Each year, the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association chooses an outstanding cattle operation to nominate for the regional award. The 2020 Iowa Environmental Stewardship Program Award Winners are the Cass County Euken-Myers family including Michelle (Euken) Myers (’09 ag business) and Steve Myers (’10 ag business).
Beef production has been a life-long learning opportunity, passion and revenue stream for the Euken-Myers family. Randy and Jill Euken grew up with cattle on family farms and showed cattle as 4-H’ers. Their own farming operation was launched in 1978 when Randy started his farming career and purchased half of the cow herd from his landlord. Over the past 40 years, they have continued to grow and improve their cattle herd by carefully selecting replacement heifers and bulls, keeping and utilizing an extensive set of records, implementing the best practices for environmental stewardship and carefully tending to beef nutrition and herd health. These efforts have resulted in continued improvement in the performance and ROI for their operation and their reputations as good stewards of natural resources, life-long learners and good neighbors.