Keeping With Tradition
There are many ranches in Texas, but few have stayed true to the traditional ways of ranching as the Pitchfork Ranch.
Established in 1883, Pitchfork Ranch continues to raise cattle and horses as the cowboys before them by tending to the herds and their needs all on horseback. Many ranches today have switched to using machinery to maintain their stock, with often the negative effect of “wearing out the land.”
However, Pitchfork prides itself on building a flourishing commercial operation while also being stewards of the land and their animals, with a vision of leaving it better than they found it. Plus, there is something to say about a cowboy who is handy on a horse.
It's not say that all things are the same. In order to manage the good with the bad, Pitchfork has diversified into other areas of agriculture that can help weather the “bad” years where drought would spell a loss, by feeding the herds while also creating alternative revenue streams that keep the ranch afloat through it all.
In a time where profit driving decisions has become the norm, it's refreshing to see a ranch thrive by leveraging the past to care for the land and cattle the way their predecessors did, to eventually pass it on to future.
