Ragland Ranch is a charming 292-acre property located near Buda in western Hays County. Historically managed for agriculture, the ranch is instrumental in balancing the impacts of regional development, such as increased impervious cover, erosion, land degradation and pollution, which threaten the water quality of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer. Local well users and wildlife depend on increasingly limited supplies of clean water from our local aquifer during times of drought, making land conservation efforts even more important to the maintenance of water resources in Central Texas.

The Ragland-Rogers family first settled on this property shortly after the Civil War. Joe Rogers and his wife Nancy built a limestone house on the site, and it remains in use today. In addition to preserving the natural heritage of the ranch, the conservation easement ensures the historic Joseph B. Rogers home will be maintained as an invaluable reminder of the family’s legacy and our agricultural heritage, as few homes of such historical significance from that era remain.

The Ragland Ranch conservation easement occurred in large part thanks to the dedication and generous contributions of our members and donors, the Ragland family, and the NRCS Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP). This grant program provides matching funds to help secure development rights and keep productive, unique farms and ranches like the Ragland Ranch in agricultural use, as they have been for generations.