Creekside W
HEN CAMILLE SWIFT’S PARENTS DIED IN 2011, AT the height of a historic drought, some of her friends urged her to sell the land and cattle
she inherited and quit the ranching business. “A lot of people told me, ‘You need to just sell, get
out. It’s going to be too hard — you’re going to work yourself to death,’” she said. But Swift was not about to turn her back on more
than a century of work her family put into their ranch near Johnson City. With help from some conservation- minded state and federal programs, she has been able to keep the ranch in the family and carry on her father’s legacy of caring for the land. Her family is among the generations of Texans who
battled drought, disease, insects and all manner of diffi culty in their hardscrabble lives to build up their land to pass on to their children and future generations. There is an increased dedication at many ranches to- day, not only to growing the family business, but also to protecting the land and water that fl ows through it. The Hoppe-Odiorne Ranch, named after Swift’s
parents, Dwayne Hoppe and Janette Odiorne, is a com- mercial cow-calf operation, running a herd of mostly Angus and Brangus cows. Like many Texas Hill Coun- try ranches, they also stock a herd of Dorper sheep. “Growing up in a ranching family taught me the intrinsic value of hard work, animal husbandry and
tscra.org
Conservation Helps Family Keep Ranch
LCRA’s Creekside Conservation Program helps landowners preserve land by reducing erosion and protecting water resources. By Mike Anderson, Lower Colorado River Authority
land stewardship,” Swift said. “I learned from my par- ents that as ranchers, we are vested in soil and water conservation. Our cattle depend on us to provide them with adequate supplies of forage, protein and water, and we depend on them to provide us with a healthy and marketable commodity.” Back in 2011, the task might have seemed insur-
mountable to some, but not to Swift. “You know, I love it,” said Swift, who also serves
as Blanco County treasurer. “My father loved it, and I want to try and preserve it as long as I can. So many bigger places are selling out to subdivisions because it’s easier and the money is awesome, but I guess I would rather work hard and hold on to what has been in the family for well over a hundred years.” The family’s interest in soil and water conservation
has its roots in Texas history. Dwayne Hoppe never forgot the withering drought of 1947 to 1957 and its devastating impact on Texas ranchers. He learned fi rsthand the importance of conservation, and that lesson shaped his approach to ranching for the rest of his life, says C.A. Cowsert, district conservationist with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in Johnson City. “As a conservationist, Dwayne Hoppe had a profound
infl uence on my professional career,” said Cowsert, who worked with the family to create a conservation
February 2016 The Cattleman 77
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