Date:
8/4/2003 12:00:00 AM
Title:
Missouri Ranch is ESAP Region III Honoree
M&M Cattle Company Wins NCBA Environmental Stewardship Award
Washington, D.C. (August 5, 2003) – Matt and Denice Matthews, owners of M&M Cattle Company in Carthage, Mo., have been selected as regional winners of the Environmental Stewardship Award, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced today. M&M Cattle Company is one of seven regional winners nationwide, and represents NCBA’s Region III, which includes five Midwestern states.
Sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) recognizes cattle producers whose stewardship practices are inventive, cost-effective and contribute to environmental conservation. The recipients of this top U.S. beef industry environmental award are selected by a committee of representatives from university faculty, federal and state government agencies, and conservation and environmental organizations.
“We’re so proud of our ESAP winners and the philosophies they embody,” says NCBA President Eric Davis. “Ranchers like Matt and Denice Matthews have an innate love for the land that benefits the environment, their communities, their businesses, and serves as an example for all of us.”
The Matthews own and operate a cow/calf operation in Carthage with their five children; Niki, Crystal, Victoria, Stephanie, and Chad. “The Matthews family is a great example of how good stewardship practices can improve productivity and profitability on the farm, and they are an example to the public of how much cattlemen care for the environment. The family is a model of the values they live for,” says Ken Disselhorst, President of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.
The farm includes 1,700 owned and 2,500 rented acres that are managed for optimum protection of the land and its resources. The operation owns or manages 900 head of cattle. The family typically backgrounds its own cattle before sending them to Kansas feedlots where ownership is retained until finishing. The farm also receives income from timber, hunting leases, feed production and grass pasture and hay for cattle production.
The Matthews have developed a strong rotational grazing program. These practices supply cattle with increased forage while also providing a refuge for wildlife. This program required the digging of two additional wells, water lines, and fencing. Furthermore, the Matthews have built extra fencing to keep cattle out of timber, creeks, springs, and ponds. They have also worked to develop wildlife habitats through fencing and wildlife feeders.
Matt Matthews has been a leader in his community when it comes to environmental issues. He has participated in the Adopt-a-Highway Program, and provided demonstrations and speeches on the beef industry to local school children. He further offers his time and resources by supporting local 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) members. “Matt promotes good stewardship practices to other cattlemen, whether it is at the coffee shop or a cattle industry convention, by explaining that proper management and care for natural resources is the only way to keep the land in peak production for generations to come,” says Disselhorst.
Robert Paul, Resource Conservationist with USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, says, “I have worked with cattle operations and landowners for over 26 years, and I cannot think of a single producer who deserves your recognition more than Matt Matthews. He does more than ‘talk the talk’; he talks and then ‘walks the walk’.”
The M&M Cattle Company will be formally recognized for its regional ESAP award at the 2004 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show in Phoenix, Ariz., next January, when the national award winner will be announced.
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Editor’s Note: For additional information, news releases and fact sheets on individual winners, contact NCBA’s Washington office at 202-347-0228.
Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.