“If grazing is not the answer, you are asking the wrong questions.” -Logan Pribbeno
By: Director of Membership-Retention Jessie Rudolph
As Director of Membership-Retention for Nebraska Cattlemen, one of the best parts of my job is getting to travel across the beef state, meet with beef cattle producers, and participate in ranch tours. Last month, I traveled to Imperial for the Nebraska Beef Systems Extension 2022 Summer Stocker/Yearling meeting and tour. Attendees spent the morning receiving updates on important research, calf health system approaches, and ways to use technology for disease detection.
Following the morning program, the group headed out to the infamous Wine Glass Ranch, which is owned by Nebraska Cattlemen members Logan and Brianna Pribbeno, to learn about their yearling management. I was excited for this tour as I believe ranchers are the original conservationists. The Pribbenos won the prestigious 2022 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award.
Logan Pribbeno is the fourth generation of his family to manage the ranch, and he describes himself as a second-generation conservationist.
“If grazing is not the answer, you are asking the wrong questions.”
-Logan Pribbeno
Logan discussed how their successful conservation efforts are a result of his father, Jeff Pribbeno’s visions. Jeff implemented rotational grazing in the 90s and practiced no-till farming before it was widely utilized. The Wine Glass Ranch currently produces Angus-Hereford cross cows that they call “Wine Glass Easy-Keepers.” The cows graze 365 days a year. One of Pribbeno’s mottos is, “Graze anything, anytime, anywhere.” The strategy with grazing is to maximize yield per acre and produce low-input cows. At the Wine Glass Ranch, cows are turned out in April to utilize cool season grasses. The ranch also rents residue pasture and cover crops to benefit other landowners and soil health.
“Graze anything, anytime, anywhere.”
Teamwork is a core theme for the ranch, which employs assistant managers, ranch hands, equipment operators, and temporary workers. Logan says, “This is not the Logan or Jeff Pribbeno ranch, this is the Wine Glass Ranch, and we work as a team.”
Logan says, “This is not the Logan or Jeff Pribbeno ranch, this is the Wine Glass Ranch, and we work as a team.”
Another program that requires teamwork is the ranch’s stocker program. Logan says the Wine Glass does a very good job starting natural calves. Pribbeno purchases weaned calves from the Rocky Mountain Region and introduce them to cornstalk grazing, wheat pasture, native range, and silage throughout the year. The primary product is a nine-weight Gap 4 yearling. The ranch specializes in other program cattle such as NHTC, Verified Natural, CARE, and others. Pribbeno finishes some cattle on grass that consumers can purchase in quarters.
The Wine Glass Ranch is in the beef cattle business for the long haul and strives for productive and progressive plants and animals.
To learn more about Wine Glass Ranch, visit www.wineglassranchinc.com. To learn about the Leopold Conservation Award, visit www.sandcountyfoundation.org.
