Dockter-Jensen Ranch in North Dakota: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Dockter-Jensen Ranch is a family beef cattle ranch near Denhoff in Sheridan County, North Dakota, built on Missouri Coteau native prairie. It received the 2020 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award for grazing, wildlife and grassland stewardship.
| Location | Near Denhoff, Sheridan County, North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Founded | Operated by the Dockter family for about four decades under Kerry and Brenda; renamed when Kristi and Kyle Jensen joined |
| Sectors | Beef cattle on native grassland; hay; some cropland |
| Scale | Acreage not published in the sources reviewed |
| Why it is elite | 2020 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award; 1994 Sheridan County Soil Conservation Achievement Award |
| Ownership | Family: Kerry and Brenda Dockter, Kristi and Kyle Jensen |
| Official website | Leopold Conservation Award announcement (no official site found) |
History of Dockter-Jensen Ranch
Kerry Dockter returned home after college to ranch with his parents, Theo and Norma. Over about four decades he and his wife Brenda became known for testing land management ideas, and the ranch was called Dockter Ranch until their daughter Kristi and her husband Kyle Jensen moved back to help run it. It then became Dockter-Jensen Ranch.
The family has received the Sheridan County Soil Conservation Achievement Award, in 1994, and has been active in local school, township, fire department and agricultural organizations.
What Dockter-Jensen Ranch Grows and Raises
Native grasslands are the backbone of the grazing operation. The family uses rotational grazing with longer recovery periods to encourage diverse native grasses, an extended grazing season and winter forage production. The ranch sits in the Missouri Coteau, where wetlands and prairie support waterfowl and grassland birds.
Conservation work includes prescribed burns with The Nature Conservancy for wildlife and pollinators, haying after mid-July so ground-nesting birds can hatch, conservation easements on native grassland and wetlands, and research with North Dakota State University on grazing and waterfowl. Elsewhere on the ranch, crop rotations, no-till and cover crops are used.
How Dockter-Jensen Ranch Makes Money
Beef cattle
The ranch is built around beef cattle grazing native grass, with an extended grazing season reducing the cost of purchased feed.
Forage
Winter forage and hay, cut after mid-July, support cattle through the North Dakota winter.
Conservation partnerships
Easements, burns and research partnerships with groups such as The Nature Conservancy and NDSU are described in the award announcement as part of the stewardship program.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Dockter-Jensen Ranch
Native grass is an asset. A rancher who protects it can graze longer and spend less on feed while also earning recognition and partnerships.
Timing is cheap management: delaying hay cutting protects nesting birds without a large expense. The family's decades of testing also show the value of trying practices on small acreage first.
If a ranch is a duck factory, the Dockter-Jensen cows must be the quality control department. Readers of farm.FM who like farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes may enjoy imagining mid-July hay crews tiptoeing past a nest. We say it with respect for a family whose idea of a deadline is when the ducklings hatch.
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 Dockter-Jensen Ranch
No official website was found in the sources reviewed, so this link is the 2020 Leopold Conservation Award announcement, November 2026. Business contact details were not confirmed; verify before traveling.
Dockter-Jensen Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Sand County Foundation: 2020 award - Leopold Conservation Award announcement for the ranch
- Minot Daily News: Denhoff family recognized - News coverage of the award and family history
- Leopold Conservation Award in North Dakota - Program details and nominations
- USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture: North Dakota - State farm numbers, land and sales
- USDA Census of Agriculture - National census program and data
Dockter-Jensen Ranch FAQ
Where is Dockter-Jensen Ranch?
Near Denhoff in Sheridan County, North Dakota.
What does the ranch raise?
Beef cattle on native grassland, with hay and some cropland.
What award did it win?
The 2020 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award.
Who runs it?
Kerry and Brenda Dockter with their daughter Kristi and her husband Kyle Jensen.
Dockter-Jensen Ranch demonstrates what native grass and patient management can deliver. For the broader picture, see the North Dakota farms guide linked on this site.