Sterling Cattle Company

Making Conservation a Tradition

The Sterling Cattle Company is a working cow and calf operation started in 1954 by J.M. Sterling. Located in what is known as the Western Part of the Central Rolling Plains, the ranch consists of a little more than 9,000 acres, of which 7,833 acres is rangeland.

This family business has entered into its second generation of ranchers, as J.M.’s son, Jimmy, has taken over the day-to-day operations on the ranch, raising Angus cattle and marketing toward the natural beef industry.

Taking good care of the land and its natural resources has been a top priority for the Sterling Ranch. Quality conservation has been applied to the land for several decades, starting in the 1960s when J.M. Sterling entered the entire ranch into a Great Plains Conservation Program contract working through the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

His plan utilized brush management practices to target the infestation of mesquite. The invasive species was removed to improve vegetation production that subsequently improved the performance of their cattle herd.

Jimmy Sterling has followed his father’s philosophy in these later years continuing to further rangeland management goals for the ranch. Numerous conservation practices have been implemented and serve as the mainstay for their success.

Range condition, range trend, livestock performance and wildlife habitat are resource concerns that Sterling focuses on for the ranch.

Sterling has participated in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and conducted brush control practices to remove unwanted mesquite and other invasive species on some 2,150 acres.

A diverse mixture of native grasses and desirable woody species were reseeded on nearly 1,750 acres to re-establish prairie grassland plant communities and improve range trend.

“With intensive brush control and reseeding of grasses, I’ve seen a drastic difference in the performance of my livestock,” said Jimmy Sterling. “I’m averaging 95 percent calving rate, while my weaning weights have increased over 200 pounds; past averages were around 520 pounds, where I’m now seeing almost 740 pound weights.”

Deferment periods followed brush control measures and reseeding to give the land time to re-establish before it was subjected to grazing. Sterling devised a prescribed grazing program once the grass was established where he was able to double the number of cattle he raises and still improve range condition.

In addition, he implemented one very unique conservation practice with a dual purpose, using a ripper to rip strips of land on the contour inside areas where the land had been cleared. The ripped areas were reseeded with a mixture of native and introduced grasses to increase forage production and enhance water erosion control.

Conservation efforts didn’t stop there. Sterling worked through the NRCS and the EQIP program to receive cost share assistance for cross fencing. With cost share assistance and additional costs assumed on his own, Sterling has developed a grazing system to handle two herds of cattle with a five pasture rotation. Every 30 to 45 days during the growing season cattle are rotated depending on conditions.

To further enhance grazing distribution, Sterling sought out ways for additional water locations on the ranch. He recently drilled two new wells, cleaned out 10 permanent stock tanks that were silted in, and worked with the NRCS to design one new stock tank to be built.

Before the grazing system was in place, the ranch was able to support about 100 head of cattle with consistent range conditions. As a result of good conservation, the Sterling Ranch now stocks 200 plus cattle and rangeland conditions continue to improve.

NRCS Distict Conservationist Eddy Spurgin said, “Increased water distribution and cross fences have enhanced his prescribed grazing and rotational grazing systems.”

To further improve the condition of his rangeland, Jimmy has conducted prescribed burns on over 2,000 acres of the rangeland. He has used the practice mainly to improve the forage quality of tobosa grass, and for the suppression of pricklypear.

The selective brush work and prescribed burning contributed to the improvement of wildlife habitat on the ranch as well. Desirable woody species such as lotebush and fourwing saltbush were left to provide excellent cover for quail. Sterling says it was important to accommodate ground nesting birds and disturb the rangeland as little as possible during the nesting season.

In West Texas drought is imminent, and Jimmy Sterling knows this first hand. Throughout the ranch’s 53 year history the Sterling Ranch has had to deal with many years of below normal rainfall.

Sterling said, “A good drought management plan doesn’t begin after the drought has started, it is something that needs to be thought out in detail long before the rain stops falling.”

Jimmy Sterling and the Sterling Cattle Company have openly welcomed numerous new employees of the NRCS to train and learn from the management practices that have been implemented on the ranch. Jimmy Sterling has become a noted steward of the land working to make the land a better place for generations to come.

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Dustin Ratliff and Eddy Spurgin, NRCS employees have worked with Jimmy Sterling, Sterling Cattle Company to provide technical assistance for conservation planning practices applied on the land.	Cross fencing has become an effective conservation practice on the Sterling Ranch with the development of a five pasture rotational grazing system.
The Sterling Cattle Company raises Angus cattle and markets toward the natural beef industry.	Acres cleared of brush are ripped and reseeded with mixed native and Acres cleared of brush are ripped and reseeded with mixed native and introduced grasses to increase forage production and enhance water erosion control.