Nol Ward, our group's founder, is a veteran of the ranching business, with more than 50 years of working, managing, and consulting experience. During this time, he was able to compare differences between operations that were financially viable, ecologically responsible, and long-lasting; and operations that were high-cost, natural resource degrading, and short-lived. He feels like he spent most of his working life searching for and applying viable solutions to past and present problems and mistakes.

Nol's primary areas of interest in the field of rangeland ranching are managing the

• conservation of mid-grass, tall-grass, and forest rangelands
  
  
• breeding, raising, and marketing of superior-quality, range-adapted breeding stock
  
  
• production and marketing of superior-quality, range-aged grassfed beef.

His favorite ranch work is managing where cattle graze, and doing so from the back of a horse. His favorite areas of diversification is providing the public an opportunity to take advantage of recreational activities such as get-away lodging, ranch-style dining, camp-fire cookouts, nature tours, and managed hunting and fishing.

Nol's philosophy toward ranching is based on accumulated knowledge gained from the following sources:

1. Years of studying the history of rangeland ranching in the U.S. and around the world.
   
   
2. Years of listening to elders, friends, and acquaintances tell stories about different experiences, occurrences, and accrued knowledge during their lives and the lives of others, since early pioneer days, since early formation of the range cattle industry.
   
   
3. Years of observing the gradual disappearance of working ranches on the prairies and savannas of Texas and other Gulf Coast states.
   
   
4. Years of watching solar powered bovines being slowly transformed into fossil fuel powered machines.
   
   
5. Years of trial and error experimenting, re-valuating, and correcting as a small independent rancher, professional ranch manager, and beef cattle consultant.
   
   
6. Years of trying to preserve ranch-life in an environment where people, livestock, rangelands, and wildlife coexist together for the long-term.

Nol attended college at Stephen F. Austin State University. He has degrees in economics, political science, and agriculture. His study in agriculture was in the fields of range and tame pasture management, as well as livestock breeding programs. Over the years, he has received numerous awards for outstanding accomplishments in range and pasture management, as well as soil and water conservation. In addition to being founding member of the Texas Ranching Conservation, he is a founding member of the International Braford Association, and a founding member of the Texas Forage and Grassland Council. Over the years, he has been recognized as a rancher, manager, consultant, conservationist, and naturalist.

After a hitch in the Army and before graduating from college, Nol got his start in ranching as a small independent rancher, gaining experience and knowledge about the business. Because of a lack of scale in his beginning efforts, he was forced to supplement his income by baling and hauling hay, catching and hauling cattle, and doing other type of ranching related work. Later, he had the opportunity to put his experience and knowledge to work as a commission cattle buyer, professional ranch manager, and beef cattle consultant. His specialty as a cattle buyer was buying and selling Brahman-influenced breeding stock. His specialty as a beef cattle consultant was managing closed breeding programs, keeping herd records, and evaluating beef herd performance. Most of his time as a ranch manager and consultant was spent developing optimally adapted bovines for prairie, savanna, and forest type ranching environments.

Nol started off in the ranching business fundamentally opposed to government subsidy programs, and had a basic dislike for regulatory agendas. But, over the years, he gradually changed his opinion. He now believes that a USDA conservation program for rangelands is needed to promote light stocking and other sound range management practices. That is, if ranchers and people in general in Texas and other range states and regions are serious about preventing further demise of our country's range cattle industry, as well as further degradation and fragmentation of country's most productive rangelands. He is hopeful that our representatives in government will come to the same conclusion before all efforts to preserve our state's, our country's rangeland ranching heritage, culture, and pastoral way of life becomes a totally lost and unachievable endeavor.

Nol's late-life ambition has been to solicit professional and public support for organizing, establishing, and carrying forward a public or private rangeland ranching project for both education and historical preservation purposes. One important objective of the project would be to restore old-time ranching remnants, and permanently maintaining them in optimum agricultural and ecological condition for the benefit of present and future generations. Another objective would be to work toward developing an unique line of range-adapted cattle and an unique line of range-aged beef. Estimated time period for accomplishing the project's objectives would be no less than three or more generations of closed population breeding and rigid objective selection. The three generations will have to be on both the dam and sire side of the pedigree of each animal in the project.

Nol is hopeful that the many generations of accumulated knowledge presented at this website (which includes his personal ranching method and philosophy) doesn't turnout to be a waste of time and effort, and just more forgotten information. He hopes the information will, at some point in time, make a difference in preserving our country's rangeland ranching heritage, culture, and pastoral way of life. And, he is hopeful that the information will help develop a deep appreciation for the important role that properly managed rangeland ranching can play in safeguarding the general welfare of societies around the world.

Nol is now retired and living in East Texas with his wife of more than fifty years. Since he isn't able to work, most of his time is spent either sitting on the porch watching for passing wildlife, or searching the internet for useful information. And, whenever possible, he watches Texas Rangers baseball on T.V. He also spends time thinking about his life experiences, and about ways to challenge people to think. His major regret in life is not knowing what he knows now when he was a young man getting started in the ranching and cattle business.

Characteristics of a sustainable ranch by Nol Ward

Common characterisitcs of working cowboys by Nol Ward

Concepts that form the basis of my philosophy toward beef cattle ranching by Nol Ward

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