Meyers Named 2025 Outstanding Conservationists for Rice County

The Rice Soil and Water Conservation District has selected Alan and Andrew Meyer as the 2025 Outstanding Conservationists for Rice County. The Meyers were honored at the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Annual Convention this past December, along with other Outstanding Conservationist Award winners from across the state.

Alan and Andrew Meyer are the 2025 Outstanding Conservationists for Rice County.

The Outstanding Conservationist Award recognizes individuals, conservation organizations, or others for outstanding accomplishments in implementing conservation practices and improving Minnesota’s natural resources.

Alan and his son Andrew raise and milk dairy cattle on their farm, Richland Dairy, in the headwaters of the Zumbro River Watershed of southeastern Rice County. The farm has been in their family since 1946, when Alan’s grandfather purchased the property.

Alan’s dad began using conservation on the farm by installing terraces and grassed waterways. Alan and Andrew have continued implementing field conservation by maintaining these structures as well as installing additional sediment basins and reducing tillage on the farm.

The Meyer’s crop rotation also contributes to healthy soils and conservation on the farm, as they grow corn, beans, cover crops, canning crops, and alfalfa. In 2013, the Meyers started planting cover crops and eventually realized that covers could provide excellent feed for their cattle. Each year they plant approximately 100 acres of cereal rye, which protects the soil from erosion after corn silage and canning crop harvesting. While they have utilized Rice SWCD cost share programs for some of the covers, most of the covers are planted on their own.

In 2018, tragedy struck when their farm was hit by a tornado. Through much work and resilience, they rebuilt their barns and continued the conservation plan for their farm. Using the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, last year they built a new ag waste pit that will store their manure for an entire year. This has allowed them to stop spreading manure during the winter months, which is better for the environment. They also developed a nutrient management plan for their ag waste to efficiently utilize nutrients out in the field.

Finally, the Meyers have planted trees to establish a windbreak around their farm to reduce energy use and cost.

Soybeans grow in cover crop stubble on the Alan and Andrew Meyer farm in rural Kenyon.

Soil and water conservation is very important to the Meyers. “We live in the Zumbro River Valley and we're the first farm that drains from the head of the watershed. We want to have clean water runoff and don't want our fertility to run away with the water,” said Alan.  “There are also generations to come. We don't want to just run the soil to the ground. We want to build it up and leave it better,” added Andrew.

Their efforts exemplify a long-term commitment to farmland conservation and soil health. The Meyers’s stewardship of their land makes them an excellent choice for the 2025 Outstanding Conservationist Award.