by Melissa Fox
For three generations the Owens family has called a 300 acre ranch located just outside of Troup, Texas home. Almost 70 years ago Maybelle and John Owens, Sr. purchased the land and started clearing it for ranching with nothing more than chainsaws and a Farmall tractor.
Drawing from that foundation of grit and tenacity the next generations of the Owens family has continued to build upon the legacy their grandparents began. After raising commercial cross-bred cattle for many years, they have developed their niche within the industry and now run a successful Charolais seed-stock operation with 200 head of cattle, selling bulls across the United States and even into Mexico.
Josh Owens is the eldest son of Dee and John Owens and older brother to Andrew. The entire family, along with an aunt and uncle nearby, live on their land. Josh has lived on the ranch since he was three years old and is no stranger to the lifestyle and hard work required. Now, along with his wife Kacy, they are raising their three children on the same land he grew up on and the sentimentality isn’t lost on him. He believes all children would benefit from the life lessons learned on a farm and ranch and is grateful his children have the opportunity to see it first hand.
He is well aware that as the years go by it is becoming increasingly difficult for farmers and ranchers to be able to afford to raise their families on their land due to the rising costs of operations. From the influx of people and businesses to Texas resulting in exorbitant land prices to the controversial meat processing plant monopoly, all of these factors increase not only costs to the consumers, but also to the farmers and ranchers and leave little room for profit.
Josh has been ranching long enough to know that he has to weather the storms, literally at times, and that there is so much that he simply cannot control. Be it too much rain or not enough, destructive wildlife or the instability of the financial markets, the unpredictability can be unsettling at times. Fortunately for Josh and his family though, they know who is ultimately in control and have the faith required to withstand whatever comes their way.
Teaching and leading the next generation well has always played an important role in Josh’s life. Growing up he was heavily involved in his local 4H and FFA programs. So much so, that he attended Kilgore College and then continued on to Texas A&M University, all on scholarships received through the FFA. After graduating with his Bachelor’s Degree from Texas A&M, he returned to his High School alma mater, Carlisle ISD in Price taking a position as an Ag teacher. While he only held that role for a couple years before moving on to a full-time position with Optimum Communications, he has never stopped helping agriculturally-minded youth.
Josh is an active volunteer and mentor to many young people in the local 4-H and FFA programs, assisting them with everything from writing scholarships to day-to-day livestock education. He is proud to say that one of the young men he mentored recently, received over $120,000 in scholarships to Texas A&M because of his involvement with FFA. There have been many students that Josh has taken under his wing over the years who have received scholarships and gone on to graduate from colleges as far away even as Brigham Young University in Utah. Ten years ago Josh, and friend Brian Kinney, founded and began their own annual livestock show, Branded By Christ Coverall Classic, to raise money for graduating Texas 4-H and FFA students. In the last two years alone, they have raised over $70,000 in scholarship funds. Josh has found great pride in watching these exemplary students grow up, graduate and start successful careers and families of their own.
While nights and weekends are spent tending to the ranch and cattle business with his brother, and his daytime hours are spent managing the facilities for Optimum all the way from California to Mississippi, he somehow finds time to not only mentor area youth but also live a full life with his wife and children. One of their favorite pastimes as a family is riding around the ranch and identifying new calves to tag, which his twin 7 year old boys Kaegan and Korgan, especially enjoy. Another favorite family activity is to load up and travel to stock shows where his 10 year old daughter, Karrigan, has become quite accomplished at showing as well.
The land that the Owens family calls home has always held a special place in Josh’s heart and he is proud of what all it has become. He knows that no matter the long hours required, the blood, sweat and sometimes tears involved and the challenges that face the life of a rancher are worth every sacrifice he makes. As he tells his family, “Sometimes we’re gonna win. Sometimes we’re gonna lose. As long as we give it our all. That’s what matters.” It’s this fighting spirit that will continue the Owens legacy for even more generations to come.
