​Wildfires in Texas have had devastating effects on landowners, communities, and ecosystems.

Since 2005, 11 Million acres have burned across the state. Seventy-five percent of wildfires burned within one mile of a community. The largest and fastest moving of wildfires typically occur across the Panhandle and the western half of Texas.

My guests on this episode of Ranchcast are the men in combat with those fires. They are also behind some of the best programs designed to aid landowners and cities with planning, prevention and response to wildfires.

Jim Cooper & Steven Moore from the Texas A&M Forest Service share their extensive knowledge on fighting wildfires. They discuss some of the programs in place including the brand new Texas Ranch Wildfire Program designed to partner with private landowners using specific fire prevention methods to create a safety net for the most fire vulnerable cities in the
state.

You will learn how to access programs for land management, fire prevention, response planning and were to find financial assistance in your area. If you’re thinking about selling your agricultural property, I would be honored to discuss how my colleagues and I may become your trusted ranch broker.

I invite you to visit my website, www.TheRanchBroker.com, to learn more about how you can build wealth, create peace of mind, and… leave a legacy.

RANCHCAST with LEM LEWIS showcases the vital contributions that America’s ranchers and farmers make to our nation’s economy and food supply. Whether you live on a ranch or farm, invest in rural real estate, or are simply a fan of the ranch lifestyle, this program is your guide to
insights and practical advice available nowhere else.

Click below for the full episode! 

​Told in the cinematic tradition of classic westerns, “COWBOYS - A Documentary Portrait” is a feature-length film that gives viewers the opportunity to ride alongside modern working cowboys on some of America's largest and most remote cattle ranches. The movie documents the lives of the men and women working on these "big outfit" ranches - some of which are over one million acres - and still require full crews of horseback mounted workers to tend large herds of cattle.
 
My guest on this episode of Ranchcast is none other than Bud Force, co-director and cinematographer of this feature length film.   Bud along with his co-director John Langmore, spent two years filming on 8 of the largest ranches in the country.  The result is story is steeped in authenticity that explores the rewards and hardships of a celebrated but misunderstood way of life.

This episode of RANCHCAST with LEM LEWIS, I interview third generation general manager, Shay Myers, where we discuss the innovative practices implemented by family run Froerer Farms and its Owhyee brand of onions. A third generation produce business based in Nyssa, Oregon, Froerer Farms actively involves several generations from eight different core families related by blood or marriage. Froerer Farms is a model of a well-run, vertically integrated, produce grower and packer.
Over the years, the operation has worked hard to remove as many of the profit sucking middlemen as possible from the chain of custody of its farm grown onions, asparagus, mint, yams, and other crops.
Among other lessons that Shay offers, is a clear understanding of what it takes to breathe fresh life into a long established business.

Tiffany Dowell Lashmet has served as an agricultural law specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service since 2013. Tiffany's work focuses on legal issues impacting Texas landowners and agricultural producers, including leases, water law, oil and gas law, pipeline easement negotiation, and landowner liability.  Tiffany is licensed to practice law in Texas and New Mexico. She grew up on her family's farm and ranch in northeastern New Mexico between Tucumcari and Logan.
On this edition of RANCHCAST with LEM LEWIS, Tiffany and I discuss leases, water law, fencing law issues, the Texas Agritourism Act and how to find the right attorney for the issue you are facing.
As you will hear, her experience and expertise far outweigh the amount of time that we had for just this interview.
If you’re thinking about selling your agricultural property, I would be honored to discuss how my colleagues and I may become your trusted ranch broker.

Episode 11

Author Chris Nolt Knows How to Sell Your Farm or Ranch Without Paying a Fortune in Taxes

For Many Rural Families, Their Properties Are Their Single Biggest Asset

Chris Nolt, the author of Financial Strategies for Selling a Farm or Ranch, provides an excellent overview of the issues involved in completing the successful sale of a ranch or farm, and of the tax traps that many unprepared property sellers fall into.
 
After a lifetime of hard work – sometimes over generations – when the time comes to sell their ranch or farm, many families don’t realize how high the stakes can be. Failure to plan ahead, or improper planning, can cost families much of the potential value vested in their properties.
 
Two of Nolt’s favorite vehicles for legally and efficiently minimizing capital gains taxes on the sale of agricultural properties are the 1031 Tax-Deferred Exchange and the Charitable Remainder Trust.
 
On this edition of RANCHCAST with LEM LEWIS, Chris spells out the advantages of both 1031 Tax-Deferred Exchanges and Charitable Remainder Trusts, and also the restrictions that apply to both.
 

Episode 10

Forget Westworld and Most Hollywood Cowboy Fables: This is the True Story of the Old West

Today’s American Economy Can Trace Its Roots to
​Yesteryear’s Cattle Barons

The real Old West – not the Hollywood version – was quite different than the one most of us have been taught.
 
Even us ranchers and rural producers will be surprised by the intimate view and almost tactical sense of what it was really like in the 19th Century to be a cowboy that can be found in the book, Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West.
 

TEXAS "CRUDE:" Olives growing on the Texas Olive Ranch

Entrepreneurial-Minded Rural Landowners:
Texas Olive Ranch Has Spawned a Growing Industry

Jim Henry and the Henry Family Are Models of
Innovation and Stick-to-Itiveness

After living and working in Spain, where he noticed the climate and trees were similar to parts of Texas, Jim Henry wondered why no one in his native Texas was growing olives commercially. He thought Texas could be host to a thriving olive oil business and he set out to prove it.

New Film, Farmers for America, Aims to Celebrate and Inspire the Next Generation of Rural Producers

An Exclusive Interview with Filmmaker Graham Meriwether 

Ahead of the national premiere of Farmers for America, host Lem Lewis, The Ranch Broker, interviews filmmaker Graham Meriwether about the documentary that aims to celebrate and inspire the next generation of American farmers and ranchers.
 
 

Episode 07

Some of the Finest Bourbons in the World
Come from a Ranch in Tiny Hye, Texas

There is so much to boast about for those of us blessed to live in Texas. Garrison Brothers’ Texas straight bourbon whiskey is like icing on the cake.
 
Made from pure Texas-grown organic cereal grains, combined with our nutrient-rich rainwater, Garrison Brothers bourbons are among the very best to be found anywhere in the world.
 
On this edition of RANCHCAST with LEM LEWIS, our host and certified whiskey sommelier Lem Lewis travels to Hye to visit with founder and proprietor Dan Garrison.
 

Episode 06

Dr. Matt Wagner Offers a Master Class in
Wildlife Conservation and Range Management

My guest on this episode, Dr. Matt Wagner, is someone who I know enjoys the outdoors as much as I do.
 
Dr. Wagner is the definitive expert on wildlife conservation, range land management, and the Texas laws and policies governing them. I could invite him on every episode of this show and I know that I’d never grow tired of hearing what he has to say.
 
Dr. Wagner spent 28 years with the Wildlife Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, most recently as Deputy Director. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Biology Department at Texas State University, where he teaches Wildlife Law and Policy. He also works under contract as a project administer with the Wildlife Management Institute, which has supported game management, biological diversity, and ecology since its founding in 1911.