Ranch Operations
Cibolo Creek Ranch is a traditional working commercial cow-calf ranch in the Chinati Mountains of West Texas. The herd consists of Cibolo-raised brangus and black angus cows, bred with locally sourced bulls. Our ranch work is lead by Tom Davis and cowboys from Presidio, Texas, and Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico.
“It’s like running three ranches all in one”
The ranch includes an extensive flat grassland base where the weather is temperate and desert country and mountains. We’ve chosen black angus for the main Cibolo herd and run herds of brangus and corriente-angus cross cows. The ranch is focused on spring calving only and current herd numbers give them about 550 head to market annually.
Rotational grazing is being utilized, including an intense pasture system under an irrigation pivot for weaning and preconditioning calves. Previously an alfalfa field, the irrigated pasture has been seeded to a Bermuda grass mix and helps the ranch avoid droughts.
Tom Davis: Cibolo Creek Ranch Manager
Raised on a family ranch northwest of Fort Worth, Texas, and a 2016 graduate of the King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management, Tom Davis joined the Cibolo Creek Ranch Team as ranch manager in 2018. The ranch was being operated for wildlife and resort services and had little existing fencing or water development infrastructure adequate for cattle – no pens, barns or cattle.
Davis’ extensive background prepared him for this cattle start-up venture. Growing up, his grandfather influenced him by operating a successful dairy farm. Eventually, Davis and his parents raised registered Charolais, a commercial Angus herd and stockers on Texas wheatgrass.
Davis continued his education at Texas Tech University and also day-worked on ranches in West Texas. He completed an internship with R.A. Brown Ranch at Throckmorton as a full-time welder and heavy machinery mechanic for a Lubbock-based wind energy company. He also worked with the horse program for two summers at a camp for children with chronic illness and special needs, which added to Davis’ skills and perspectives. He returned to wheat farming and developing a commercial cattle herd in North Texas until his quest for continued learning brought him to the institute.
Additionally, during his KRIRM tenure, Davis had the opportunity to complete an internship with Lykes Ranch in Florida. Upon graduating, he managed the quarter-million acre Laureles Division of the King Ranch from 2016 to 2018.
Davis’s affinity for reinventing and his grit and love for West Texas sparked his interest in Cibolo Creek Ranch. He credits ranch owner John B. Poindexter for his commitment to the ranch over the last 30 years to remove and control brush and increase forage and carrying capacity. An avid quail hunting enthusiast and historian, Poindexter focused his initial efforts at Cibolo Creek Ranch on restoring the ranch facilities, creating a premier resort venue, and enhance the rangeland habitat to accommodate wildlife and specialty hunting. With those goals met, he has turned his attention to building a cattle ranch.
“It’s a traditional working ranch; we raise our horses and use them every day,” Davis said.
The result is an exceptional experience in the inspiring Chinati Mountains of West Texas. Come and see for yourself and book your stay at our historic resort ranch online, or call us to inquire about private group bookings.
