Austin Brown III credits his father, Austin Brown II, with spurring him to develop the family’s ranch by bringing in new ideas.
Despite the ranch’s longstanding cow-calf business model, Austin has found success incorporating a feedyard program.
The Browns custom-feed Akaushi bulls and also breed them to their Hereford and Red Angus cows.
For the Browns, breeding Akaushi bulls to their Hereford and Red Angus cows has resulted in greater returns.
“We’re trying to get more dollars out of our cows, so we’ve chosen to do that using Akaushi bulls, and it’s working well for us,” Austin says. “We’re raising half-blood calves that are consistently grading 25 to 3
0 percent prime, with the balance being high-choice. We sell [the steers] back to HeartBrand, and they pay us nice premiums to do that.”
While Austin and Jody take cattleraising seriously, raising children holds a greater priority and education is most important. Believing the learning environment in local schools had drifted from the basics and traditional values, they decided to home school Cuatro, 14, and Addie Ruth, 9.
“When I was in Beeville schools, the worst thing we ever had was a good oldfashioned fistfight, and that’s not the way it is today,” Austin says.
Wanting the children to take their learning environment seriously, the parents added a unique twist to their plan— they built a one-room schoolhouse.
“Our kids get up like all the other kids across the country every morning, get dressed up and go to school,” Austin says. “It starts on time every morning and we don’t care if the kids like it or not.”
Jody, with help from Austin’s mother, oversees the children’s instruction.
“It’s challenging and you have to stay focused, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Jody says. “It’s not what I thought it would be like, but both our parents are strongly behind our decision and it’s been great for all of us.”
All the basic subjects are taught, along with daily Bible lessons. When school is over for the day, the kids don their hats and boots, catch their horses and join in ranch work.
“It’s like we have a field trip every afternoon,” Austin says, emphasizing that their daily ranch activities are an extension of what the children learn in school. “Whether it’s working cattle or overhauling tractors, I try to take my ‘crew’ with me so they can do and learn.”
Learning to effectively use a ranch gelding has been a shared delight for parents and children. Jody brings her own equine talents to the marriage to pass on. Raised on the El Sauz ranch, bordering the south end of the King Ranch, her father, Jerry Taylor, made sure Jody was mounted on solid ranch geldings suited to gathering and catching the crafty indigenous South Texas cow whose reputation for evasiveness in brush country is legend.
“I grew up working cattle—wild cattle,” Jody says. “That really taught me to appreciate a good horse that would take care of you.”
