By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor
During the 2021 Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Young Farmer & Rancher (YF&R) Fall Tour, 118 farmers and ranchers from 18 to 35 years of age spent a weekend in North Central Texas learning more about the region’s agricultural impact.
Equine facilities, beef cattle, dairies and more were on the agenda for the annual two-day event.
“We have such a variety in agricultural production in Texas, so this fall, our advisory committee found some unique operations to show people that they may not otherwise be exposed to,” TFB YF&R Advisory Committee Chair Kaylin Isbell said.
The first stop of the experience was at the King Ranch Turfgrass Granbury production facility. The King Ranch—the same legendary operation known for developing the Santa Gertrudis cattle breed—has 12 farms across the state growing more than 13,000 acres of sod grass for commercial and residential needs, said Granbury Operations Manager Nick Ashley.
A suburban residential neighborhood has sprung up around the Granbury location over the years, leading to some unique challenges. Residents complain about the noise and dust stirred up by the equipment, and they often have questions about the pesticides used by the farm.
But the frustrations go both ways. Ashley recounted how a group of local youth turned a turfgrass field into a sledding and mudding rink after this year’s winter freeze, leading to costly and extensive repairs.
Other people have been found poaching on the premises, leading to a state game investigation and ongoing legal case. And yet others seem to think the turfgrass fields and well-maintained ditches are perfect dumping grounds. Ashley noted the farm’s employees routinely haul away discarded mattresses, couches and trash to the city landfill, taking time and effort away from the main focus of growing sod.
The group also visited Oswood Stallion Station in Weatherford. Oswood specializes in breeding cutting, reining and cow horse stallions using both on-site and AI techniques. The young farmers and ranchers were able to interact with many of the yearlings being boarded at the facility.
The next stop was at Ellison Carter Cattle Co. in Santo.
Second-generation cattle broker Walton Carter explained how his family’s business purchases lightweight cattle from smaller ranches and creates value by matching them into bigger lots for sale. Nine out of every 10 loads are headed to feeders in the Texas Panhandle, according to Carter.
It was a different take on one of Texas’ most popular agricultural sectors, said Wilson County rancher AJ Pardo. He and his grandfather run a 300-head cow-calf operation where they background the weaned calves until they are about 800 pounds and send them to feedyards.
“This operation was different because they help people who don’t have big enough operations to fill contracts or sell directly on their own,” Pardo said. “Whereas we could sell truckloads of cattle all at once, Carter Cattle Co. helps those who maybe only can sell 20 or 30 at a time.”
Tarleton State University in Stephenville was the final stop of the day. Representatives of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources led participants on a guided bus tour of the university’s agricultural facilities and provided dinner at the newly-acquired rodeo arena.
In addition to livestock equipment and boarding facilities, the college plans to add a weight room, exercise equipment and physical trainers on staff, because the rodeo team are student athletes, just the same as those who participate in other university sports.
The group also toured the Brazos Valley Stallion Station and Equine Rehabilitation facility in Stephenville. General Manager Frank Merrill explained the operation’s equine rehabilitation, sale fitting services, breeding and mare care facilities.
Brazos Valley Stallion Station is home to the No. 1 National Cutting Horse Association stud Metallic Cat, which sired more than $1 million in winners at the 2021 NCHA Super Stakes, as well as top barrel racing sire Eddie Stinson.
Other stops included Ned-Tex Dairy and Volleman’s Family Farm.
At Ned-Tex in Stephenville, Thomson Services owners Colin and April Thomson led participants on a tour of the dairy while discussing their dairy services operation. They sell and service all manner of dairy business needs to more than 40 dairy farms around Central Texas.
Ned-Tex, where the Thompsons installed and maintain Lely brand dairy equipment, is a fully-automated robotic dairy. Each cow of the 1,110-head herd is milked at-will once every eight hours by robotic milkers, producing two 48,000-pound loads of milk each day.
Volleman’s is a vertically integrated dairy in Gustine that produces, bottles, delivers and sells milk under the Volleman’s Family Farm brand. Another unique aspect of their milk is the returnable glass bottle. Consumers pay a $2 deposit for each bottle that is refundable when the rinsed bottles are returned to any participating store.
Pardo’s wife, Illusion Hernandez, said the dairies were a big attraction for many on the tour.
“We were able to see what the product looks like from when it comes out of the cow to being bottled and sold in stores and everything in between,” she said.
Beef cattle production was in the spotlight, as well, with tours of Evans Farms and Artesian Ranch.
Evans Farms is a Black Angus seedstock operation in Proctor owned and operated by third-generation rancher Dr. Bill Evans.
As someone who grew up on an Angus beef cattle operation, Montgomery County Farm Bureau member Shannon Norris-Parish said she was “nerding out” about visiting Evans Farms. And as an assistant professor of Agricultural Communications at New Mexico State University, she was excited about bringing back the scope and variety of agriculture she experienced on the tour.
“Being able to take this back to the classroom is really valuable because if we’re talking about ways my students can plug in with their careers or things they can do as a passion project, the possibilities are endless in agriculture,” Norris-Parish said. “This experience helps reinforce this.”
The final experience of the tour before dinner at a local winery was a visit to Artesian Ranch in Gustine, where owner Dr. Robert King and managers Tim and Susie Stallings run a cattle, pecan and vacation rental operation.
Artesian Ranch raises Akaushi beef for direct-to-consumer sales using Akaushi, Angus, Red Angus and Angus-cross genetics. They also manage a 5,000-tree native pecan orchard.
The Bell House vacation rental, located along the picturesque Leon River, is another revenue stream for the diversified operation. Lodgers may bring pets and even board their horses during their stay on the working ranch.
Experiences like the Fall Tour are important for young farmers and ranchers because it brings in the next generation of Farm Bureau leaders, according to Isbell.
“The fun activities are the ones that get people hooked. My husband and I went to a Fall Tour in Amarillo six or seven years ago, and then we started attending other YF&R events from there,” Isbell said. “Fall Tour is how we get them interested, then we start trying to get people to attend the YF&R Leadership Conference and get them serving on their county boards and other leadership roles from there. It’s so important to have a fun event that’s still educational and offers enough reason to leave our own operations and experience other types of agriculture.”
Click here to see more photos from the event.
For more information about other YF&R activities, visit texasfarmbureau.org/YFR.