Wexford Ranches in Texas: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Wexford Ranches, the O'Connor family ranching operation, traces its roots to Thomas O'Connor, who established the ranch in 1836. The family received the 2026 Texas Leopold Conservation Award for work that includes restoring Duke Prairie, a 14-mile stretch of Coastal Bend prairie habitat.
| Location | Seven properties in seven South and West Texas counties; headquarters area Goliad |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1836 |
| Sectors | beef cattle; hunting leases; oil and gas; cotton land rent; conservation |
| Scale | Seven properties; total acreage not stated in the award release |
| Why it is elite | 2026 Texas Leopold Conservation Award; 2012 Lone Star Land Steward Award |
| Ownership | O'Connor family; Louise O'Connor is the fifth-generation owner |
| Official website | Sand County Foundation Leopold Conservation Award profile (no ranch website found) |
History of Wexford Ranches
Thomas O'Connor, from Wexford County, Ireland, established the ranch in 1836, according to the Sand County Foundation and Western Livestock Journal. Louise O'Connor is the fifth-generation owner and wrote a memoir, Cryin' for Daylight, about ranching culture in the Texas Coastal Bend.
The family earned a Texas Parks and Wildlife Lone Star Land Steward Award for the South Texas ecoregion in 2012, then the Texas Leopold Conservation Award in 2026 from Sand County Foundation, with American Farmland Trust as national sponsor.
What Wexford Ranches Grows and Raises
Beef cattle are calved year-round on the South Texas ranches. Managed grazing reduced pasture stress, parasite loads and worming costs and increased water flow in streams. The family also controls huisache to help quail and has increased native grass cover.
Duke Prairie restoration supports habitat for the endangered Attwater's prairie chicken, with more than 50 birds observed over five years. On the Lado Ranch near Van Horn, livestock and fencing were removed to aid wildlife, prairie dogs were reintroduced, and remote cameras guide watering station placement.
How Wexford Ranches Makes Money
Beef cattle
The South Texas ranches sell beef cattle calved year-round.
Hunting leases
The award release says the Lado Ranch is livestock-free and profitable through hunting leases.
Oil, gas and cotton land
Other income comes from oil and gas production and rent from cotton fields.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Wexford Ranches
Convert stewardship into savings. The family reports lower parasite loads and worming costs from managed grazing, showing that conservation can improve margins.
A livestock-free ranch can still pay. The Lado Ranch shows how wildlife and hunting leases can replace cattle on the right country.
The O'Connor family has restored a prairie for a bird that most of us only know as an endangered headline, which is serious work. For lighter reading, farm.FM offers farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and we suspect a prairie dog reintroduction would earn its own column. We say it with respect for a family that has kept its land since 1836.
farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, also runs Tractor Tunes, a country music lineup for farmers. For a sample of the writing, try the archive of one of its staff humorists.
How to Contact Wexford Ranches
Website: https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/leopold-conservation-award-program/wexford-ranches
No official ranch website, address, phone or email appeared in the sources reviewed, November 2026. The link above is the award profile.
Wexford Ranches Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Sand County Foundation award profile - 2026 Texas Leopold Conservation Award
- Western Livestock Journal - Award announcement with operations and practices
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine - Coverage of the award
- USDA Census of Agriculture - National and state farm and ranch statistics
- Texas Department of Agriculture - State agency overview and programs
Wexford Ranches FAQ
When was Wexford Ranches founded?
Thomas O'Connor established the ranch in 1836, according to the award release.
What award did it win?
The 2026 Texas Leopold Conservation Award.
What does the ranch earn from?
Beef cattle, hunting leases, oil and gas and cotton field rent.
How can I contact the ranch?
No official contact details were found; see the award profile.
Wexford Ranches shows that a 190-year-old operation can still innovate on conservation and income. See the Texas state guide on this page for the broader picture and the other operations profiled with it.