At Wineglass Ranch our management practices care for the environment. By managing land resources in partnership with nature we increase land productivity, optimize water resources, and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We operate our ranch with carbon neutral farming practices.

Silvopasture  is the practice of integrating and managing forage, livestock grazing and forestry in a mutually beneficial way. In 2008 we planted 2,500 trees, and in 2009 we planted 2,000 more trees. Trees are important to energy conservation and carbon dioxide absorption. One tree can clean the air for 4 people. The trees we planted will provide a windbreak shelter while our cows are grazing. A silvopastoral system can enhance soil protection and provide significant animal welfare benefits.

In our livestock operation we try to use environmentally sound manure management practices. The manure and urine is deposited and distributed on the land by the cow while grazing. The manure smell is not noticeable when your livestock are not confined in pens. Solar power is used for most of our electric fences.

Our oil pressing operation uses an expeller press to cold press oil seeds into an alternative fuel source and feed for all of our livestock. Our first year crushing canola oil we crushed and burned about 4200 litres of canola oil for fuel. The next year we crushed and burned about 8500 litres of canola oil. The pure canola oil burns clean in our engines and feeding the meal to livestock also helps the environment by reducing methane emissions from the animals. 525 litres of biodiesel = 1 Tonne in GHG, Green House Gas emission reduction.

Together with our children we are dedicated to being good stewards of the land. We enjoy sharing our experiences with other agriculturists, ranchers, farmers, and interested visitors. Our plan is to reduce our carbon footprint. We would like to leave a negative footprint.