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Uselton and Land and Cattle Ranch Honored by Family Land Heritage Program
NRCS Employee’s Conservation Efforts are Rooted in Montague County
By Melissa Blair
Hard work, perseverance, a proud heritage and lifelong conservation practices
are just a few of the things that brought Steve Uselton and his brother, Pat, to
the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Friday, April 4 as their property, Uselton
Land and Cattle Ranch, was honored by the Texas Department of Agriculture’s
Family Land Heritage Ceremony. The Family Land Heritage Program recognizes farms
and ranches that have been kept in continuous agricultural production by the
same family for 100 years or more. The Uselton Land and Cattle Ranch is located
10 miles northeast of Nocona in Montague County.
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Click on thumbnail for larger image. |
From left
to right are Pat Uselton, Steve Uselton and Todd Staples, Texas
Commissioner of Agriculture.
Photo courtesy of Alex Labry
Photographer
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Steve is a soil conservationist with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) in the Temple office. Pat works for a pharmacy management company in
Houston. They have owned and operated the Uselton Land and Cattle Ranch since
2003, which was founded by their grandfather, J.W. Uselton.
J.W. and his brother-in-law, Green Hodges, in partnership purchased 259.8 acres
from J.W.’s cousin, W.E. Cribbs on Nov. 23, 1905. J.W. and his wife, Dora (Holt)
Uselton, had been living on the land and farming it since their marriage in
1901. They raised cattle, hogs, horses, mules and grew cotton, wheat and oats.
J.W. and Dora had nine children, seven of whom lived to adulthood and worked on
the farm. In 1917, the land was divided equally between the two owners and their
wives. J.W. eventually bought out Green’s interest in the original farm and over
the next 30 years built his land holdings to more than 1,000 acres.
Around 1920, J.W. used a steel wheel grader and a team of mules to build
conservation terraces on the farm. These were some of the first terraces in the
county and served as an example to other farmers. J.W. also earned additional
income working for Montague County operating a road building crew, using his
teams of mules and his steel wheel grader to build original roads in the
northeast part of the county. The Uselton brothers still have on the farm today,
the steel wheel grader that their grandfather used. J.W. and his family also
built the Shady Grove Methodist Church and public school.
In 1950, J.W. and his wife divided up their estate of more than 1,000 acres
among their seven children and moved into the nearby town of Nocona. Their son,
Pete W. Uselton, acquired title to 160 acres at the time, which included the
original homestead, and for the next 50 years, he lived and worked on the farm
with his family. He also had another 393 acres that he farmed and raised cattle
on. Pete followed in his father’s conservation footsteps by working part-time
for the USDA-Soil Conservation Service in two counties and also assisted with
the original surveying on Farmers Creek Watershed, which is used to provide
flood and sediment control for Lake Nocona. Lake Nocona provides the municipal
water supply for northern Montague County.
Pete raised cattle, hogs and chickens and grew wheat, oats and hay. He was
recognized as the Montague County Outstanding Poultry Producer in 1955 and 1957.
He was named as the North Montague County Outstanding Conservation Farmer in
1973 for his participation in USDA conservation programs since 1946 and his
efforts in improving the land to make it more productive and controlling
erosion.
Pete also received the blue ribbon rosetta award several times for the “Best
Train Carload of Cattle” at the Fort Worth Stockyards and his outstanding cattle
breeding programs were featured in articles in the Progressive Farmer and
Farmer-Stockman magazines.
Pete and his wife, Clover Nell “Tony” Uselton, raised their two sons, John
Patrick “Pat” and Steven Dale, on the farm and instilled family pride in
agriculture and also a love for the land. Pat and Steve inherited the ranch in
2003 after their father’s passing. The brothers also operate another 195 acres
they own and the entire 355 acres is in improved pasture/hayland and rangeland
and is used to produce Bermuda grass and bluestem hay and raise beef cattle. The
brothers have continued their family’s legacy of conservation efforts on the
land by participating in USDA programs and carrying out routine grass plantings,
terrace construction and maintenance, fence building, pond management, water way
management and rotational grazing.
Steve feels his heritage of conservation has not only helped him personally, but
professionally during his 30 years of service with NRCS to manage and protect
the natural resources on his family farm, but in helping other landowners across
Texas.
“I truly believe that there is no more noble profession in the world than being
a dedicated steward of the land and preserving our natural resources for future
generations,” said Steve. “It is an unselfish profession that is often
overlooked by those not involved in agriculture and natural resource
stewardship. It has been especially rewarding for me to be able to apply my
skills and knowledge on our family farm and to educate and encourage others
through my NRCS job to do the same on the land they own and operate.”
Steve and his wife, Dawna, have two sons, Peter and Matthew; and Pat and his
wife, Susan, have two children, Sarah and Brian. The brothers plan to pass the
ranch onto their children one day in better condition than it was when they
received it from their father, and know the conservation lessons and values
instilled in their children will keep the Uselton Land and Cattle Ranch in
operation for generations to come.
"Without the hard work, sacrifices and determination of my grandfather and
father, there would be no land heritage for my brother and me,” said Steve. “In
my opinion they are really the ones being honored at the ceremony. My brother
and I are only accepting the award as the present owners and current stewards of
the land who have the responsibility of caring for it until we pass it along to
the next generation."
The Family Land Heritage Program has honored more than 4,300 farms and ranches
in 233 counties across Texas for 100 years or more of continuous agricultural
production by the same family. Montague County has had 26 farms/ranches honored
since the program started in 1974.
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