North Dakota
Roots matter for award-winning regenerative North Dakota ranch family
MADDOCK, N.D. — On any given day, rancher Brian Maddock is out in the drift prairie near the town of Maddock that bears his family name, dropping hay bales on wind-scoured hilltops and hardpan soil where little else will grow.
From there, the cattle do the rest of the work. They eat, they trample, they fertilize.
Green rings begin to form where nothing grew, soft swells of emerald where cattle will graze again after they’re rotated in again from another paddock.
The soil, after years of careful management by the Maddock family, breathes again.
For that work, Brian and his wife Vicki, along with the entire Maddock family, recently received recognition as recipients of the Leopold Conservation Award, making them part of a growing lineage of farmers and ranchers proving that working lands can also heal themselves.
The transformations to the Maddock family’s 4,000 acres of ranchland didn’t come from a one-season fix. They were constructed one fence, one water line and one holistic grazing decision at a time.
For the Maddock family, it has been a way of life since the early 1990s when land they farmed near Devils Lake became inundated, forcing a shift to rotational grazing and other regenerative ranching practices.
The Leopold Conservation Award, administered by Sand County Foundation, is a nationally recognized honor celebrating outstanding voluntary conservation.
Named after conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award is now presented in 28 states. This is the 10th time the award has been given in North Dakota.
“We’re excited about the things we’re doing, raising the cattle the way we do, and we’ve changed so many things over the years,” Brian Maddock said. “In a lot of ways, it’s not more work, it’s easier.”
A pivot born of necessity
After attending a course on holistic land management through the Carrington Research Extension Center around 40 years back, Brian came back home with eyes wide open to a shift the family needed to make away from crops and toward cattle.
“That opened my mind up tremendously,” Brian Maddock said of the course.
The farm was struggling financially at the time, he said.
“He came back from that course and said we need to make changes in how we farm or we’ll have to quit farming,” said his son, Travis Maddock. “He realized, once he started looking at the whole of things, that as a farmer, he was failing to try to raise crops. He wasn’t making any money. It wasn’t going to work out.”
That soul searching led his father to understand where his strengths lay, which was managing cattle and grass, Travis said. The family looked at the land they had and saw a lot of dirt, but not much quality soil left.
“All the tops of these hills are blown right down to the clay. Can we build some soil? Can we look at that? So we start putting a lot of these principles into place,” Travis said.
From there, they started installing cross-fences, developing water systems and rotating cattle through around two dozen paddocks, eventually shifting marginal farmland with soils too thin to support crops to ones that can support cattle. That’s helped restore fertility to the land.
“That land is really designed to support cattle,” Travis Maddock said.
Through practices like livestock impact on the grassland and bale grazing, the family has been able to transform the land, he said.
“You put the bales out there and let the cattle graze them down,” Travis Maddcok said. “That gives you your soil health principles, you’ve got cover, you’ve got living roots in there, you’re increasing your water cycle, your nitrogen cycle. Underneath there, you get your microbes rocking and rolling, and they’ll build soil for you. That’s how you build soil.”
Travis talks about how, as a regenerative rancher, you really have to think about the two herds you need to manage.
“We’re feeding the cows, but we’re also feeding all those microbes in the soil. We need to feed them too, and they need to be thriving,” he said. “As long as we can have symbiosis between those two things, we have the opportunity to create something where good things are happening, whether it’s financially or ecologically.”
Since the first Leopold Conservation Award was given in 2003, the award has spread to recognize the positive things farmers and ranchers were doing across the country in stewarding working lands.
Lance Irving, vice president of Sand County Foundation, calls these recipients “quiet heroes” for the work they put into their farms and ranches.
“This is an opportunity to recognize actual working farms and ranches, where their livelihood is tied to their productivity, and how conservation is a tool in their toolbox to not only make them more environmentally resilient but also economically resilient,” Irving said.
Award winners are chosen by panels within their state designated by local partners that include the North Dakota Association of Conservation Districts, North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition, and the North Dakota Stockman’s Association.
What stood out about Brian Maddock, Irving said, is that he’s never satisfied and always looking to improve his processes.
“He’s not doing it for himself, he’s thinking, how can I make it better for my kids, how can I make it better for my grandkids,” Irving said. “Folks of his generation willing to change what they’ve done for the last 40, 50 years, to try something new, is not something you see all the time, and that really stands out to me.”
