Sam and Margaret Jones raise Angus beef cattle at Bar J Grassfed Beef, Inc. in Coupland, Texas.

Bill and Margot Heard were looking for a ranch within driving distance of Houston, where they operate two private schools and an open enrollment charter school. Ideally, they were looking for an operating cattle ranch with a family-oriented home and acreage. They wanted to get back to the land in a natural setting and to incorporate a ranch into a plan that coordinated with the family and school operations.

Larry and Jacque are growers o’naturale. They have peaches, table grapes, strawberries and blackberries. Yes, they also grow veggies from A-Z. With 8 acres in production using pesticide-free methods they stay pretty busy. One of the keys for them is the use of chicken manure from their flock of 100 heritage breed chickens for fertilizer. Even before they had heard of Animal Welfare Approved they were using humane practices raising and handling their birds. It was a perfect fit, and they ended-up being the first poultry farmers in Oklahoma to be certified by Animal Welfare Approved.

McCollum-Lemke Ranches is a fourth generation, family-owned farming and ranching business that has been in continuous operation for over one hundred years. The family produces all-natural, forage finished cattle, sheep and goats in Mason and Menard counties in Texas. Animals are raised humanely and in sync with the way nature raises animals in the wild. This allows the operation to stay away from chemical inputs and utilize the natural forage base.

Kelly and Wesley Adams are a husband-and-wife team who run their grassfed beef operation out of Ladonia, Texas. They are members of the Grassfed Livestock Alliance, a cooperative formed to provide a fair sustainable market for family owned and operated farms and ranches that put their care, labor and reputation into the quality of the beef they raise. Kelly and Wesley sold their conventional herd in 1994 to begin a pasture-based system. They are happy now to operate without the use of confinement, synthetic pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers. They explain, “We believe healthy soil is the basis of animal and plant health, and ultimately, human health. All animals in our grazing program are raised on grass from birth.” Kelly and Wesley chose to change the way they did business for their animals’ welfare and for the nutritional and health benefits of pasture-raised beef.

Ann and Weldon Warren of Holy Cow Beef operate an Angus cow and calf operation that produces the highest quality “home-grown, grass-raised & grass-finished beef”. Their ranch does not depend on feedlots, grain, or corn feeding to produce meat. Instead they utilize rotational pasture grazing on native Texas grasses, winter annuals, and select introduced grasses. Not only does this make for healthy cows, but also a healthy environment.

Shape Ranch, producer of Thunder Heart Bison, is owned and run by Hugh and Sarah Fitzsimons. The ranch was purchased by Hugh’s grandfather, H. A. Fitzsimons, in 1933 and it has been in the family ever since. Although originally stocked with Hereford cattle and steers, Hugh made the spontaneous decision to begin a herd of bison and now raises 350 head. Not only are bison indigenous to Texas, and therefore naturally adapted to live off the land, but they also produce a very healthy meat. Hugh appreciates this, noting, “Bison is probably the purest form of protein you can find.” Bison meat is low in cholesterol and fat and high in omega 3.

Gary and Lauren Nitschke’s Circle N Ranch is 3,100 acres of gently rolling hills and forest. A creek wanders through it from north to south and wildlife abounds. The core of Circle N Ranch has been in Gary Nitschke’s family for more than 50 years, and the family has added to it as land became available.