Dynamic Ranching, Texas Style
by Greta Hunter Watson and Nessa Richman 
(This article is excerpted from Farming More Sustainable in the South: Nine Farmers' Stories, published January 1994 by the Southern SAWG.) 
 
 
COLORADO CITY, Texas--Ten years ago, the Maddox Family Ranch was drowning in three million dollars of debt. The interest alone was costing them some $900 per day. Along with the massive debt, the land was being slowly eaten away by erosion, vegetation was sparse and declining, and the livestock was performing poorly. After 70 years of ranching, spanning four generations, the Maddoxes were nearly bankrupt and ready to throw in the towel.

It is impossible to farm or ranch in Texas and never experience some of what the the Maddoxes were going through. Tough times just go with the territory. What usually separates the winners from the losers is the ability to find creative and innovative solutions in the face of enormous pressures. This is just what the Maddoxes did. Armed with new information and a newly infused confidence about their knowledge of the land enabled them, for the first time in years, to come out winners.

Today, the Maddox Ranch is flourishing, their animals are productive, their debt load is declining and their profits are increasing. How they achieved all of this is a story of personal initiative, perseverance and a well thought-out plan for success. At the center of this story is a range management system called holistic resource management or HRM. 

Background 

During the mid 1980s the Maddoxes thought they were doing everything right. They were adopters of the latest technologies and most current Soil Conservation Service range management recommendations. What then could be wrong? How could finances, productivity and range conditions each deteriorate if you were using the best available information and advice?

What the Maddoxes discovered was that they had no mechanism to integrate the information they received in a useful form that considered the whole operation, not just a component like range conditions or parasite control.

HRM considers the interactions of soils, plants, livestock and people within the whole enterprise. As the Maddoxes began applying the principles of HRM they set goals for managing the ranch and determined how each member of the family would play an active part in its operation. The Maddox Family Ranch is a joint endeavor. Joe runs it with his wife Peggy, son Dalton, and daughter-in-law Gretchen.

In the mid-80s, livestock was pastured using a light, continuous grazing management practice. Cattle weren't dense enough in any one area to sufficiently fertilize the soil or more deeply affect the topsoil with their hooves. Grasses and other vegetation were not grazed effectively: plants were grazed, and before they had time to regrow (called recovery time), the animals came back and grazed again. Tasty plants were rapidly eliminated, and bare spots on the soil widened as seedlings floundered on the hard dry earth where water could not easily penetrate. Every rain caused the topsoil to erode into creeks, water was lost to runoff, and the number of plant types on their range was decreasing.

The management strategy used on the ranch was counterproductive to soil and livestock improvement as well as to the Maddox family's finances. In short, the land was deteriorating as well as their lifestyle. At the time they switched to sustainable methods, the Maddox Ranch was barren in many spots except for the most hardy plants, like tabosa grass and woody species.

Joe and his family first heard of holistic resource management (HRM) in 1986. By practicing the principals and methods of the HRM program, they have been able to pasture more animals at less cost and protect their natural resources at the same time. Their average gross income has increased to $1400 per day. The family is expanding their operations, controlling debt while increasing income, and improving the quality of their ranch, their cattle and their own lives by using sustainable methods. 

What is HRM? 

HRM is a comprehensive program for managing livestock on a range. It was developed by Allen Savory, an animal biologist. He sees ranches as landscapes that, under close observation, reveal complex and changing relationships among soil, water, plants, animals and people. Joe Maddox explains that "at its core is the idea that a farm or ranch should be managed according to a decision-making process which takes the whole farm or ranch into account." Ranchers define their short term objectives and long term goals, review different management strategies, decide on a workable plan for their own abilities, resources and funds, and strive to make their plan work. Goal-making for land and business management is a thoughtful process: it may include not only economic results, but also he quality of life needed to reach those goals for each member of the family.

One of the basic practices of HRM is planned grazing. This is a method of grazing livestock which checks and monitors the effects of the livestock on the soil and plants in a pasture. Herds are moved from one pasture to another when plants have been effectively grazed and fertilized. The livestock leave behind land that is poised to absorb the natural fertilizer and begin to produce lush plant life. This increase in plant life helps reduce erosion by increasing humus in the soil. The ranch manager monitors changes in plants in terms of growth, varieties, and soil cover so that the plants have ample time to grow unhindered during their most fragile stage of development. Cattle are only moved back into a pasture when recovery time for the plants is sufficient. As plant rooting systems expand, more water is held in the soil, and less topsoil is carried off by erosion. As water is cycled more effectively, vegetation thrives, soil accumulates more litter, and the environment becomes more lush.

