“Before Jody and I moved back to the ranch, Dad said, ‘We’ve got a place for you, but what are you going to bring us?’ ” Austin recalls.
The crux of the elder Brown’s question underscored the need for some outside-the-box thinking. Deep down, the ranchers knew their cow-calf business model needed changing and that expansion would be tricky. Purchasing additional land was not feasible because livestock returns were inadequate to service debt on ranchland, particularly with development and recreational uses inflating the value of real estate.
“As the generations grow, the land gets smaller unless you’re fortunate enough to increase your holdings, and we’re not necessarily capable of doing that,” Austin says.
Believing they were ideally located for a backgrounding facility—where customer cattle are fed and prepared for a specific purpose (breeding, feedlot or wheat pasture)—they developed a plan.
“We started rebuilding and expanding pens [at the ranch headquarters] with the idea of feeding and conditioning some customer cattle,” Austin says.
Weaning, vaccinating and preparing lightweight calves for pasture or a feedyard has been the traditional model for a backgrounding business, and the Browns excelled at it. Eventually, the business expanded to include growingout breeding bulls and heifers.
“[Our customers] send their bulls to our hot, rough, humid South Texas country,” Austin says. “We get them as weanlings and keep them about a year. When they leave they are acclimated to the heat and humidity, and can go just about anywhere.”
Austin and Jody’s true passion, however, is the cow-calf business. In a turn of fate, the bull development program opened new doors to boost returns from their cow herd when they agreed to background bulls for HeartBrand Beef. The integrated company, based in Flatonia, Texas, plays a role in the production process from conception to consumption. Heartland’s linchpin asset is a little-known beef breed called Akaushi. Native to Japan, the cattle give HeartBrand’s rancher-partners the genetics crucial to producing beef of superior quality and consistency.