Texas ranchers are battling right now - and if it’s not entirely a battle for their lives, it’s at least a fight for their livelihoods.
From changing weather, natural disasters and encroaching land development, ranchers are facing mounting pressures and for Chad Ellis, CEO of Texas Agricultural Land Trust, it all adds up to a grim picture for the future of the state’s working lands.
“We have 1,400 people moving to our state every day – that’s half a million people a year,” he said. “We are losing over a section of working lands per day, which amounts to 300,000 acres a year that is lost.
“Right now, we are asking ourselves ‘how do we come together, how do we stay in business and how can we be economically sustainable so that we can hand our legacy and our heritage to the next generation.’”
At the nexus of those challenges, Ellis says, is G Bar C Ranch, a multi-generation ranch that began in 1982 under the stewardship of owner, GC Ellis.
Located in Rosston, Texas, G Bar C Ranch sits just outside of the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex, square in the sights of expansion.
With a future-led approach in mind, daughter Meredith Ellis is applying a next generation scope to management of G Bar C Ranch, rooted in her family’s love of the land.
“For the past 40 years, my dad has been taking care of this land and I feel like that’s the most important thing for us to continue doing now,” Meredith Ellis said.
This guiding principle was enough to garner the ranch the prestigious 2023 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Environmental Stewardship National Award.
In May, the Ellis family will open up award-winning G Bar C Ranch so that Trust In Beef can highlight their sustainability and bring practical on-ranch education to fellow Texas producers.
“GC, Meredith and the G Bar C Ranch team are on the leading edge of using regenerative practices, technology and top-tier animal health to accomplish the resilience they need to ensure their legacy into the next generation,” said Jimmy Emmons, Oklahoma rancher and SVP of Climate-Smart Programs, who oversees the value-chain collaborative program Trust In Beef.
“It was a natural fit for us to kick off the 2024 Sustainable Ranchers Tour at G Bar C,” continued Jimmy, “Other ranchers who are facing the same challenges can see what solutions are working well at G Bar C Ranch, both for the environment and for the bottom line.”
For Trust In Beef, these tour stops will allow rancher-led knowledge sharing and networking while also providing innovation and resources from value chain leaders.
Among the Trust In Beef Partners joining the first stop of the 2024 Sustainable Rancher Tour is Merck Animal Health. For Merck, the values that G Bar C Ranch place on animal welfare on their ranch represent key pillars of sustainability.
“Healthy animals help to sustain our industry and the environment as healthy animals are more productive and use fewer resources,” said Kevin Mobley, Merck’s executive director of sales and marketing. “Merck Animal Health is committed to shaping the future of animal health by partnering with ranchers to assist them with their herd health needs and in their sustainability journey.”
To that end, the animal health company will be on-hand to provide ranchers with education on land management, animal management and animal welfare, including
technologies such as Vence, a virtual fencing tool that can help facilitate rotational grazing, according to Mobley.
While the 2024 Sustainable Ranchers Tour begins in Texas this May, it’s making monthly stops across the U.S. throughout the summer and early fall, providing not only in-field learning and education, but also the chance to continue the conversation through a virtual peer network of likeminded producers, providing ranchers ongoing support in their conservation journey.
Registration is still open for this free tour. Learn more and make plans to join the Texas stop or another closer to you by visiting Trust In Beef.
