Conservation champions in Montana's Missouri River Breaks

Pheasants Forever's 2025/2026 Farmer of the Year Award, sponsored by John Deere, is presented to Scott Hauer and the TK and Co LLLP Ranch of Winifred, Montana. The annual award recognizes the innovative use of precision ag technology and utilization of data to identify profitable solutions for agriculture and wildlife on working lands throughout America.

The TK and Co LLLP Ranch owned by Scott Hauer and his family lies in the Missouri River Breaks of north-central Montana. One of the most awe-inspiring and wildlife-rich places in the country, the Missouri Breaks are the perfect location for Hauer's combination of agriculture and conservation.

He and his family live and breathe conservation and ranching at every level and hold an incredible commitment to numerous conservation organizations — including Pheasants Forever. Hauer initially began his partnership through the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), a key component of Pheasants Forever's Montana Grasslands Initiative.

"That project was 17 miles of fence, five or six miles of water and maybe nine or 10 new water tanks," Hauer said. "Then Pheasants Forever and Winnett ACES partnered with us on 10.4 additional miles of fence."

These projects are a great example of the diversity of conservation practices, and of Pheasants Forever's work in Montana. While Hauer's ranch is producing high quality habitat for upland and grassland birds, it's also making a difference for big game species.

"There are areas of the ranch that did not see antelope, because it was completely fenced off with 100-year-old, woven wire," said Joshua Hobbs, a Pheasants Forever coordinating wildlife biologist in Montana. "Now those areas have antelope on them."

In the time since he first partnered with Pheasants Forever, Hauer's conservation practices have extended far beyond fence removal and management. The ranch has incorporated numerous land and resource conservation practices such as drought management, as well as targeted grazing and rotational grazing efforts. They've also restored disturbed land through native grass seedings and even promoting science-based wildlife monitoring.

"I was a little hesitant when I first heard that Scott was putting in for all these grants and working with Pheasants Forever on these projects," said TJ Butcher, the ranch manager for H&H Land and Cattle. "But it's been awesome. They've been willing to work around what we want, and it's improved the land so much."

Balancing conservation with a profitable operation is the key to any partnership like Hauer's. And he has struck that balance beautifully with his work.

Hauer's mindset is growing in Montana, as well as across farming and ranching communities all over the country. It's operations like the TK that will pave the way for the future of conservation, according to PF biologist Joshua Hobbs.

"Scott Hauer is a younger rancher, and you really see a generational change in how our ranching and farming operations are going," he said. "More ranchers interested in soil health, more ranchers interested in the species of grass on the landscape — and how many species are out there. Ranchers like Scott are really leading the charge."