SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Feb. 4, 2025) – Blue Ranch in Moore County, Texas, was recognized today by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) as a regional winner of the 2024 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP). Seven regional awards were presented to recipients during CattleCon 2025 in San Antonio.
“Conservation practices of cattle farmers and ranchers across the country help to preserve natural resources and provide wildlife habitat,” said NCBA President Mark Eisele. “The stewardship efforts of these award recipients confirm our industry’s commitment to protecting the land and water for future generations.”
Established in 1991, ESAP celebrates outstanding land stewards in the cattle industry. Regional ESAP winners come from every corner of the country and undertake stewardship efforts unique to their environment, landscape and resources. The 2024 Environmental Stewardship Award Program Regional winners are:
- Region I: Angus Glen Farms, LLC, Watkins Glen, New York
- Region II: Kempfer Cattle Company, Deer Park, Florida
- Region III: Little Timber Farms, Blackduck, Minnesota
- Region IV: Blue Ranch, Moore County, Texas
- Region V: LeValley Ranch, Hotchkiss, Colorado
- Region VI: Cottonwood Ranch, Wells, Nevada
- Region VII: Downey Ranch, Wamego, Kansas
“Blue Ranch embodies the spirit of land stewardship in every facet of their operational design, their vision, and most of all their actions and accomplishments,” said Jeff Goodwin, director of the Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management at Texas A&M University. “The McCloys lead by example by providing leadership through industry engagement and providing an environment of learning for peers, students and resource professionals.”
With perennial water flowing and native grasses perfect for rotational grazing, Rex and Susan McCloy saw an opportunity to expand their extensive farming and cattle operation. A decade later, the Blue Ranch just south of Dumas in Moore County, Texas, is a benchmark for stewardship that yields highly efficient cattle production and a thriving wildlife habitat, while managing constant environmental improvements to the sundry rolling prairie in the northwestern Texas Panhandle. The McCloy’s goals are to achieve the highest levels of environmental, economic and social sustainability through holistic management practices; improve riparian areas to reduce erosion; create higher wildlife populations through improved natural habitats; and promote sustainable grazing practices by advocating at the local level and beyond. Their management practices have increased forage production, improved water quality and provided habitat for wildlife.
“We are stewards of the land and all the resources that are associated with it,” said Rex McCloy with Blue Ranch. “What we do now has lasting impacts and consequences on the future of the operation, and we must leave it better than we found it.”
ESAP is generously sponsored by companies and federal agencies who share the cattle industry’s commitment to caring for the environment and protecting natural resources. Sponsors including U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, Corteva Agriscience, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partner with NCBA to promote environmental stewardship throughout the beef supply chain. For more information, visit www.environmentalstewardship.org.
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