About Us
About Us
Lewis Ranch Livestock is a family-owned agricultural operation operated by Matthew and Jeff Lewis and their wives, Chandler and Stephanie. Located in Brookesmith, TX, the operation currently includes commercial cattle, beef sales, commercial goats, and honeybees, with more diversity and additional enterprises always on the horizon. Our main focus is offering quality, pasture-raised, local beef for our community and beyond. As the 3rd and 4th generation operators of the Lewis Ranch, we have focused the last several years on laying the groundwork for a system that can grow and perpetuate well beyond the fifth generation we are currently raising within it. God has blessed our family with opportunity and consistent progress, and we continue to follow His direction every step of the way.
About Us
Lewis Ranch Livestock is a family-owned agricultural operation operated by Matthew and Jeff Lewis and their wives, Chandler and Stephanie. Located in Brookesmith, TX, the operation currently includes commercial cattle, beef sales, commercial goats, and honeybees, with more diversity and additional enterprises always on the horizon. Our main focus is offering quality, pasture-raised, local beef for our community and beyond. As the 3rd and 4th generation operators of the Lewis Ranch, we have focused the last several years on laying the groundwork for a system that can grow and perpetuate well beyond the fifth generation we are currently raising within it. God has blessed our family with opportunity and consistent progress, and we continue to follow His direction every step of the way.
History of Lewis Ranch Livestock
Founding of Lewis Ranch
The Lewis Ranch began in 1962. Commercial cattle, sheep, goats, honeybees, and laying hens were all part of the ranch throughout its history. Large-scale gardening and the occasional grain or cotton crop were pretty standard over the years, but hay farming was always a mainstay as well.
Father-Son Team
T.J. Lewis and his dad, T.A. “Alcon” Lewis, were the first father-son team to operate the ranch and help the next generation find a passion for continuing the legacy. T.J. lived at the ranch house, and Alcon would be there as often as he could be to take care of his bees and chickens.
Jeff Lewis
Jeff was raised on the ranch alongside his dad and grandpa and moved back after college to be part of the operation.
Father-Son Team II
Alcon passed away in 1986, and T.J. and Jeff ranched together for many years.
Matthew Lewis
Matthew was in the mix from an early age, and the three of them raised livestock together for about 16 years.
Grandfather-Grandson
T.J. and Matthew had the most special bond. From the time Matthew was 3-4 years old, you seldom saw one without the other. Raising livestock, caring for the land, working hard, and always doing your best were passions and attributes hardwired within T.J. that naturally became true sources of joy and fulfillment for Matthew as well. Summers that were once filled with activities like youth baseball transitioned into time spent as buddies living the dream on the ranch. Nothing seemed more worthwhile to either of them.
T.J.'s Legacy Lives On
This special relationship shaped Matthew in ways deeper than he could ever fully realize, instilling in him a commitment to carry on the ranch and ensure it thrives for years to come. T.J.’s legacy is not just remembered—it is woven into the very fabric of the ranch, destined to endure for generations.
Father-Son Team III
T.J. passed away in 2020. Matthew and Jeff established Lewis Ranch Livestock LLC that same year, and the ranch as we know it today began to take shape.
Land & Livestock Management
Our BEef Program
Our beef operation is currently based around Murray Grey-sired beef. Murray Grey cattle are a British breed (developed in Australia) that were originally very similar to Angus cattle. They are praised for their maternal ability, efficiency within a pasture-based production system, and their meat quality. We sourced our bulls from Backbone Ranch Murray Greys, and they have proven genetics that excel in the pasture and in their ability to produce tender, well-marbled beef. Our commercial cattle herd currently consists of Charolais and Limousin cattle, and we have always benefited from their fast-growing, heavily muscled calves. These Murray Grey bulls are complementing our herd of continental cattle very well. The steers are growing well and proving to be very effective meat animals. The crossbred heifers will be more moderate in size than our current cattle herd, and they are already showing increased efficiency within our pasture-based production system. We look forward to how our crossbreeding system can take advantage of the desirable traits from all the breeds involved.
