Join us as we regenerate our family ranch
At OrangeStone, sustainable agriculture isn’t good enough. Along with a expanding group of other farmers and ranchers, we’re going beyond sustainable to regenerative. With every passing season, we’re not just sustaining our soil, grass, pastures, wildlife, livestock and agricultural products. We’re regenerating them. The ranch was a gift to us from our parents and grandparents. Our goal is to pass it on in even better shape than it was when we received it.
Named after the signature orange sandstone that punctuates our acreage, OrangeStone is a family ranch in operation continuously since 1928. After retiring from a corporate career that took us all over the world, we moved back to the ranch a few years ago. We quickly realized that the soil and pastures had deteriorated significantly from what we remembered when our grandfather farmed the land in the 1960’s. At their current rate of decline, our pastures will be nothing but orange stone in 50 years if we continue ranching as usual.
Fortunately for us, other intrepid ranchers have invented new ranching methods under the rubric of Regenerative Ranching in recent years. Armed with a cursory knowledge of these new ranching methods, we’ve set out to return our soil and pastures to the health they enjoyed in 1828, before modern agriculture moved in. Feel free to join us on this journey.
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Some of Our Regenerative Ranching Practices:
Regenerative Grazing
Photo credit: Joe Carter & Grok 3
Pioneering ranchers have developed a collection of new grazing techniques that mimic a herd of wild ruminants browsing across a prairie. Like American bison in pre-settler times, our livestock will get access to a fresh grass daily. Once our regenerative grazing system is implemented, we’ll rotate cattle between 60 different paddocks over a 2 month cycle. Each paddock will be grazed intensively for a short period, then it will recover for a couple of months. Both the land and the cattle will benefit.
No-till
Photo credit: https://brandfolder.com/portals/landpride
Sunlight is indeed the best disinfectant. When it comes to soil health this may not be a good thing. Exposing subterranean organisms to sunlight sterilizes the soil. Our no-till practices not only save on fuel costs. They also preserve the soil biome and reduce erosion
Organic
Photo credit: Joe Carter & Grok 3
Dewormers, antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides and herbicides don’t just kill harmful worms, bacteria and weeds. They also kill beneficial organisms in the soil. We use medications and chemicals carefully and judiciously only when we absolutely have to use them.
SilvoPasture
Photo credit: Joe Carter & Grok 3
Silvopasture is a ranching practice that combines trees, forage, and livestock on the same land. Trees are a key part of a healthy pasture. Rather than clear-cutting them, we use them for wildlife habitat, soil temperature reduction, timber production, erosion control, soil enrichment and livestock shade on scorching Texas summer afternoons.
Multi-species Grazing
The livestock themselves are key components of regenerative ranching. Each species has something different to add. Different livestock species complement each other in building healthy pastures.
Wildlife Friendly Ranching
Photo credit: Joe Carter
In clearing our acreage for pastureland, we’ve been careful to set aside brush and thickets for wildlife cover. Deer, rabbits, armadillos, bobcats, foxes and more all benefit from the undergrowth. We hope to re-introduce the horned toads and quail that have disappeared from the ranch in recent decades.
TerraForming
Photo credit: ???
To rehydrate the land, control erosion and regenerate the soil, we’re adopting terrain-shaping practices pioneered in Africa, Australia, the Americas and Asia. Berms, swales, terraces, weirs and simulated beaver dams are some of the tools we’re using. Also, the livestock themselves are excellent terraforming tools when managed properly. Terraforming isn’t limited to distant moons and planets. There’s plenty of it that needs to be right here on Mother Earth.
Grass Finished Livestock
Photo credit: Joe Carter & Grok 3
Throughout most of human history, the animals we ate roamed free and ate grass. Today, most beef cattle are moved to feedlots after 7-9 months. Once there, they’re fattened mostly on corn and soy. Both grain-finished and grass-finished beef are highly nutritious, but grass-finished beef contains higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin A & E precursors, and antioxidants.
Electric Fencing, Water Distribution Systems & Solar Power
Photo credit: https://extension.umaine.edu/livestock/pasture-course/lesson-3/electric-fence-design/
Electric fencing is much more economical and effective than conventional barbed wire. It’s what allows us to set up small paddocks throughout the ranch. Our water distribution systems deliver water to each paddock. Solar power allows us to energize our fencing and water pumps in the far reaches of the ranch.
Check out our ranch regeneration plans & keep tabs on our progress
Photo credit: Joe Carter & Grok 3