Sustainability Drives Downey Ranch's Mission

Proper stewardship, conservation practices and care of the herd are what all cattle producers strive to do. Going above and beyond in these areas helped Downey Ranch, in Wamego, Kansas, receive the national title of the 2024 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP), sponsored by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA).

The award annually recognizes cattle producers who have outstanding stewardship practices and conservation achievements, and was presented to Barb Downey and her husband, Joe Carpenter. They were one of seven regional winners and received the national award at CattleCon in February 2025 in San Antonio.

Downey Ranch, a cow/calf operation in the Kansas Flint Hills, was started by Downey's father in 1987, and she joined him after graduating from Kansas State University. Barb and Joe were married in 1990, and Carpenter came back to the ranch full time in 1995. Through the years, the couple has continued to grow the operation in acres and cows, while focusing on caring for the land.

THE COWS DO THE WORK

Around the time they married, Barb and Joe started adding registered Angus cows to the already black cow base. Over the years, they have built on the registered side, while also keeping a commercial cow herd. Cows must be able to survive on range conditions, exhibit good fertility and show adequate performance.

Surviving on the range is important but is just one factor they evaluate, Downey explains. "We need to have some of the main phenotypic traits in our cows. Does she have a calf every year? Can she shed her hair in the spring? Are her feet good?" They measure each cow on these and other traits, and cull those that can't keep up with the others in the herd.

"We also don't chase trends," she points out. "We know Angus cattle are going to grade and don't use the cattle with high numbers in one area." Those numbers, or expected progeny differences (EPDs), are provided through the American Angus Association (AAA) and used for making changes in genetic performance.

Weights are collected on the Downey Ranch cattle and, along with DNA testing information, are used by the AAA to provide performance data in the form of EPDs. They also share this data on cattle in their two sales each year. Providing customers with the tools to choose what animals will help improve their herds, Downey says, sticks to their motto: "Never wreck anybody's cow herd."

Each year, about 135 heifers are kept back as replacements. They are artificially inseminated (AI), and some are sold in the fall production sale. Semen for AI often comes from their own bulls, and bulls turned out on the herd are also selected from within their herd.

"The registered cows are often in large multisire groups," Downey explains. "These run on large pastures, which we are now able to divide using the Halter virtual-fencing system. We just started using this, and it may let us change the group size in the future. This will allow us to make even more specific mating decisions."

GRAZING IMPROVES LAND

The virtual fence also will help their rotational-grazing program. Carpenter is the ranch expert on grazing and has attended several grazing schools to learn how to get the most out of their native grasses.

"I learned that after five days of grazing, cows will go back to graze the regrowth where they had previously been. Consequently, we want our cows moving at least every five days to a new spot," he says.

As the growing season slows down, the couple switches to grazing cover crops and stockpiled grass areas, eventually moving to bale grazing. They don't reseed or interseed pastures, but on the bale-grazed fields, they seed a legume to help bring back those areas.

"Prior to bale grazing, we started with windrow grazing with our fall herd," Carpenter explains. "One year, we didn't get hay bales moved off a field, and the grass grew back around them; so we decided to try bale grazing."

That year, they used an electric fence system and cut the net wrap off for the cows to eat the hay. Carpenter estimated the amount of feed needed for two days per cow to determine how to place the fence.

"Bale grazing works great when it's a dry winter, but when it's wet, it can cause more issues in the fields," he says. Those issues include killing grass in the areas where the bales sit and surrounding areas where the cows eat. Reseeding is done in those fields.

Since then, they have made bale grazing a common practice. Sisal twine is used when the bales won't be moved because it doesn't have to be removed. Virtual fencing will likely replace the hot wire fencing system and make the process more efficient. The bale grazing helps with reducing fertilizer costs because of the natural distribution of manure and nutrients from the hay bales.

There has also been a significant increase in organic matter on the ranch with these changes in management practices. The organic matter helps make the land more fertile and stockpile more moisture in the soil.

The principals of soil health in the prairie have been going on for 10,000 years. The Flint Hills are the largest tallgrass prairie in the world. Grazing has been used in this area since the beginning and helps sustain the prairie. Joe and Barb are determined to keep this prairie in place by making the required management improvements.

One of the biggest challenges faced at Downey Ranch is brush control. Trees and bushes take moisture from the grass. "We don't use prescribed burning like we used to, and that leads to unnecessary brush growth," Downey adds. "It's hard to keep ahead of it."

Ponds are the main water source, and controlled-access drinking points help prevent bank erosion by fencing off the rest of the pond and building up the access points with gravel. Spring-fed water sources are also used.

"If our grasslands, our cattle and our ranch are thriving, then our family thrives. That is the foundation for everything we have built," Downey says.

And, that will start happening soon. The couple's daughter Anna Carpenter is a firefighter in Garden City. She helps on the ranch when she can. Daughter Laura Carpenter is in her third year of vet school at Kansas State University. Laura, who married Joshua Dugan, will return to the ranch after graduating and practice in the area. Joshua will work on the ranch. The legacy will continue at Downey Ranch.

"We are stewards of the land; we've been entrusted with it, and we want to make sure what you see today continues on," Downey says. "What we do every day in some way, shape or form is in service to that mission."

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-- Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

-- Follow Jennifer on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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