show for U.S. soybean, corn, wheat and sorghum farmers, where the awards will be presented. The 2012 Commodity Classic is in Nashville, Tennessee, March 1-3. Winners will also be featured in Corn & Soybean Digest.

ASA thanks our sponsors BASF, Monsanto, the United Soybean Board and Corn & Soybean Digest.

Click here to complete the online 2012 Conservation Legacy Award Nomination Form

OR

Download a PDF of the Conservation Legacy Award Brochure and Nomination Form

For additional information please contact ASA Leadership & Policy Education Manager Byron Keelin, (314) 754-1355 or email bkeelin@soy.org.

2011 Conservation Legacy Award and Midwest Regional Winners
Ed and Brian Ulch
Solon, Iowa

Pictured: At the ASA Awards Banquet in Tampa, Fla. (left to right) Alan Kemper, ASA President; Brian Ulch, Ed Ulch, National Conservation Legacy Award winners and Midwest Region winners; Mindy Whittle, Monsanto; and Greg Lamp, Corn & Soybean Digest. (ASA photo by Robert Richards)

Ed and Brian Ulch of Solon, Iowa have been named “2011 Conservationists of the Year” in the Conservation Legacy Awards Program. The Ulch's were announced as the winners of this national award on March 4 at the ASA Awards Banquet at Commodity Classic in Tampa, Fla.

The Ulch's also won the Midwest Region competition in the Conservation Legacy Awards Program. Their regional win qualified them for the national competition.

The Ulch’s have been leaders in the conservation farm movement in Johnson County, Iowa and have served as leaders to other farmers in promoting the adoption of best management practices. The Ulch’s grow corn, soybeans and hay on 2,300 acres. The Ulch’s are committed to reduced tillage operations and have no-tilled their farm for nearly 20 years.

Ed Ulch has served on the Lake Macbride Watershed Advisory Committee and was instrumental in working with fellow watershed residents to encourage them to install conservation practices on their farms.

Conservation Legacy Awards: 2011 Regional Winners

Northeast Region

Pictured: At the ASA Awards Banquet in Tampa, Fla. (Left to Right) Alan Kemper, ASA President; Henry Kallal, Northeast Region Conservation Legacy Award winner; Mindy Whittle, Monsanto; and Greg Lamp, Corn & Soybean Digest. (ASA photo by Robert Richards)

Northeast Region
Henry Kallal of Jerseyville, Illinois has won the 2011 Northeast Region Conservation Legacy Award. Kallal accepted the award on March 4 at the ASA Awards Banquet at Commodity Classic in Tampa, Fla.

Kallal is a leader in the conservation farm movement in Jersey County for more than 40 years. He grows corn and soybeans on 1,800 acres. Kallal has planted complete no-till and ridge-till on all their acres in Jersey County since 1985. Kallal works diligently to promote soil conservation and protect water quality.

Kallal has also been a very active member of several conservation farm boards over the years, including the Jersey County SWCD and The Jersey County Farm Bureau.
 

South Region

Pictured: At the ASA Awards Banquet in Tampa, Fla. (Left to Right) Alan Kemper, ASA President; Richard Jameson, South Region Conservation Legacy Award winner; Mindy Whittle, Monsanto; and Greg Lamp, Corn & Soybean Digest. (ASA photo by Robert Richards)

South Region
Richard Jameson of Brownsville, Tennessee has won the 2011 South Region Conservation Legacy Award. Jameson accepted the award on March 4 at the ASA Awards Banquet at Commodity Classic in Tampa, Fla.

Jameson has been a leader in conservation efforts in Haywood County and West Tennessee for more than 40 years. Jameson grows more than 1,200 acres of soybeans along with cotton and corn. Jameson’s farm includes 100 percent no-till crops. Jameson takes a proactive approach when it comes to environmental issues related to row crop agriculture and is usually the first producer in the area to adopt new practices to sustain the soil and environment around his farmland.

Richard has served on the Haywood County Soil and Conservation District Board of Supervisors for 24 years and has served as Chairman of the Board for 15 years. Jameson’s farm operation has hosted numerous conservation tours and demonstrations through the years.