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Bunker SandsRosewood Ranches4>Spring 1999by Bunker Sands Rosewood Ranches operates several ranch properties in Texas. Three of them are close enough to each other that we manage them together as a team, sharing the labor as needed. We call these the Ennis, Sands, and Seagoville ranches. They are in Ellis, Navarro, Henderson, and Kaufman Counties of Texas. In our mission statement, which we came up with back in 1989 (with the assistance of a good facilitator), we addressed various quality of life issues. In fact, that is where we started. The production and landscape description that followed were to support those quality of life values which everyone on the team agreed with. We have a cattle operation that includes cow/calf and backgrounding of stockers. One of our ranches is dedicated to the stocker operation (Seagoville). We background our own steers and heifers there if we don't like the prices at weaning, and we also take on outside cattle when we have excess grazing.On the Ennis and Sands ranches we have our cow /calf operations. Sometimes we will send feeders to a feedlot where we partner the lot with the feedyard. They seem to like the cattle we produce and will pay a premium for them. Wildlife is also a value that we want to enhance and enjoy. One of the more enjoyable aspects of our three ranches for me as an owner is the wetlands that we have created over the years. What I once considered a negative (flat, poorly drained fields that sometimes flooded) has turned into perfect locations for wetlands and the wildlife that utilize them. It took a paradigm shift to realize that these sites are what make our ranches unique and more valuable and enjoyable. To date we have created over 2000 acres of seasonal wetlands. Along with the with the desire to encourage wildlife we have provided over 250 nesting boxes for wood ducks, bluebirds, martins, owls, kestrels, and bats. One of the interesting things is that our wildlife endeavors don't seem to conflict with our cattle operations. When it is really wet, we don't want our cattle in those soggy areas anyway. When there is a drought, the wetland areas provide the only green forages available (the wetlands being shallow tend to dry up just about every summer). April is, of course, one of the prettiest times of year for flowers, cattle grazing green grass, and other signs of spring like migrating shorebirds and potential thundershowers! We look forward to hosting people interested in holistic management or even just curious about it at our field day on Saturday, April 10th. We will provide the lunch for you if we know you are coming. Bunker passed away in the spring of 2003. He was a great supporter of holistic management and is missed by all who knew him. |
John Hackley |