Parker Creek Ranch

Family owned and operated since 1846, Parker Creek Ranch is a working ranch located 50 miles west of San Antonio in D'Hanis, TX. The ranch owners Mandy and Travis Krause are committed to regenerative agriculture production and creating healthy habitats for animals and people. Currently, Parker Creek Ranch consists of the original homestead, which resides on 400 acres. The Krauses manage grass-fed cattle and pastured poultry (laying hens).

As stewards of the land, their goal is to produce nutritious products for their community while designing and managing regenerative ecosystems that will benefit the environment and future generations. They are also strongly committed to helping other agricultural producers and technical assistance providers achieve success by hosting workshops and train-the-trainer events.

Mandy and Travis both come from a long line of farmers. Mandy is a fifth generation farmer who grew up on her family's citrus farm in McAllen, TX. Travis is a seventh generation farmer who was raised on Parker Creek Ranch. The pair met at Texas A&M University where they both earned Bachelors degrees in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Travis always knew he wanted to return to the ranch his family has lived on for generations as traditional cattle ranchers. By 2011 Travis and Mandy were living on the ranch together and married soon after. They feel blessed to raise their growing family on the land they love so much.

Travis also writes a wonderful day-in-the -life of a agriculturalist blog called  The Pastoralist . It has served as a great reference for many producers and consumers interested in regenerative agriculture.

For their first enterprise on the ranch Travis and Mandy decided that the land was well suited for pasture-raised poultry. They focused on producing broilers and laying hens in the early years, and slowly expanded to turkeys and grass-fed beef. They operate a direct farm-to-market business committed to the idea that local is better. Their products are sold within a 150 miles radius at farmers markets, restaurants, and to individuals/families. Parker Creek's business and production models are always evolving. As with most agriculturalist they have overcome enormous obstacles by staying committed and focused on their holistic goals and the overall bigger picture.

Travis states, "The trick isn’t how often you are rotating the livestock, it’s how long of a rest period are you giving your pastures. We shoot for a 180 day rest period, but that is also flexible depending on the vegetation, temperature and rainfall patterns. The plants and soil are what ultimately benefit from this management system. When we graze our pastures we strive to leave half of the plant and no less than 1/3. By doing so we are giving the plants a chance to rapidly recover once grazed."

Since beginning, the Krauses have practiced high density grazing. They often divide the pasture with electric fencing and often run approximately 100 head of cattle on four acres for one day. Under this type of management, much of the vegetation is trampled onto the soil surface by the high density of hoof action. Soil testing shows that over the years organic matter and soil nutrients have increased substantially, improving the overall soil health and ecology of the pastures.

Early on, spurred by severe drought conditions, they started experimenting with subsoil ripping to break up the hard pans caused by decades of conventional farming and to improve water infiltration in the soil. In spring of 2012 Texas was in the middle of the worst drought on record for Medina County, and almost the whole state of Texas. At this time they pulled a single shank Bison sub-soiler through the heavy clay loam soil with Travis' grandfather's old Ford 5000 tractor. The soil was so hard and compact that they had to weigh the sub-soiler with tractor wheel weights and fill the tractor tires with water. They ripped do a depth of about 29 inches. Sub-soiling rips open the soil so that when rainfall events do occur it allows water to infiltrate deep into the soil. Sub-soiling also offers another major benefit, aeration. Travis shares, "By allowing the soil to “breathe” we are creating habitat for soil microbiology and conditions for plants to thrive."

In hopes of collecting info to help themselves and other producers learn, they applied for, and were awarded a SSARE grant to measure the effects of subsoil rips on soil health in various pastures on the ranch. They found that sub-soiling was not ideal for every type of soil and pasture condition they applied it in. The healthier soils responded well but degraded soils on their ranch did not. This type of research helps producers and extension providers learn where and how this type practice can be beneficial. If more producers engage in researching their practices it helps the agriculture community overall, which is a major goal of Travis and Mandy.

This area of Southwest Texas experiences many consistent drought periods. Unfortunately, in recent years, rainfall in their area has been sparse which has posed challenges to keeping the amount of cattle on the ranch they need to make it a profitable enterprise. They decided to decrease their stocking rates in order to allow the land to rest and focus only on the poultry side of the business. At the same time, Travis was presented with the opportunity to become a founder and CEO of  Grazing Lands , a livestock management service for ranches to increase income and build ecological capital. Grazing Lands business model creates profitable ranching – creating a scaled, efficient and effective regenerative beef supply chain that enhances financial and biological capital for land owners. Travis oversees the management of several ranches in East Texas, which have better soil conditions and more adequate rainfall. This land is more suitable to the scale of the cattle operations he wants to be a part of. Starting Grazing Lands has allowed Travis to be a part of regenerating more land on a greater scale in places that are not as prone to drought.

Travis and Mandy have always been very transparent with regard to their journey in regenerative agriculture (read more in this  Texas Monthly  article). They have tried many different enterprises and management practices on Parker Creek Ranch. They were so committed to make it work but their land was not able to sustain it at the scale they wanted to with such minimal rainfall. Mandy shares that by constantly trying new things and adapting they have found a way to take the pressure off themselves and the land which makes life more fun and gives them time to enjoy their three young boys. Mandy and her sons can easily manage the chickens while Travis works with Grazing Lands.

They understand that holistic grazing is an art that takes many years of experience with livestock and the land to fine tune. Along with the chickens the land can currently sustain a small herd of cattle, which they can sell in quarters and halves to a small group of customers looking for this and they can focus on putting their energy and resources into more fruitful options.

Soil for Water has four research transects set up on Parker Creek Ranch that were designed to continue the understanding of the longterm effects of subsoil ripping and pasture cropping. The following descriptions tell you more about each of them.

C2 Paddock: this pasture was cleared of brush (predominantly mesquite) in 1981. It had nitrogen and herbicide treatments on it until 2009. No synthetic treatment applications have been applied since then. C2 paddock was subsoil ripped for the first time in 2013. It has been ripped 2-3 times since then. Additionally, this paddock has been pasture cropped for the past four years during winter time with oats, rye grass, daikon, and clover mix. Adaptively managed grazing with cattle and poultry has occurred in this paddock since 2010. The purpose of this transect is to monitor how the grazing management, pasture cropping, and sub-soil rips might improve organic matter and water retention while also increasing above ground biomass. The longer term goal of this transect is to assess how these practices increase, soil infiltration, soil organic matter, plant biodiversity and species composition. This pasture currently contains common Coastal Bermuda (planted in 1983) and Texas Winter grass.

C3 Paddock Control: this pasture is adjacent to C2 but has not not been subsoil ripped and has not had any pasture crops sown into it. Otherwise, it has received the same management practices listed above for C2. The purpose of this transect is to act as a control to the C2 Paddock transect listed below.



BF3 Paddock: this pasture was plowed and managed with chemicals for 100 years until 2010. In 2010, the Krauses sowed a mix of 18 species of native seeds into the pasture. Currently, it is predominantly Beatall bluestem (not native but was in the seed mix by accident), Side Oats grama, Windmill grass, and some Klein grass. In 2013 they started grazing with cattle. In 2015, a waterline was installed throughout the whole pasture to make dividing the pasture with electric fencing and watering the cattle easier. The paddock was Subsoil ripped in January of 2019. They plan to start incorporating sheep in 2020. The primary goal of this transect is to monitor changes in soil organic matter, water infiltration, and tilth changes.

BF4 Paddock Control: this paddock received the same treatments as above but became a control paddock as of two years ago. This pasture had no subsoil ripping in 2019.