This week I had an opportunity to meet and talk with Dennis Braden, General Manager of the Swenson Land & Cattle Company in Stamford, Texas. He did a presentation at the New Mexico Cattlemen’s Association about the bad fires in Texas this year, which his ranch was involved in, and the lessons learned. Very impressive gentleman.
From their website: “Swenson Ranch was founded by Svante Magnus Swenson, a Swede who settled in Texas in 1836.
“It is from Svante’s initials that one of the most recognized cattle brands in United States history came into being. And as a close friend of Sam Houston and a major player in the turbulent politics and history-making events of the day, Svante put his imprint on more than cattle. The SMS motto is “It takes a great land to produce great beef!”
“Svante Magnus Swenson, founder of Swenson Ranches, first bought railroad land in 1854, and then bought school scripts to fill out his land holdings a year later.
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“For Svante, it was clear that a great town was built on commerce, which required transportation and communication. And how better, at the beginning of the 19th century, to accomplish those goals than to get the railroads to invest in extending their Texas Central Railroad line to the ranch. He offered every other lot on the line to the railroad in exchange for extending the rail line. These lots became Stamford, Texas.
“The new Stamford Inn was an immediate hit, and could be seen for miles. Oil mills and cotton gins soon followed. A great civic gift was the famed Carnegie Library, unusual in a town so small.
“Today, Stamford is renown for the annual Texas Cowboy Reunion. Originated in the 1930’s, this beloved Texas tradition is part rodeo and part homecoming, and features a traditional rodeo with 700 to 800 contestants each July.”
Today the SMS Ranches occupy considerable portions of twelve counties in the lower plains area of West Texas and comprise more than 300,000 acres. By 1989 an average of 8,500 cattle, mostly Hereford and Angus stock, were sold annually. In addition, hundreds of acres of SMS ranch land were cultivated in hay, oats, and milo, and there were also some oil interests.
Dennis said:
“Today they are using Angus bulls to put a black base on their cow herd, but plan to maintain the Hereford genetics in the cattle.
“About 60 head of saddle horses and 40 brood mares make up the ranch’s horse operation. Most mares are sent out for breeding, but they have one ranch stud, Swen Blue Wonder, with Swenson bloodlines through and through, he said. “Some of the older mares’ bloodlines go back to the 1870s, and the ranch provided remount horses for the Army in World War I.
“A quarter of the ranch’s annual income comes from hunts for whitetail deer, turkey, quail, dove, feral hogs and a variety of waterfowl. “We don’t manage specifically for wildlife, in fact our hunting lease specifically states that this is a cattle operation, not a hunting ranch, but I believe that if you manage a ranch the right way, both the cattle and the wildlife benefit,” Dennis said. The operation also includes some oil production, and they have a wind energy lease, but no windmills, yet. “Personally, I hate looking at them, and hope we don’t ruin the western landscape for something that’s not going to last,” he said. “But, my job is to keep the ranch profitable, and we have to look at all of our options.”
You can get more information at their website by clicking HERE.