CSP Contract Recipient’s Ranch Operation Dates Back to the 1890s

Macon Boddy raises wheat and cattle on his north-central Texas ranch in Clay County. Because of his natural resource conscious management of the ranch, Boddy was rewarded with a financial incentive to do even more conservation on his ranch. Boddy received a Conservation Security Program (CSP) contract from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS). The CSP was offered in 2005 in Little Wichita Watershed that encompasses approximately 957,600 acres, and is located in portions of Archer, Clay, Baylor and Wichita counties.

The philosophy behind CSP is to provide land managers financial incentives for doing a good job of conservation on working lands, as well as for implementing new practices that improve land stewardship still further. Rewards are given based on acreage they control and the level of conservation they are practicing at the time of enrollment.

“From the CSP funds we’re receiving, the enhancements to our ranching operation will include cross fencing, help to eliminate spot grazing, and water improvements in the form of stock ponds,” said Boddy. “One of our biggest challenges has been the restoration of washed away farmland to native grasses, which is a practice we continue today.”

Boddy’s agricultural operation is located in Henrietta, Texas, and dates back to when his family settled this ranch in the 1890s. His descendants came to the United States from England and settled in Texas. He has utilized several NRCS programs and technical assistance toward enhancements on Boddy Ranch, including Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP), technical assistance and planning, and wildlife habitat. The wildlife habitat supports wildlife including deer, turkey, dove, ducks, and quail.

“We have some of the best wildlife habitat in the country, and we try to make our management practices dovetail with wildlife enhancements,” said Boddy.

In 1945, Boddy started working with the Soil Conservation Service (now NRCS) and has kept excellent records of the ranch’s brush management and other practices to improve conservation stewardship on the ranch.

Another principal partner in the ranch is Annie McClintock, who is Boddy’s sister and director of the Little Wichita Soil and Water Conservation District, and handles the business office while practicing strict conservation ideas on the ranch.

“The Boddy Ranch is totally self-supportive with zero oil and mineral production,” said Jerry Payne, NRCS district conservationist at the Henrietta Service Center in Clay County. “Macon and Annette are good ranchers and do a great job of ranch management while utilizing several NRCS programs during the ranch’s history.”

While Texas added 18 new watersheds to the existing two from 2004, the new recipients of CSP contracts enhance the stewardship that has been practiced on their agricultural operations for generations throughout the state.

“It’s a pleasure to work with Macon Boddy, for he is an outstanding conservationist and rancher, like his sister Annie McClintock,” said Michael Isbell, watershed manager for the Little Wichita and district conservationist at the Iowa Park Service Center. “They both have continued the conservation tradition that their father and grandfather started before them. They deserve great recognition for preserving conservation through their CSP contract and dedication to their successful ranch.”

In this photo dated 1965, Macon Boddy's grandfather P.H. Boddy (left) and his father H. Macon Boddy (right) discuss the various kinds of grasses utilized on the Boddy Ranch in Henrietta, Texas.

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