About Us
Who we are
Growing up in agricultural communities, we were always in touch with the natural world around us. My second cousin raised Registered Red Brangus cattle on one side of the house, while another raised commercial chickens. My grandparent's operation included doves, chickens, parrots, goats, rabbits, and pigs. At about 10 years of age, I was exposed to land clearing. My grandparents had just retired and quickly invested in some additional land. This property was dominated by decades of grasses, Granjeno (Spiny Hackberry), mesquite, and the rest of the thorny South Texas natives. At my grandfather's direction and armed with nothing more than calloused hands bearing machete, mattock, hoe, shovel, and rake, we turned raw land into a homestead! We transformed this forgotten brush into an environment rich with wildlife and primed for family recreation. Nothing was off-limits! Trees fell to our axe, fences, and barns were erected, hand-dug water lines were installed for what seemed like miles, and homemade barbeque pits were strategically placed near porches and awnings. Livestock, self-sustainment, and land improvement are in my blood. When giving life to a customer's dream for his property, I'm shoulder to shoulder with my childhood stars, once again making dreams come true. When I'm wading through cow and sheep mobs, I'm surrounded by some of the fixtures from my childhood.
Part of growing up was leaving home and joining the military. On-base housing and deployments away from family ignited a longing for a return to rural living and the work I was passionate about…
When we had that opportunity, we jumped on it. God blessed our family with our own little piece of Texas in the land known as the Balcones Escarpment. We began raising chickens and beef to feed our family; we cleared parts of our property to reveal pasture, improved fences in some areas, and built fences in others to protect our animals. Balcones Land and Meat Company was born! As our passions grew as a family and our friends and family saw that we could make it happen, we decided to provide others with quality food worth eating. Our passion for the land grew, and we cleared additional paths around our property to improve the landscape and access other areas. We brainstormed and constantly researched how to use more efficient fences rather than visually appealing ones. We required structures to house baby chicks and our horses, so we built structures. We were so fond of these activities that much of this occurred on nights and weekends as I had a day job. This blessed us, so we decided to make it a full-time business.
Our family is inspired by a natural way of living. Our objective has been to raise animals and improve the land. Our livestock's health, welfare, and longevity are a top priority. This is why we endeavor to develop hearty and parasite-resistant livestock rather than propagating the development of drug-resistant parasites. We use a comprehensive approach that considers seasonal and environmental factors, body condition along with any signs and symptoms before administering antibiotics or anthelmintics, when required, to individual animals. We practice high-density, adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing, occupying the space of only a few acres at a time with hundreds of animals for anywhere from a matter of hours but not more than a few days so they are provided the best quality forage in its most nutritious growth phase with the health of the soil as our primary concern, above all else. It even says so in our name, Land before Meat, and each takes priority over company or profit margins. When it comes to the treatment of our animals, our philosophy is simple: to provide a life for them so that, given the option, they would choose to stay!
We embrace native plant species and love to see those thrive. We can mulch or use chainsaws to remove trees. We can brush-hog, drill holes (in both soil and rock), and make all sorts of fences, including welded, high-tensile, net wire, etc.…. If you dream it, we'll make it.
Need a barn built? We can do that too. We work with a team of people to make the dream a reality.
