High-country ranch land in the Davis Mountains — the highest range entirely within Texas, and one of the cleanest patches of sky you'll ever see.
Fort Davis is the Jeff Davis County seat, sitting at almost 5,000 feet in the heart of the Davis Mountains — the highest mountain range entirely within Texas. It's named for Jefferson Davis, who served as U.S. Secretary of War in the 1850s before becoming Confederate president.
The town is small, the county is vast, and the country around it has been cattle and horse territory for well over a century. The McDonald Observatory sits nearby — the same dark skies that make the observatory possible also make this some of the finest ranch country in Texas.
Cattle ranchers began operating in Jeff Davis County in the 1880s, when ambitious cattlemen poured into the Trans-Pecos to escape the Texas fever epidemic raging in other parts of the state. They found clean water, high grass, and cool nights — conditions perfect for raising cattle.
By the early 2000s, the county still had 79 working ranches spread across 1,488,732 acres — 96% of it devoted to pasture, one of the highest pasture-to-ranch ratios in Texas. Livestock sales still dominate the county's ag receipts. Horses have always been part of the picture, too — from working ranch horses to show and performance stock kept in barns around town.
From our fields in Saragosa to Fort Davis is about an hour and a half south, by way of Hwy 17. It's a beautiful drive, and a route Ray runs whenever enough Davis Mountains barns need hay to make the trip worthwhile.
If you're running cattle in the county, keeping horses at a ranch in the Davis Mountains, or managing show or performance stock in town, we can put you up a load of premium custom alfalfa from our Saragosa fields. Multiple cuttings through the season, mid-sized square bales, forage testing on request.
Give Ray a call or drop a note. We'll tell you straight what's on hand, what's coming, and how soon we can get it up to you.