Worth Ranch in Nebraska: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Worth Ranch of Springview in Keya Paha County is a roughly 8,000-acre Angus cattle ranch that won the 2024 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award. Founded on a first purchase of 1,424 acres in 1962, it has grown more than fivefold and manages grass across 40 pastures with a documented grazing plan and more than 22,000 trees planted since 1971.
| Location | Springview, Keya Paha County, Nebraska |
|---|---|
| Founded | First land purchased by Malvern 'Cork' Worth in 1962, a parcel of 1,424 acres |
| Sectors | Angus beef cattle; custom pasture grazing; tree planting |
| Scale | About 8,000 acres today; grazing rotated across 40 pastures (Sand County Foundation) |
| Why it is elite | 2024 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award, presented by Sand County Foundation and partners |
| Ownership | Worth family; Cork and Janet Worth named by the award sponsors |
| Official website | Sand County Foundation page on Worth Ranch (award announcement, not an operation website) |
History of Worth Ranch
Sand County Foundation reports that Malvern 'Cork' Worth bought his first land in 1962, when the parcel totaled 1,424 acres. Over the following decades he and his wife Janet expanded the ranch to about 8,000 acres in the hills of Keya Paha County, near Springview on the northern edge of the Nebraska Sandhills region.
Since 1971 the family has planted more than 22,000 trees, including shelterbelts, some with drip irrigation and mulch. In April 2024 the ranch was announced as the Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award recipient, a prize that carries $10,000 and a crystal award presented at the annual meeting of the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (AFAN). The first Nebraska award went to Wilson Ranch of Lakeside in 2006.
What Worth Ranch Grows and Raises
The ranch raises Angus beef cattle and manages its grass with rotational grazing across 40 pastures. The stocking rate described by the family is about ten acres to the cow, and they aim to take no more than half of the year's grass growth. They have reduced their own herd and now pasture cattle for five local families during the grazing season.
Water and fencing support the plan. A livestock water pipeline, cross fencing and two water tanks per pasture are supplied by electric submersible wells, windmills and solar wells. The family also practices early detection and rapid response on weeds and keeps habitat for pollinators, turkeys, grassland birds and deer. Shelterbelts protect livestock and soils from the wind.
How Worth Ranch Makes Money
Angus beef cattle
The ranch's own Angus herd is the traditional core of the operation. Grazing plans that leave half the year's grass in place protect the forage base that the herd depends on.
Custom pasture grazing
Pasturing cattle for five local families during the grazing season converts grass into income without the ranch carrying every animal year-round. It also lets the ranch adjust numbers to rainfall.
Land stewardship value
The ranch has invested for decades in trees, water infrastructure and pasture rotation. The sources do not state revenue, but these investments protect production and land value.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Worth Ranch
The first lesson is flexibility. By reducing its own herd and taking in neighbors' cattle, the ranch ties stocking to grass and weather rather than to a fixed head count, which is a practical way to handle drought years.
The second lesson is long-term infrastructure. Two tanks per pasture, pipelines and cross fencing make rotation possible, and rotation is what lets the ranch leave grass behind. The third is persistence: more than 22,000 trees planted over five decades show how steady small projects add up.
A ranch that plants trees for fifty years and counts two tanks per pasture is a ranch that has learned patience from the Sandhills wind, and farm.FM salutes that. If you need farm satire after another round of fence repair, farm humor about windmills that only turn when no one is watching, ranch humor from Keya Paha County or a few farm jokes about the trees that finally made it, the Worths have clearly earned a laugh.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
How to Contact Worth Ranch
Website: https://sandcountyfoundation.org/news/2024/worth-ranch-receives-nebraska-leopold-conservation-award
No separate operation website was found in this research, so the link is the best verified public page about the operation (November 2026). Confirm details with the family or the award sponsors before traveling.
Worth Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Sand County Foundation award announcement - 2024 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award details
- Drovers on Worth Ranch - trade coverage of the award
- Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska - AFAN, a presenting partner of the Leopold award, listed by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture
- USDA NRCS in Nebraska - federal conservation program contact listed by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture
- USDA Census of Agriculture - national and state farm statistics from NASS
Worth Ranch FAQ
Where is Worth Ranch?
It is based in Springview in Keya Paha County, Nebraska.
How big is Worth Ranch?
Sand County Foundation says it covers about 8,000 acres, up from a 1,424-acre first parcel bought in 1962.
What award did Worth Ranch win?
It received the 2024 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award.
What does Worth Ranch raise?
Angus beef cattle, and it pastures cattle for five local families during the grazing season.
Worth Ranch shows how a Sandhills-edge ranch can grow slowly, plan its grass carefully and earn state recognition. See the Nebraska farms guide for regional context on grazing, water and conservation programs.