The ranch now has about 200 acres of hay-producing ground. The ranch lies on both sides of Indian Creek north of Lake Kiowa in Cooke County.

The land is divided into three types: (1) occasionally flooding bottoms, (2) higher grounds above the floodplain that contain lots of sands, and (3) sloped and previously eroded slopes between the two areas. Average pH for the ranch is in the low 6’s. The soil is mostly light, with average CEC of 8.3, and almost all ranging from 5.5 to 10. higher CEC’s and pH’s in the larger bottom field, and lower pH’s and CEC’s on upper sandy flats—-which have now been sprigged with Coastal.

When we acquired the land, Coastal was alive almost across the entire ranch, but it was hard to see. Previous owner probably overgrazed and did not spray for weeds.

We have followed the advice of many old-timers and experienced neighbors and customers to try to “piss off” the Coastal because, as they said, it would fight back. It has. Very fertile and green flood bottoms once mostly covered in blue-stem or broomsedge is now being overrun by Coastal.

We are blessed with near surface groundwater in the bottoms. In the dryest and hottest of months, our flood bottoms are green.

In 2023-2024, we undertook renovation of all of the fields, incorporated missing macro and micronutrients everywhere. We used the Turbotill across the entire ranch, and then tilled in the fertilizer application. In March of 2024, we sprigged about 110 acres of coastal in areas that had mostly been weeds before.

The results one year in are incredibly encouraging. Places we thought could only grow weeds are making big beautiful bales of Coastal bermuda.