Herds and grazing land must be kept in balance, and the relationship between the two is always changing. How much the herd grazes is dependent on its size and the availability of its preferred forage, and other feed. Vegetation grows differently depending on the amount of fertilizer livestock leave and grind into the soil, rainfall patterns and the amount of rain that soaks the manure into the ground and spurs growth, the seeding or growth patterns of different plant varieties, temperature, soil quality, and so on. How individual livestock grow, their health and tastiness, are all related to how they're raised and on what feed. Different pastures support different size herds, and the association between them changes from season to season and year to year. Basically, a fertile and plentiful range is dependent on livestock and good management methods, just as a robust and expanding herd needs good grazing. In the end, all are part of one landscape, one ecosystem. Holistic resource management looks at the ranch landscape (ecosystem) as a whole, with all of its plant, animal, soil, water and other resources interconnected and interdependent. Ranch managers are human resources. They must be aware and respond to these ever-changing conditions in order to define their priorities and meet their objectives and longterm goals to achieve a quality lifestyle for themselves and others. 

Management, Maddox Style 

In 1986, the Maddox family was ready to begin using the HRM methods. The first thing they did was list their human, animal and landscape resources. They then planned for long term goals or priorities. These were economic stability, excellent quality of life, and sustainable environmental stewardship of the land. From this starting point, they planned the shorter and medium term objectives and ways to achieve them, using these goals as a way to make important decisions. An early objective was to be "debt free". This meant analyzing the quality of the range and the number of cattle the ranch could possibly support, given the state it was in together with the economic costs (including labor) and possible profits. Then they tested on paper a few different strategies to see their pros and cons, and finally settled on a strategy to increase the vegetation and the quality of the environment through the establishment of sectioned pastures described above.

Using HRM practices, the Maddox family divided their large area of grazing land into smaller pastures. These pastures vary in size from 95 acres to 1050 acres and are delineated by low cost electric fences. Cattle stay in these pastures for one to 11 days, depending on the herd size and the quality of pastures that have adequate time to recover from the previous grazing. Recovery time has ranged from 30 to 120 days per pasture, depending on plant growth in relation to the season, rainfall and other factors. Pasture areas are arranged in spoke form around a central watering area, which livestock have access to at all times. High stock density and a larger number of smaller paddocks leads to improved mineral, water and energy use by concentrating nutrients and concurrently blending them into the topsoil. "While the sheep and cattle are in the pasture they graze intensively, leave behind a large quantity of manure and break up the soil with their hoofs, then move to the next pasture, letting the grazed plants recover sufficiently," explains Joe.

Each year in mid-June in the middle of the growing season, the Maddoxes conduct a 100-point vegetational transect survey in their fields. This is complemented by a photo survey and analysis of range conditions one to two times a year. Changes in the natural environment on the ranch have been phenomenal. Beneficial insects and microorganisms like earthworms and dung beetles have increased. Dozens of new and preferred plant species such as Indian grass, Texas blue grass, Arizona cotton top, big blue stem, and hooded windmill have cropped up where only prickly pear cacti once stood. There has been an increase in perennial grasses from 12 to 19 species. Bare ground has decreased from 28 percent of the range in 1988 to 14 percent in 1994, and the trend is continuing. This has been accomplished through an increase in the proportion of palatable forage species without any seeding of new grasses foreign or non-native to the area.

These new plants roots have helped to stabilize the soil by absorbing moisture and preventing the massive erosion which had been an increasing threat to the land. Some long-dry springs have begun to flow again, providing natural water sources throughout the Maddox Ranch.

Just as grasses and other flora have flourished, so have animal herds. So much more forage is available for livestock that the Maddox family has increased its stocking rate from the one head of cattle per 30 acres recommended by the Soil and Conservation Service to one head per 13-1/2 acres. As of last year (1994) the ranch supported 30 rams, 900 ewes and lambs, 650 cows and calves, and 800 yearlings, and the Maddoxes use computer programs to keep track of livestock growth. By coordinating plant growth with cattle and sheep feeding patterns, the family spends less on livestock feed, such as hay, and the cattle fill out beautifully with more lean meat and less fat deposits.

