Who We Are

Ted Alexander

Cow/calf operator in Sun City, Kansas

The Alexander Ranch of Sun City, Kan., covers 7,000 acres and has flourished as a custom-grazing operation for the past 23 years. Often stocking 500-700 cow/calf pairs or 2,500 yearlings, Ted Alexander’s operation runs on a rotational grazing method. When beneficial to the management of the stockpiled forage, cattle are custom grazed during the winter months.

Alexander enhanced his operation’s land by removing invasive Eastern Red Cedar trees, developing livestock water sources, improving forage productivity and increasing diversity in native plants and wildlife. Partnering with several agencies, the Alexander Ranch leverages resources to optimize the land’s environmental capabilities, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helped install a water system to expand the grazing system. Alexander Ranch is home to many wildlife and aquatic species that are candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Through a cooperative effort with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, the ranch was able to enhance water developments, incorporate native forbs on the old cropped areas and expand the grazing system.

The culmination of the ranch’s grazing lands management practices has contributed to increased stocking rates of more than 100 percent from the 1984 level, maintained individual animal performance and increased the pounds of beef produced per acre while upholding the management goals to improve water quality, water quantity, soil health and native rangelands.

The Alexander Ranch entered into an agreement with FWS called a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) – a written guarantee to address the conservation needs of a species before they become listed as endangered or threatened. Participants voluntarily commit to implementing specific actions that will remove or reduce the threats to these species, thereby contributing to stabilizing or restoring the species.

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