Missouri’s Horstmann Cattle Company Earns Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Land Certification

OWENSVILLE, Missouri (April 29, 2026) Horstmann Cattle Company, owned and operated by August Horstmann in Gasconade County, is the newest ranch to earn the National Audubon Society’s Bird-Friendly Land Certification. Obtained through Audubon’s Conservation Ranching program, the certification recognizes land managed to support birds and biodiversity.

Audubon Conservation Ranching is a conservation, certification, and science-based program designed to reverse the decline of grassland birds while supporting ecologically and economically resilient farm and ranch operations. Since 1970, grassland birds have experienced the steepest population declines of any terrestrial biome. Habitat loss, degradation, woody encroachment, and intensive chemical use are among the primary drivers—challenges addressed through the program’s requirements for active grassland management practices.

Located in the Ozark Highlands of southeastern Gasconade County, Horstmann Cattle Company encompasses a dynamic mix of pasture, woodland, glade, and riparian habitat along Red Oak Creek. A family-operated farm, the ranch has been led by August Horstmann since 2012, when he began implementing regenerative grazing practices to build soil health, increase plant diversity, and work in closer alignment with natural systems.

“For us, this certification reflects years of learning how to let nature lead,” said August Horstmann, owner of Horstmann Cattle Company. “By moving cattle frequently and giving pastures the rest they need, we’re seeing native grasses and wildflowers return. It’s rewarding to know that the way we raise beef can also create meaningful habitat for birds and other wildlife.”

Horstmann Cattle Company joins a growing network of ranches—over 150 ranches encompassing 4.5 million acres—working for birds and people as Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Land. To earn Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Land Certification, Horstmann Cattle Company meets rigorous standards for habitat management, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare, all verified through third-party audits. The ranch’s Habitat Management Plan outlines goals for enhancing existing grassland bird habitat, restoring native prairie, controlling invasive species such as sericea lespedeza and bush honeysuckle, and reintroducing prescribed fire and forest thinning to improve open woodland and savanna structure.

Central to the ranch’s management is a high-intensity, short-duration grazing approach. Cattle are moved frequently—often daily—using portable fencing and strategically placed water infrastructure to ensure grazing distribution and protect sensitive areas, including riparian corridors. And certain pastures are designated to provide optimal nesting cover during peak breeding season, with grazing deferred until mid-summer to support ground-nesting birds. The result is a habitat mosaic that streams across the landscape, basically a desirable patchwork of differing vegetation heights and densities that benefits an array of bird species.

The ranch is also working to transition fescue-dominated pastures to more diverse native plant communities through interseeding and targeted replanting of warm-season grasses such as big bluestem, little bluestem, and Indiangrass, alongside a robust mix of native forbs. These efforts are expected to improve forage resilience, increase pollinator habitat, enhance soil carbon storage, and provide high-quality habitat structure for birds.

The culmination of these bird-friendly practices stands to help the Eastern Meadowlark, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Bobwhite, Bobolink, Field Sparrow, Bell's Vireo, and Red-headed Woodpecker—many of which are designated as Birds of Conservation Concern or Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Missouri.

“Private lands are essential to the future of Missouri’s grassland and savanna birds,” said Tara Hohman, Senior Conservation Manager in Missouri for Audubon Upper Mississippi River. “The Horstmann family’s commitment to adaptive grazing, native plant restoration, and thoughtful woodland management demonstrates epitomizes the term ‘working lands’ in that their ranch is working in a multitude of ways for birds and people.”

In partnership with the Missouri River Bird Observatory and EarthOptics, Horstmann Ranch will also participate in ongoing bird and soil health monitoring. Avian surveys conducted every two to three years, along with baseline and repeat soil carbon sampling, will inform adaptive management and help quantify the ecological outcomes of the ranch’s conservation practices.

Additional funding for the Audubon Conservation Ranching in Missouri is provided by the Love Foundation.

For more information about Audubon Conservation Ranching in Missouri, please contact Tara Hohman, Senior Conservation Manager, Audubon Upper Mississippi River. For national program information, contact ConservationRanching@Audubon.org.

About Audubon Conservation Ranching

Audubon Conservation Ranching partners with ranchers to sustain healthy grasslands, abundant birdlife, and resilient rural communities. Through our bird-friendly land certification and science-based approach, we empower land stewards to enhance habitat, improve soil health and water quality, and strengthen the connection between conservation and ranching. By purchasing products from Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Land, consumers become conservationists, helping protect America’s grasslands and the birds, wildlife, and people that depend on them. For more information, visit www.audubon.org/ranching.