Management Philosophy
Our focus is on management strategies that we believe align with how God intended nature to function. We also understand that our Lord allowed us, as His intelligent creation, to develop tools that ensure improved health and illness prevention. We have a regenerative agriculture mindset, and along with that, we mostly just focus on what makes the most sense in regard to keeping our livestock and customers healthy. As a family operation that has high standards for our own health and nutrient intake, we have no intention of offering our customers a product we do not have full faith in ourselves. We do not chase labels or certifications, but our operation can be considered a natural operation that does not utilize any pesticides, herbicides (including glyphosate), or synthetic fertilizers on our pastures or hay crops. Our cattle are not given any growth-promoting implants, and all of our cattle are raised on pasture with only small amounts of protein and mineral supplementation as needed throughout the year. Some of our customers desire a grain-finished product, but we are able to produce—and are aware of the additional health benefits—grass-finished animals provide. We know that the healthier our soil is, the healthier all of our products will be. We have started practicing non-selective ultra-high-density grazing, and the benefit has been incredible. Half or less of our available pasture land is grazed at high stocking densities, and livestock are moved very frequently during the growing season. This allows for significant amounts of nutrient cycling between plants and natural fertilization from manure to take place on the portion of pasture being grazed. The even larger benefit occurs on the other portion of the land because it is being rested for the entire growing season or longer. This has already brought about significant improvement in our pastureland within the last few years, and we are very excited about how much it will benefit the productivity and nutrient density of our agricultural products in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is your beef grass-fed?
Our cattle live on pasture year-round. Small amounts of protein and mineral supplementation are provided as needed to optimize overall health and help the cows maintain body condition. Typically, this is only necessary when the pastures are dry in the heat of the summer or dormant in the middle of winter. In our beef program, customers are given the choice of grass-finished or grain-finished beef. We stand behind the quality of both options and do our best to cater to customer preferences.
Are all of your livestock animals born on the farm?
Yes, all of our cattle are born and raised on the ranch with the exception of our Murray Grey bulls, which were purchased from Backbone Ranch Murray Greys.
Do you process the beef yourselves?
No. We work directly with Local Cuts in Zephyr, TX, a local USDA processor, to process and package our beef.
Do you vaccinate your livestock?
Yes. Vaccinations against routine pathogens provide consistent control over diseases that could cause a large amount of suffering, death loss, and financial detriment to our livestock operation. Relying on biosecurity measures alone and trusting naive immune systems within our herd to handle an outbreak leaves our operation open to disaster. If we did not feel that they were necessary, we would not waste time with them. Vaccinating is one of the things that makes sense, ensures survivability of our ranch, and minimizes risk. We use only killed vaccines. We do not use any mRNA vaccines, and there are not currently any licensed for use in cattle in the United States.
Do you treat your livestock with antibiotics?
Yes, we treat our livestock with antibiotics only if it is needed to treat disease. We do not feed antibiotics, nor do we use them to promote growth. Any animal that is in the beef program and is treated with antibiotics is removed from the beef program and sold commercially. Additionally, no animal leaves our operation without going through the required withdrawal period after administration of any medication. Our rotational grazing system has reduced the need for routine deworming, and fly treatment has not been necessary for our cattle in years. We do our best to manage in such a way that the need for medications is few and far between, but we also do not allow any of our animals to suffer when medical intervention can provide them relief.
What if I put down a deposit but end up not being able to pay the remaining amount for the animal?
The deposit to reserve a beef animal is explicitly non-refundable. We will do our best to remedy this difficult situation on a case-by-case basis.
Do you sell retail beef?
Not currently, but we are planning to have cuts available by early to mid-2026 for in-store local pickup and online. Stay tuned on our social media and this website for updates.
Where do you sell retail beef?
Stay tuned on social media for more information.
Can you ship beef?
We are not actively shipping beef, but we will start that process as soon as we get enough customer interest to make it necessary. So please email us and share with us if you have that desire.
