From Donation to Dedication
April 17, 2026
What started as a Case IH donation to the NCF annual auction in 2010 has since turned into a passion for Patti Lardie. Her conservation journey is unique, and the results of her dedication have reached the next generation of conservation leaders in many ways.
Lardie began her career at Case IH without much knowledge of agricultural equipment. While laughing, she described, “I didn’t know a disc harrow from a manure spreader, so let's see what we do.”
How a simple ask turned into a lifelong mission
But that was just at the beginning. Lardie was a quick learner. Over the next 43 years, she thrived at Case IH, holding various positions throughout the company. When she worked as the government sales manager in 2010, she was approached by the president of NACD about whether Case IH would sponsor the annual meeting and the NCF-Envirothon competition. Lardie attended the annual meeting that spring, felt it was an extremely worthy cause, and was able to donate a Case IH tractor to the live auction for the next meeting. The following year, Lardie and Case IH donated two tractors. In 2026, Case IH donated four tractors for the annual meeting and fundraising auction.
After she retired from Case IH, Lardie was honored as a lifetime friend of NACD for her involvement in the relationship between NACD and Case IH. Later that year, she was nominated as a trustee of the foundation and was appointed secretary. She was excited to get to work. Lardie jumped right in, helping to develop the NGLI program, serving as a judge for NCF-Envirothon, and leading the award ceremony for the NCF-Envirothon competition.
Excitement for the impact of NCF’s programs
Lardie shared that she has realized that conservation programs have a vast impact, far beyond what many people realize. “For sponsors, programs like Envirothon not only educate about important topics such as where their food comes from, but it also educates youth as potential future employees.”
When asked how she would describe NCF's direction for the future, Lardie picked “engagement.” She shared how the focus is to continue engagement on all layers, from youth to manufacturers and producers.
NCF’s two main education programs, Envirothon and NGLI, have been created to involve and educate the next generation of conservation leaders.
“We’ve got homeruns going on!” Lardie excitedly shared about the success of the NGLI program. Each year since 2019, a group of conservation leaders has joined as a cohort that aims to educate, train, and prepare its members for advocacy, public policy, communication, leadership, media engagement, conflict management, and team building. Lardie acknowledges that many of the cohort members have a great deal of knowledge and drive. However, she feels this program also provides the missing piece for creating well-rounded conservation advocates: confidence.
As fewer and fewer people have connections to agriculture, Lardie sees the potential NCF has to educate and promote conservation for the next generation. “We need to have a broad audience to get as many people involved with the foundation as possible. We have to be able to get the folks with the tools and information connected to those making decisions so they can make informed choices,” she said.
About NCF
The mission of the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) is to identify and advance strategic programs and partnerships to deliver conservation solutions through locally led conservation and to develop the next generation of conservation leaders. Learn more at www.nationalconservationfoundation.org