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The Roeder family of Fredericksburg, Texas, all contribute when working sheep, which is what I found them doing when I visited Sunday, Oct. 7. The Dallas Cowboys were facing the San Francisco 49ers about the time I arrived at Roeder Ranch, but nobody there was interested in watching the game on TV or listening on the radio. They preferred to mark their Dorper lambs and trim a few hooves on older animals. Ranch work and caring for their livestock is typically what they do on a free day like that Sunday, Brad Roeder said.
The picturesque Roeder home place is familiar to many Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association members as it is the site of the annual barbecue and dance that kicks off the TSGRA annual convention, or it has for several years now. TSGRA members know of and appreciate the hospitality and effort that Billy and Betty Roeder and family show each year during the event. The ranch is about 35 minutes southwest of Fredericksburg in Gillespie County and is an even shorter drive north from Kerrville where the annual convention is held. The land is hilly and rich with good grasses, frequent small creeks and many small and large farms and ranches. The beautiful live oak cover is unfortunately being attacked by oak blight but both live oaks and other varieties are plentiful.
The Roeders' nice herd of Boer goats grazed on the property just west of the bam area where the family had gathered to work sheep as I arrived. Brian Roeder met me on the county road and led me to the bam where the work had commenced.
Billy and Betty Roeder, both retired, and son Brian, live on the ranch and do a lot of the daily ranch chores, checking on animals and maintenance. Their son Brad, his wife Tiffany, and Brad's and Tiffany's daughter Brylie, age 11, and son Brodie, 8, live a short distance away, on the ranch as well. The family holdings include the home place of around 2,000 acres as well as some leased country 10 minutes away.
Brad is agricultural extension agent for Gillespie County, which keeps him very busy as the county includes a lot of farm and ranch activity and a...