Irving also points out the Maddock family motto of “Soil. Cattle. Family.” sums up their philosophy.
“If you take care of the soil, the soil will take care of the cattle. If you take care of the cattle, the cattle will take care of the family,” Irving said. “But that initial building block is taking care of the soil. You can’t do the others before you take care of the soil.”
Darrell Oswald, district manager for the Burleigh County Soil Conservation District, helped bring the award to North Dakota in 2015.
Judging is done by local leaders from agriculture, conservation, and state agencies.
“One thing I’ve noticed about all of the winners over the years is they all think holistically,” Oswald said. “They’re early adopters. They think outside the box. They’re not afraid to try things.”
The Maddock family is no exception, he said.
“Brian was an early adopter of multi-paddock adaptive grazing systems, and was thinking outside the box,” Oswald said. “They’re in an area where ranching is secondary to farming. They’ve carved out a living there, where annual cropping is generally king.”
As the
10th North Dakota family to receive the award
, the Maddocks join a roster of producers helping to shape regenerative agriculture in the state and region.
Other recent winners include Heaton Ranches in McKenzie, Bartholomay Kattle Kompany in Sheldon, Spring Valley Cattle in Glen Ullin and Sand Ranch near Ellendale.
“These are the elite of the elite of producers, in my mind,” Oswald said. “They’re profitable. They’re putting resources first. They’re in it for the long haul. They’re generational, and in theory, they want to farm and ranch forever and are working towards that. What they’re doing with the soil and resources is allowing them to do that, and that’s important.”
This mirrors national trends. Many Leopold winners began changing practices when their backs were against the wall — financially, ecologically, or both. Once they saw it work, they became advocates, showing neighbors what’s possible.
Irving notes that today’s regenerative ranchers don’t fit old stereotypes.
“The general public’s notion of what a farmer or rancher is not actually indicative of what this next generation is,” Irving said. “These are tech-savvy folks.”
Irving mentioned how they’re adopting GPS grazing collars, innovative water systems, soil sampling and tissue testing, and that there is more of this than ever before.
“In a way, agriculture kind of has its back against the wall, and you have to figure out how to do it, because not only is our food system relying on it, but also our rural communities,” Irving said. “Farms and ranches are the backbones of rural communities, and without them, that’s an entire way of life that becomes harder and harder.”
The North Dakota News Cooperative is a non-profit news organization providing reliable and independent reporting on issues and events that impact the lives of North Dakotans. The organization increases the public’s access to quality journalism and advances news literacy across the state. For more information about NDNC or to make a charitable contribution, please visit newscoopnd.org.
This story was originally published on NewsCoopND.org.
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FARGO — Drivers can expect to see a slight uptick in gas prices as a result of the Iran conflict.
As of Monday, March 2, the average for North Dakota is $2.65 a gallon. While that is a $0.13 increase from a month ago, it is significantly lower than prices a year ago.
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GRAND FORKS – The Study ND, formerly Humanities North Dakota, has received $15,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts for a statewide theater and humanities initiative in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
This commemorative investment is meant to bring historical events and figures – such as the framers of the U.S. Constitution – to life through virtual and live performances that celebrate the nation’s history.
The grant, along with funding from private sources, has made it possible for The Study ND to host “America 250” activities after the organization sustained a considerable cut in funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities last year, according to Brenna Gerhardt, The Study ND executive director.
“We absorbed a 50% budget cut, resulting in a loss of $467,645 in funding,” Gerhardt said. “As a result, we had to significantly scale back our American 250 initiatives focused on American history and civics education.”
Funds received from the National Endowment for the Arts will be used to present public readings, theatrical portrayals and guided discussions to encourage audience members to reflect on the nation’s founding in 1776 and on its democratic ideals, while engaging in contemporary conversations about civic life.
All of the programming in the series organized by The Study ND, titled “American Heroes,” will be livestreamed statewide.
In the grant application submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts, “we framed the project around a simple idea: democracy requires more than information, it requires citizens who can think historically, listen well, and argue in good faith,” Gerhardt said.
