Winner will receive $10,000 prize for Conservation Leadership

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 14, 2025) – Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell invites Kentuckians to nominate a farmer or forester for the 2025 Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award.

“This award honors those farmers who go above and beyond to showcase conservation practices,” Commissioner Shell said. “Farming is the backbone of our state, and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is honored to work with the Sand County Foundation to present the Leopold Conservation Award to a Kentucky farm family who shows true devotion to the management of our natural resources.”

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes landowners who inspire others with their dedication to land, water, and wildlife habitat management on private working land. In his influential 1949 book, “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.

Sand County Foundation, the nation’s leading voice for conservation of private land, presents the Leopold Conservation Award to agricultural landowners in 28 states actively committed to land ethic. In Kentucky, the $10,000 award is presented with the Kentucky Agricultural Council and Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts.

Nominations may be submitted on behalf of a landowner, or landowners may nominate themselves. The application can be found at sandcountyfoundation.org/uploads/2025-CFN-Kentucky.pdf.

The application deadline date March 31, 2025. Application materials must be sent electronically to KentuckyLCA@sandcountyfoundation.org.

The first Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award was presented to Sherwood Acres Farm of LaGrange in 2013. The 2024 recipients of the award were Mike and Tammy Wilson, who operate Whispering Hills Farm in Anderson County.

The Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award is made possible through the support and partnership of American Farmland Trust, Kentucky Agricultural Council, Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts, Sand County Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, AgriBusiness Association of Kentucky, Farm Credit Mid-America, Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association, Kentucky Corn Growers Association, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Kentucky Pork Producers, Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board, Kentucky Tree Farm Committee, Kentucky Woodland Owner’s Association, and University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

For more information on the award, visit leopoldconservationaward.org.