Meredith Ellis is a 2nd Generation rancher on her family ranch in Rosston, TX. Working alongside her father, GC Ellis and ranch manager, Mike Knabe, they manage 200 mother cows on 3000 acres of land which Meredith lovingly refers to as her “national park.” She passionately believes in ranching’s ability to provide nutritious food to a growing population while leaving habitat and natural ecosystems intact.
Meredith received her Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture with a focus on sustainability from the University of New Mexico. Through her formal education she is very familiar with the health and fragility of the ranch’s natural ecosystems and knows the importance to not only the success of her operation but to the health of our planet as a whole. She seeks to break down traditional paradigms of ranching from the conventional conquering and “mining” of the land mindset to a more maternal approach of keeping nature in balance while relying on science and technology to inform her decision making.
The ranch has been a cooperator with the Noble Research Institute for two decades and currently is involved in their Land Stewardship Program seeking to quantify the benefits that ranchland provides to carbon sequestration, clean water, and biodiversity. Meredith also sits on the board of Noble’s Integrity Beef Alliance, an organization known for its superior cattle through adherence to strict protocols on herd health, responsible management, and genetics. The ranch is a member of the United States Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and American Angus Association.
Meredith is a single mother of a 5 year old autistic child who is a continual source of enlightenment and motivation on her quest to leave the world better off for him. She believes that ranchland plays an important part of the climate solution and that her “national park” is a timeless refuge crucial for native and migratory species in an increasingly developed world. She believes open mindedness, collaboration, and innovation across disciplines can help her operation achieve goals that benefit us all far into the future.