PRESERVING YOUR LAND:
Today and for Generations to Come

FRIDAY NOV 13th, 9AM-4PM
EBEL GRASSLAND RANCH | SULPHUR BLUFF, HOPKINS COUNTY TX

Tour Ebel Grassland Ranch and learn practical ways to improve soil and grasslands while protecting your land for future generations.

Join SPI, Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT), and Ebel Grassland Ranch for an on-farm tour & workshop focused on practical ways to care for your land today and protect it for the future — from improving soil and grasslands to exploring conservation easements that keep land productive and privately owned.

Participants Will:

• Tour a Silveus’ dropseed prairie managed with rotational grazing using virtual fencing, prescribed burns, brush management & native seeding.

• Learn the basics of regenerative agriculture and soil health.

• Explore how conservation easements can protect lands while maintaining private ownership.· Infrastructure development

• Hear from the Ebel family about protecting 1,000+ acres indefinitely through a conservation easement with NPAT.
  
  

Cost: $20
Includes refreshments and lunch

This event is open to everyone — landowners, farmers, ranchers and more!

Detailed directions and an agenda for this workshop will be emailed to those who register 2-3 days prior to the event. If you do not see that email, please be sure to check your spam. For questions, email loren.mullins@txstate.edu.

Limited capacity; registration required before 5pm on Fri Nov 12th.

INSTRUCTORS:

Dr. Ken Mix is the Program director of The Small Producer Initiative at Texas State University and currently teaches entomology, soil health, and crop production, with active research on small producer needs, soil, and water resources. He is a former vegetable producer and currently runs SKM Homestead, a small livestock and mixed produce 50-acre farm in Fentress, Texas.

The Small Producers Initiative (SPI) equips farmers and ranchers with the tools, training, and knowledge needed to restore soil health, build drought resilience, and develop profitable, climate-smart agricultural operations grounded in responsible land stewardship.

Rachel Seets is the North TX Acquisitions Manager at NPAT. She brings years of experience in conservation, working with landowners to support their land stewardship goals and helping protect Texas prairies and grasslands for future generations.

Kelli and Karl Ebel are the owners of Ebel Grassland Ranch in Northeast Texas, where they have spent more than 20 years restoring native prairie while operating a productive cattle ranch. Using rotational grazing, prescribed fire, brush management, and other regenerative practices, they have restored hundreds of acres of rare Silveus’ dropseed prairie and permanently protected more than 1,000 acres through conservation easements. Their work earned them the 2022 Lone Star Land Steward Award for the Blackland Prairie region.

Read NPAT's profile of the Ebel Grassland Ranch here.

KEEPING LAND IN THE FAMILY:
Conservation Easements, Succession Planning & Land Stewardship

FRIDAY NOV 20th, 9AM-4PM
W.O. FISCHER RANCH | FISCHER, COMAL COUNTY TX

Join Small Producers Initiative (SPI) and Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT) for an on-farm workshop exploring how families can care for and protect their land for generations to come.

Visit a Texas ranch held by the same family since the 1850s and hear how family members are working together to protect their shared landscape.

Participants Will:

• Learn the basics of regenerative agriculture and soil health, including how native plantings and rotational grazing support land health.

• Explore how conservation easements can protect lands while maintaining private ownership.

• Hear from multiple generations of the family about land ownership, succession, and working together across property lines.

Cost: $20
Includes refreshments and lunch

This event is open to everyone — landowners, farmers, ranchers and more!

Detailed directions and an agenda for this workshop will be emailed to those who register 2-3 days prior to the event. If you do not see that email, please be sure to check your spam. For questions, email loren.mullins@txstate.edu.

Limited capacity; registration required before 5pm on Fri Nov 19th.

INSTRUCTORS:

Dr. Ken Mix is the Program director of The Small Producer Initiative at Texas State University and currently teaches entomology, soil health, and crop production, with active research on small producer needs, soil, and water resources. He is a former vegetable producer and currently runs SKM Homestead, a small livestock and mixed produce 50-acre farm in Fentress, Texas.

The Small Producers Initiative (SPI) equips farmers and ranchers with the tools, training, and knowledge needed to restore soil health, build drought resilience, and develop profitable, climate-smart agricultural operations grounded in responsible land stewardship.

Wesley Tanton is the Land Transaction Specialist & Closing Coordinator at Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT), where he works with landowners on conservation easements and guides them through the closing process. With a background in ecological restoration and rangeland management, Wesley previously spent nearly five years with USDA-NRCS helping agricultural producers with conservation planning and easement stewardship.

Leesa Brieger is a landowner and steward of the 265-acre W.O. Fischer Ranch in Comal County, which has been in her family since the 1850s. Leesa and her family have worked to keep the historic ranch intact and productive, culminating in a conservation easement with Texas Agricultural Land Trust in 2025 that permanently protects the property from development while preserving its agricultural use.

Read TALT's profile on W.O. Fischer Ranch here.