The Maddoxes avoid costs associated with conventional cattle raising such as growth hormone injections or chemicals used in conventional cattle raising. With their low-input cattle production methods, Joe estimates that they "spend about $20 per head per year as opposed to the $100 per head per year we spent before the switch." Costs include medicines, vaccines and a minimal amount for feed. Although they are just beginning to market their "natural beef," they garner about 15 to 20 cents per pound more than the current beef market price.

The Maddox Ranch wants to utilize natural ecosystemic cycling to its fullest, so they try to bypass the use of synthetic chemicals in sheep production. "We have stopped spraying chemical defoliants which we used to use on a regular basis to do away with cockleburs which can get caught in wool. We've also reduced our use of chemical dips from two to three times a year to once a year," say Joe. "We favor all-natural diatomacious earth for worming. Although we may use a synthetic wormer once, if absolutely necessary, it's just not our preference." Because their wool is not treated with defoliants or chemicals, they can sell it for premium prices through Cotton Plus, a fabrics company in O'Donnell, which uses it to produce a high quality organic wool/cotton blend fabric sold to clothing and upholstery manufacturers.

Four years ago, it became necessary for the Maddoxes to incorporate a wildlife management program into their plans. Apparently, the boom in tasty grasses and vegetation coupled with an intense game management program attracted browsing deer. The healthy diet their ranch provided allowed their populations to flourish. This increase in deer population has become an important part of an integrated "whole ranch" approach for the Maddoxes, as well as providing added income. This added benefit to sustainable ranching has cost little in terms of input, and it brings in substantial added income through hunting fees and guided hunting weekend packages that the family provides.

The family's business has been resoundingly successful economically as well as environmentally. The cost of raising cattle is 80 percent less than it was seven years ago, and more than double the amount of cattle can be raised on the same amount of land. The worth of the ranch as a feed and water source has increased phenomenally. The income from deer hunting has doubled. Joe states, "The ranch has become more labor intensive for us to manage, but less so in terms of livestock care." Their collateral is solid and they have very little debt as compared to 1986. Improvement has been so good, in fact, that this year the Maddoxes made a decision to take a calculated low risk and expand their business. They have shown definite upward trend in profits, so that expansion and the bank loans that will come with it can be balanced well against their holdings. Their priorities have changes to fit a growth-oriented model.

Viewing their business in its entirety, as holistic resource management, has helped the Maddoxes deal with problems when they arise. Says Peggy Maddox, "We try not to manage reactively. That is, we try to be prepared for crises in advance. This is reacting proactively." They to try to foresee problem situations like overgrazing, slow plant recovery, animal health concerns or cash flow and avoid or offset them before they get out of hand. She stresses that this means monitoring your plan or strategy constantly, so you can react to trends or changes in time to insure that objectives are met. This strategy also helps in identifying and taking advantage of new opportunities. Different priorities gain or lose importance, depending on the overall outlook.

The Maddoxes enjoy incorporating the whole family into management of the ranch, and feel that the inclusive decision-making techniques involved with HRM have had a positive effect on their quality of life. "We make sure the whole is taken into account on all decisions and always use team oriented decision-making," says Joe.

The Maddox family also takes their role in their community seriously, on local, statewide and regional levels. Joe served as the HRM of Texas President for two years, and continues to host educational classes on the ranch. Dalton is currently serving as the President for the Texas branch of HRM. The Maddox family is very active in the state chapter, hosting farm tours, attending conferences and speaking at educational events.

Peggy Maddox is a schoolteacher and a member of the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority (TAFA) Board. Joe serves as the President of the Texas Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (TSAWG), which is a network of farmers, consumers, environmental groups and public agencies working together to promote an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable future for Texas agriculture. 

Conclusions 

The future of the livestock industry depends on consumer demands and government policy, but even more it depends on ranchers. The Maddox family keeping rural America vital by using low-cost sustainable methods to raise their livestock and protect the environment. They have created a successful mixture of old and new technologies, and provide a fine example of one way that family ranching can succeed by taking advantage of new and growing parts of the livestock industry. The Maddoxes have chosen a new path for improving the quality of their rangeland ecosystem that will be a tremendous benefit to future generations.