Missouri’s Horstmann Cattle Company Earns Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Land Certification

OWENSVILLE, Missouri (April 29, 2026) Horstmann Cattle Company, owned and operated by August Horstmann in Gasconade County, is the latest ranch to earn the Nationwide Audubon Society’s Chicken-Pleasant Land Certification. Obtained by Audubon’s Conservation Ranching program, the certification acknowledges land managed to assist birds and biodiversity.

Audubon Conservation Ranching is a conservation, certification, and science-based program designed to reverse the decline of grassland birds whereas supporting ecologically and economically resilient farm and ranch operations. Since 1970, grassland birds have skilled the steepest inhabitants declines of any terrestrial biome. Habitat loss, degradation, woody encroachment, and intensive chemical use are among the many major drivers—challenges addressed by this system’s necessities for energetic grassland administration practices.

Situated within the Ozark Highlands of southeastern Gasconade County, Horstmann Cattle Firm encompasses a dynamic mixture of pasture, woodland, glade, and riparian habitat alongside Crimson Oak Creek. A family-operated farm, the ranch has been led by August Horstmann since 2012, when he started implementing regenerative grazing practices to construct soil well being, improve plant range, and work in nearer alignment with pure programs.

“For us, this certification displays years of studying tips on how to let nature lead,” stated August Horstmann, proprietor of Horstmann Cattle Firm. “By shifting cattle steadily and giving pastures the remainder they want, we’re seeing native grasses and wildflowers return. It’s rewarding to know that the way in which we elevate beef may create significant habitat for birds and different wildlife.”

Horstmann Cattle Firm joins a rising community of ranches—over 150 ranches encompassing 4.5 million acres—working for birds and folks as Audubon Licensed Chicken-Pleasant Land. To earn Audubon’s Chicken-Pleasant Land Certification, Horstmann Cattle Firm meets rigorous requirements for habitat administration, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare, all verified by third-party audits. The ranch’s Habitat Administration Plan outlines targets for enhancing current grassland chicken habitat, restoring native prairie, controlling invasive species akin to sericea lespedeza and bush honeysuckle, and reintroducing prescribed hearth and forest thinning to enhance open woodland and savanna construction.

Central to the ranch’s administration is a high-intensity, short-duration grazing strategy. Cattle are moved steadily—usually each day—utilizing moveable fencing and strategically positioned water infrastructure to make sure grazing distribution and defend delicate areas, together with riparian corridors. And sure pastures are designated to offer optimum nesting cowl throughout peak breeding season, with grazing deferred till mid-summer to assist ground-nesting birds. The result’s a habitat mosaic that streams throughout the panorama, principally a fascinating patchwork of differing vegetation heights and densities that advantages an array of chicken species.

The ranch can be working to transition fescue-dominated pastures to extra various native plant communities by interseeding and focused replanting of warm-season grasses akin to massive bluestem, little bluestem, and Indiangrass, alongside a strong mixture of native forbs. These efforts are anticipated to enhance forage resilience, improve pollinator habitat, improve soil carbon storage, and supply high-quality habitat construction for birds.

The fruits of those bird-friendly practices stands to assist the Japanese Meadowlark, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Bobwhite, Bobolink, Discipline Sparrow, Bell’s Vireo, and Crimson-headed Woodpecker—lots of that are designated as Birds of Conservation Concern or Species of Best Conservation Want in Missouri.

“Non-public lands are important to the way forward for Missouri’s grassland and savanna birds,” stated Tara Hohman, Senior Conservation Supervisor in Missouri for Audubon Higher Mississippi River. “The Horstmann household’s dedication to adaptive grazing, native plant restoration, and considerate woodland administration demonstrates epitomizes the time period ‘working lands’ in that their ranch is working in a large number of how for birds and folks.”

In partnership with the Missouri River Chicken Observatory and EarthOptics, Horstmann Ranch may also take part in ongoing chicken and soil well being monitoring. Avian surveys carried out each two to 3 years, together with baseline and repeat soil carbon sampling, will inform adaptive administration and assist quantify the ecological outcomes of the ranch’s conservation practices.

Extra funding for the Audubon Conservation Ranching in Missouri is supplied by the Love Basis.

For extra details about Audubon Conservation Ranching in Missouri, please contact Tara Hohman, Senior Conservation Supervisor, Audubon Higher Mississippi River. For nationwide program data, contact ConservationRanching@Audubon.org.

About Audubon Conservation Ranching

Audubon Conservation Ranching companions with ranchers to maintain wholesome grasslands, plentiful birdlife, and resilient rural communities. Via our bird-friendly land certification and science-based strategy, we empower land stewards to boost habitat, enhance soil well being and water high quality, and strengthen the connection between conservation and ranching. By buying merchandise from Audubon Licensed Chicken-Pleasant Land, customers develop into conservationists, serving to defend America’s grasslands and the birds, wildlife, and folks that rely on them. For extra data, go to www.audubon.org/ranching.