Mark Gutierrez was right earlier this summer when he said the inaugural Minnesota Leopold Conservation Award is yielding solid applications, and four finalists rose to the top of the list.

Gutierrez is executive director of the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition, which is one of the award’s state sponsors along with Soil Regen.

Having the Leopold Award available in Minnesota “is a really good opportunity to recognize Minnesota farmers for the great conservation they’re doing across the land, improving the environment, improving soil health and improving their profitability,” Gutierrez said in an earlier interview.