Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandi Young.
Hi Brandi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In March of 2020 my husband Robert and I made the move to High Hope Ranch to help a friend get the ranch transferred from a private owner to a land trust. While we helped work that out we started planting gardens, purchasing and breeding live stock, and mapping out the future of the ranch. Over the last 5 years we have revamped the 5 guest houses on the land, added campsites, started breeding goats, kune kune pigs, and Waygu Angus cattle for meat, we built a farm store where guests can shop our ranch raised meats and canned goods straight from the garden, and built a disc golf course. We’ve also brought several events to the ranch including the longest trail run in Texas (200k at the High Hope Endurance Run) held at the ranch on our extensive trails system every Memorial Day weekend, as well as the annual Harvest Festival every October where we celebrate the fall season as a community with vendors, live music, and so much more. Lastly, we have a robust program for weddings and retreats!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
On a property of this size the challenge is always funding. We are stewarding over a thousand acres, five houses, and over 100 animals. Fencing, repairs, cedar management, and on and on the list goes. We are deeply grateful to our land trust- Living Lands Trust- who has supported us in getting the property up to spec, and to our many donors who help us maintain and realize our vision for this very special piece of land that holds so much history.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m deeply proud of the work we’ve done to holistically manage the ranch. To be able to rotationally graze our livestock in such a way that we are supporting the native grasses and seed bank is a feat unto itself. I’m also so grateful that we can bring our community organically raised meat and produce raised with biodynamic practices. This year we began a “You Pick ‘Em” program where people were able to come out to the ranch and pick bouquets of flowers all summer long. It was wonderful seeing people of all ages submerged into the beauty of the flower field. It is one of our greatest beliefs that nature is healing, we really saw people arrive in one state and leave in another, it was transformative. The guest houses are also a point of pride for us, we’ve put in so much work to ensure they give our guests an enjoyable experience they want to return to every year and we’ve seen so many folks come back, developing those relationships and getting to know the people who support and love this place is very gratifying.
What makes you happy?
Being in the garden. Most days I am in the office steering the ship, but walking the gardens in the evenings when the ranch is quiet and the sun is low, the bees and butterflies still out and about, taste testing the fragrant herbs we grow for tea, appreciating the flowers and vegetables, bearing witness to the miracle of seeds sprouting- it fills me up. I make time every day to be with the goats as well, some of them we raised up on bottles, they wore diapers in our house and slept in our bed, they’re a part of our family the way a cat or a dog is. I try to be with them and love on them as much as I can and I have to say, to be loved by a goat is of the highest privilege.
Pricing:
- Flower Picking $10
- Guest Houses $200-$500/night
- Day Pass $10/pp
- Camping $20/night
- Membership $10+/month
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.highhope.eco
- Instagram: @buildinghighhope
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HighHopeRanch
