EXPERIENCE THE WEST – This phrase means something different to everyone.  Thoughts of cowboys, mountains, desert and the American ranching experience.  How does one experience the west without traveling?  How can you get the true feel of the American cowboy when you can’t be there with them.  One way is through the eyes of Tim Cox. Tim paints what he knows; cowponies covered in sweat after a hard day, a cutting horse intent on holding that cow,  ranch horses sharing a well-earned drink at a glistening water trough. His cattle have authentic expressions; calves perhaps a little bewildered at a branding, a longhorn steer intent on leaving the country, or a herd just shuffling along -  being driven to better pastures. Ranchers, cutters, team ropers, or cowhands, all of them touch Tim’s heart. Add a striking landscape with clear blue skies; wispy pink clouds or spectacular thunderheads and you have a Tim Cox painting.

Would you run your company for free?  How hard would you be willing to work? Imagine long days of hard labor.  Nights spent out in the cold.  Working hungry, thirsty.  In weather that’s too hot and dry or too cold and wet.   And at the end of the year trying to figure out how to make ends meet.  Letting your spouse work another job just to pay the bills.  This is how many ranchers feel.  Unfortunately, this is a situation that is quite common throughout the United States.  But our friends at Ranch Management Consultants are out to change this....  
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In the midst of our country under self-quarantine from the COVID-19 virus, many people are struggling with acquiring the bare essentials such as food.  Long lines at the grocery store and empty shelves everywhere makes one really think about food and where it comes from and how to get it when you don’t have the grocery store to depend on.  My guest this week, Nicole Canamare, along with her husband and children operates C5 Farms in Jefferson Georgia where they host their Open Farm days and encourage families from the area to visit the farm and immerse themselves in the farming lifestyle.  We discuss everything from her picturesque front porch to putting piglets in the mail.  Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy.


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.

​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.