Certified Angus Beef Helping Ducks

Grass and water.

These are the essential elements in beef production — the same resources vital to healthy waterfowl populations. Productive agriculture and conservation go hand in hand.

That’s why Certified Angus Beef announced a collaboration with Ducks Unlimited at the 2021 Angus Convention in Fort Worth, Texas. Together, the two organizations assembled half a million dollars to launch the Working Grasslands Conservation Initiative, helping unlock an additional $2.5 million in grants to fund the initiative’s work over the next three years.

Supporting economic and environmental stewardship, this project allows Angus cattlemen to lean on the technical expertise of Ducks Unlimited personnel through voluntary, cost-sharing programs focused on preserving and restoring grasslands important to cattle ranching, duck populations, and our climate in the great northern plains.

“Together, we can deploy more voluntary, incentive-based programs that work for the Angus rancher while advancing carbon sequestration, clean water and biodiversity,” says Bruce Cobb, executive vice president of production for Certified Angus Beef.

The three-year initiative includes financial and technical assistance to interested landowners, notes Billy Gascoigne, director of agriculture and strategic partnerships for Ducks Unlimited.

“This collaborative work rallies around ranchers facing growing challenges while being the stewards of our remaining grasslands and wetlands in some of our most priority landscapes,” he says. “We see ranchers trying to keep improving how they produce cattle while remaining economically viable. We want to make sure they have the resources needed and help elevate the critical role of livestock in preserving this critical habitat.”

“Certified Angus Beef is committed to demonstrating the benefits of beef production beyond a great steak.” Cobb says. “Healthy ecosystems come along as a byproduct of raising the best tasting beef.”

Third-generation ranchers from the James River Valley in Glenfield, North Dakota, agree.

Brothers Justin and Nathan Spickler made good use of Ducks Unlimited cost-share programs, each run their own Angus seedstock herds and grow forage crops.