“This series uses living history performances to bring consequential figures into the room, then turns the room into a civic space through moderated dialogue and related public events. We define ‘heroism’ as civic courage under pressure, the willingness to contend with hard truths, and the capacity to enlarge a community’s moral imagination,” she said.
“The project does not ask audiences to agree on a single interpretation of a figure. It invites them to grapple with complexity together, and to connect the past to the responsibilities of the present.”
When Gerhardt and her colleagues received the application for grant proposals from the National Endowment for the Arts, “we were already planning a line-up of America 250 events and it fit perfectly with what we were already planning, so then we just wrote the grant,” she said.
Private funds, including matching funds from the Bismarck-based Tom and Frances Leach Foundation, have also been provided for this project.
Details about all the events will probably be posted on the website
www.TheStudyND.org
in March, Gerhardt said.
The America 250 events, which are planned to take place at Bismarck State College, are 5-6 p.m. July 8, “Reading of the Declaration of Independence, with John Adams,” and 6-7:30 p.m. July 9, “Alexander Hamilton Speaks,” both performed by William Chrystal.
The Living History programs are planned for 7-8:15 p.m. Sept. 17, “Thomas Paine,” performed by Doug Mishler, and Oct. 6, 7-8:15 p.m, “Frederick Douglass,” performed by Nathan Richardson. Both will be moderated by Susan Frontczak.
The performers Chrystal and Richardson live in Virginia, Frontczak in Colorado,and Mishler in Nevada.
Another program, “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” is set for Sept. 16-18 at Bismarck State College, Gerhardt said. “It is part of our broader Chautauqua/living history programming connected to America 250 … (and) will feature performances and discussion centered on Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, using their lives and writing as a way to explore major questions about American identity, war reporting, public memory, and the stories we tell about freedom, conflict and responsibility.
“What I am excited about with this event is that it gives us a way to approach America 250 beyond founding-era material. In other words, it helps us show the American story is not just about 1776, but also about the generations that followed and how Americans wrestled with democracy, power, truth and moral courage.”
This program “expands the initiative beyond commemoration into reflection, dialogue and interpretation, which is where the humanities are especially valuable,” she said. “It helps us reach audiences who may be drawn in through literature, journalism and performance, not only traditional history events.”
The Hemingway and Gellhorn program fits in with America 250 in that “it broadens the frame and adds depth to the larger effort.”
Gerhardt is hoping that these activities will give participants “a better understanding of all the debates and issues going on when our country was founded, and how those debates are continuing today,” she said, “and just to be more thoughtful and informed citizens.”
College students and members of the general public will also be invited to participate in a workshop aimed at teaching participants how to build a living history performance from primary sources and historical research.
Last year, The Study ND lost a substantial amount of funding – nearly $468,000, about half of its annual budget – from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its fiscal 2025 year.
The loss of that much funding was discouraging, Gerhardt said. “Very much so, because we had a lot of activities planned for America 250 and we had to cancel a lot of them, or – like in this case – seek other funding, which we were lucky to get.”
The Study ND currently has four full-time employees, she said. “We eliminated a part-time marketing position after the cuts.”
A nonprofit organization, The Study ND provides civics, arts and cultural education programming. The organization’s programs – which include online classes, book talks, lectures and more – reached about 24,000 people in 2024, Gerhardt told the North Dakota Monitor in April 2025.
During the summer, the organization hosts a civics education program for high school and middle school social studies teachers, she said.
On this day in 1943, two North Dakota army officers, Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz and First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson, were killed in separate medium bomber training crashes in Florida and Georgia.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
Army Plane Crashes Kill Two N. D. Men
Two North Dakota officers in the army air forces were killed Sunday in bomber crashes during training flights, Associated Press dispatches revealed Monday.
Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz of Harvey (Wells county) was killed with 10 others from the Avon Park, Fla., army bomber base when two medium bombers collided during a routine formation flight. Both planes crashed and there were no survivors.
First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson of Warwick (Benson county) was one of six killed when a medium bomber from MacDill field, Tampa, Fla., crashed near Savannah, Ga. Lieutenant Anderson was co-pilot of the plane.
None of the other victims of either accident was from the Dakotas or Minnesota.
Lieutenant Kuntz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kuntz of Harvey, was graduated from the army air force navigation school at Hondo, Texas, as a second lieutenant last October, and received his wings as a navigator.
Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.
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