Washington - The agricultural community works in tandem with each other, various government agencies, private companies and even the public to devise innovative programs that enable them to conserve soil and water resources and protect wetlands and wildlife habitat. To celebrate this partnership, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) participated today in a national celebration of Earth Day to mark the successful partnership that the agriculture industry shares everyday with the environment.
"Cattlemen don't normally think about making such a fanfare about getting their success stories out about the environment," said NCBA's 1997 National Environmental Stewardship Award winner Tony Malmberg. "For most people, Earth Day is the one day of the year that they ponder their personal contribution to the earth. For ranchers and farmers, Earth Day is more like a lifestyle by which we work everyday managing biodiversity, wildlife habitat, open spaces, water quality and endangered species habitat."
As a third generation rancher, Malmberg runs a 30,000-acre cow/calf ranch in Lander, Wyoming. There he lets local schools use his ranch as an educational site so that students can learn about wildlife and habitats, streams, vegetation, geology and archaeology, birds and riparian areas. Malmberg frequently partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wyoming Riparian Association and the National Resource Conservation Service in order to work on different situations on his ranch.
"Agriculture and the Environment: A Growing Partnership" is a celebration that began moving across the country in a series of events on April 14 and culminated in Washington, D.C. on Earth Day. The final event kicked off a pledge drive that will reach out to the entire agricultural community through Earth Day 1999. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and Deputy Secretary Richard Rominger, as well as other agricultural leaders, commended beef producers and other members of the agricultural community for their role in creating a healthy environment.
Further information about Tony Malmberg or NCBA's Environmental Stewardship Award can be found at www.beef.org/newsrels/rel_ncba/1998_esap_winner.htm or by calling Ann Soli at 202-347-0228. Information on the "Agriculture and the Environment: A Growing Partnership" event can be found at www.nasda-hq.org.
Initiated in 1898, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the marketing organization and trade association for America's one million cattle farmers and ranchers. With offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C., NCBA is a consumer-focused, producer-directed organization representing the largest segment of the nation's food and fiber industry.
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