National Environmental Stewardship Award presented to Nebraska ranch
Prestigious award recognizes cattle producer’s stewardship efforts
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association announced Feb. 3 that Wine Glass Ranch in Imperial, Nebraska, is the 2025 Environmental Stewardship Award Program National winner. The award, which annually recognizes the outstanding stewardship practices and conservation achievements of cattle producers, was presented to the Pribbeno family, during CattleCon 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee.
“This ranch has been in my family for 140 years, and we are the stewards of the ground,” Logan Pribbeno with Wine Glass Ranch said in a news release. “We are grazing the best and leaving the rest for the benefit of our soil health.”
Jeff and Connie Pribbeno and their son and daughter-in-law Logan and Brianna Pribbeno own and operate Wine Glass Ranch, located in western Nebraska near the Colorado border. The Pribbenos believe long-term care for their operation’s ecology translates to profitability, which is why they have married together the values of ranching for profit and environmental stewardship to make a living.
The cow-calf, stocker and grain operation thrives despite the arid climate and fragile sandy soil. The family installed more than 200 miles of cross fence, creating 90 paddocks for their rotational grazing system. At any given point, 95% of the ranch is resting, and this practice has increased plant diversity and the return of native grasses such as Sand Bluestem and Indian grass, a species difficult to grow in sandy soil. With a focus on soil health, the Pribbenos work closely with several state and federal agencies on conservation projects, and those partnerships have helped them with their stewardship efforts.
“You don’t build something like this without a lot of thinking and dreaming and sharing it together,” reflected Pribbeno. “Achieving these goals together; there’s nothing better.”
Established in 1991, ESAP identifies outstanding land stewards in the cattle industry. Each year, regional award winners are recognized, and one is honored as the national winner.
2025 Regional Winners include:
Region I: Whispering Hills Farm, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Region II: M&D Overstreet Ranch, Kathleen, Florida
Region III: Smith Family Farms, Bankston, Iowa
Region IV: McFaddin Ranch, Victoria, Texas
Region V: G&G Livestock and Cathey Cattle Company, Polson, Montana
Region VII: Wine Glass Ranch, Imperial, Nebraska
Previous National ESAP Honorees:
2024: Downey Ranch, Kansas
2023: G Bar C Ranch, Texas
2022: Carter Cattle Company, LLC, Alabama
2021: JY Ferry & Son, Inc., Utah
2020: Beatty Canyon Ranch, Colorado
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.
