Whitworth Ranch

Ward Whitworth and his family have lived in the far western end of the Texas Hill Country near London, Texas for many generations. Today Ward and his wife Barbara manage multiple properties. The Whitworths are diversifying their operation by running multiple species of livestock together as one herd. They like the convenience and the challenge of running the stock together. It allows them to plan for longer recovery periods for their pastures while increasing the utilization of the forages available. Stocking rates have fluctuated as a result of Ward's learning and monitoring process to lengthen recovery periods following two years of hot, dry weather. The Whitworths are intent on rebuilding a healthy complex of high succession perennial native grass species which is proving to be successful.

The Whitworth Ranch resides in a very brittle environment where rain falls sporadically and decay is often minimal. There can be long periods of drought where essentially all plant growth comes to a halt. In these types of environments holistic grazing management and recovery periods are critical in the regenerative process. In the Mountain Pasture, a small portion was cleared of brush. The transect in this pasture sits at the bottom of a slope. Fencing for the full pasture is being developed. Where possible, a combination of high tensile electric fence is built so that portable poly wire electric fence can further subdivide as needed to provide for longer recovery periods. Here we are monitoring coverage, biodiversity, and soil health. There is some brush in this transect paddock and we will watch it’s encroachment or senescence on the transect with regard to the mob’s effect. This pasture is also heavily impacted by wildlife which can make grazing planning difficult.

As previously mentioned, the Whitworths have developed remarkable infrastructure of fencing and water lines to enable the type of regenerative management that Ward is intent to follow. 27,000 feet of water lines have been laid that attach to movable plug in troughs.

The House Pasture transect lies in a lower elevation part of the ranch where the pastures are less rocky. The purpose of the transect in this pasture is to monitor ground coverage and biodiversity. The Whitworths are also hoping to improve soil organic matter. In the past, animals would congregate in this location for long periods of time because it was close to water and flat ground. The pasture was rested for one year prior to burning and burned in 2008 and 2015. In 2016 the pasture was put into adaptive multi-paddock grazing regime. Currently, the animals are visiting this paddock about twice a year but as more fencing infrastructure is developed on the ranch, Ward is moving toward grazing only once a year to allow for longer recovery periods. The herd is composed of cattle (13 heifers, 10 cows, 1 bull, 8 calves ), sheep (93 ewes, 50 lambs), goats (120 mature, 120 kids), donkey (1), horses (3). Estimated at 14,000 lbs. per acre the herd currently visits the paddock for a period of 1 to 2 days. Exact numbers and class of stock changes frequently as part of the adaptive planning and in response to conditions of the climate.

In the majority of Texas, the Texas Horned Lizard is absent and is listed on the federal registry for threatened species. However, this was not always the case. They used to be abundant everywhere except for the piney woods. The Texas horned lizard or "horny toad" is a flat-bodied and fierce-looking lizard with a very friendly demeanor. Many Texans grew up interacting and playing with these lizards until one day they became almost nonexistent due to the introduction of fire ants, pesticides, and many other issues caused by urban impact. Surprisingly, the lizard can be found in abundance on the Whitworth Ranch gobbling up the red harvester ant and keeping their populations under control. They also serve as a food source for western diamond back road runners.

Texas Horned Lizards have some amazing defenses! Its horny appearance and coloration helps it to blend into sparse vegetation. Its horns may make it less palatable. It can also inflate itself to a larger apparent size. Finally, the horned lizard is renowned for its ability to shoot a stream of blood from its eye (actually, its eyelid). Don’t mess with horny toads!

Near a creek riparian area on the Whitworth Ranch, a thick stand of switchgrass is growing. Riparian habitat is perfect for switchgrass. It is a desirable high succession native perennial plant with deep roots for enhancing microbial habitat, holding water in the soil, and is valuable as a grazing forage as well. So valuable, grazing it must be well managed or livestock will camp where the switchgrass grows and eat it until the roots become too weak to live. Switch grass is highly effective at creating a stable bank in a riparian area which slows down water during rain events and prevents erosion.

As an experiment, Ward hand broadcast some native perennial grass seeds on spots where he thought they might germinate. Pictured here is a highly valued Eastern gamma grass growing where water runoff gives it plenty to drink. Eastern gamma grass could easily be classified as a grass for all seasons. Besides loving soggy soils, this deep-rooted grass is also drought tolerant and has a protein content that rivals alfalfa. The native species, one of the original prairie grasses the buffalo grazed 150 years ago, was overgrazed and seemingly disappeared. It was "rediscovered" in the 1980's and is now a prized species re-emerging in pastures and along riparian areas where soil microbial activity is improving and grazing is managed for longer recovery periods.