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Glenowen Farm, owned by the Thomas family of Round Hill, Va., was recognized as a 2012 regional Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) winner during the 2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver, Colo. Glenowen Farm is the Region I ESAP award winner and will compete with six other regional winners for the national ESAP award, which will be announced during the 2012 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show in Tampa, Fla. The ESAP award is sponsored by Dow AgroSciences; the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); U.S. Fish and Wildlife; the National Cattlemen's Foundation; and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). Glenowen Farm sits at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest corner of Loudoun County, approximately 60 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. The Thomas family has owned Glenowen since 1784 and it has been designated as a Virginia Century Farm. Glenowen Farm comprises approximately 800 acres and produces registered Angus cattle for sale to beef cattle producers and freezer beef for local consumers. The farm also raises all the required crops (corn, barley and orchard grass hay) to feed the cattle and periodically sells excess bushel corn and orchard grass round bales of hay. The Thomas family has demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to sustainability through implementing a dedicated conservation plan over the past 10 years. The family has accomplished a generational change in ownership and management, renovated the 250 year-old homestead, placed a conservation easement on 400 acres, implemented farm Best Management Practices, installed a new water system to transform the property into compliance with the Chesapeake Bay Act, constructed new electric fences to utilize efficient rotational grazing strategies, constructed cattle handling facilities to improve herd genetics and health, and protected abundant wildlife and habitat on the property. "The stewardship efforts of the Thomas family are evidenced in all aspects of their operation," said Leslie Grayson, Deputy Director of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. "The permanent protection of the property with an easement is coupled with land management practices and business decisions that assure the land will be in good condition and available for future generations to farm." Through a dedication to responsible environmental practices and conservation, NCBA has represented America's cattle producers since 1898, preserving the heritage and strength of the industry through education and public policy. As the largest association of cattle producers, NCBA works to create new markets and increase demand for beef. The National Cattlemen's Foundation (NCF) advances the future of the beef industry by assisting in the education of the next generation of beef industry professionals. For more information, visit www.nationalcattlemensfoundation.org.