Texas Agriculture Daily

By Julie Tomascik
Editor

Tradition runs deep for Travis and Kaylin Isbell, who are leaving their mark on Texas agriculture.

The young couple raises commercial cattle, stocker cattle and Dorper sheep on their Williamson County ranch.

After graduating from Tarleton State University, the high school sweethearts came back to Florence to take over Travis’ family’s ranch.

“Since we came back, we’ve added more leased land to the operation,” Travis said. “But we’re also focusing more on soil health, land stewardship and increasing our carrying capacity, so we’re not just leasing more land, but we’re getting more out of the land that we already have.”

They implemented no-till farming practices and rotational grazing, as well as added cover crops to increase plant diversity and organic matter. They also diversified by adding a flock of Dorper sheep, in partnership with Travis’ parents, and custom hay work.

But urbanization and water issues could limit their opportunities to expand.

“There has been a significant increase in growth and development in the area over the last three years,” Travis said. “That’s putting pressure on our water and natural resources and taking prime agricultural land out of production.”

Despite the challenges that urbanization brings, the Isbells persevere. Their kids—Trigg and Kyndall—can be found riding horseback through the herd, helping process cattle and caring for the horses and livestock.

“What makes us a little unique is that we do the majority of our cow work on horseback,” Kaylin said. “We try to preserve the ranching heritage. We’ve added technology to our operation, but we still like to do a lot of the work in the traditional way.”

And for Travis and Kaylin, having their kids working alongside them is what it means to be a family ranch.

“I think it’s important to have our kids grow up in this lifestyle,” Travis said. “Seeing our kids help us, learn from us and work with us, well, it’s just something we knew we wanted. We wanted them to be raised in this type of environment.”

They’re instilling a passion for agriculture in their kids and showing them the value of hard work.

“We’ve always said ‘quality over quantity.’ We don’t want to be the biggest, but we want to raise high-quality cattle and high-quality forage that we can be proud of,” Kaylin said.

As a family, they stay busy. Travis and Kaylin are active in numerous organizations, including Texas Farm Bureau. Kaylin is also a part-time farm and ranch real estate agent, and Travis manages two other local ranches. Their kids are active in school, rodeo and have started showing sheep.

Through the hectic days and busy seasons, the couple remains steadfast in their faith, family and agriculture.

“In our operation and our life, our faith comes first. Even if it’s a super busy time of the year, we make sure that we’re at church, and our kids are at church,” she said. “Putting faith first and then having family second has always been our priorities.”

And they both want consumers to understand they are caring for the land, the animals and natural resources.

“The biggest thing is just how important these animals are to us—that we’re caring for them, not mistreating them,” Travis said. “I wish consumers could come spend a day with us to see how we care for our livestock.”

It’s also important to the Isbells that land is kept in agricultural production wherever possible and to stay profitable so the next generation can carry on the tradition of the family’s ranching heritage.

“We think it’s so important to keep land in agricultural production,” Kaylin said. “We want our kids to be able to work this land. We’re fourth-generation ranchers on this place. It’s important to us that it stays that way and that the land continues to be used how God intended it to be used.”