A long gravel dirt road leads to a tiny house with a shop off in the distance. The pens surrounding the area are occupied with bulls grazing on the grass.  

Gavin Tracy, a current Texas Tech Ranch Management student, originally graduated with a degree in education focused on wood shop and construction, then went on to work in the school system upon graduating college. While in the classroom, Tracy was able to build a chicken coop to provide his agricultural science students with the necessary hands-on experiences with live animals.  

However, after building the chicken coop, Tracy quickly learned he was drawn more toward working with his hands, rather than sitting in the classroom. Tracy left the profession before COVID-19 and was able to secure a job helping out with cattle on ranches after speaking with ranchers in the rural Kansas area before he headed to Wichita, Kansas where Tracy worked as a property manager at a local riding academy. Due to his previous work helping out Kansas ranchers with their cattle, Tracy realized he found his passion working with the cattle, which influenced him to leave Kansas to come to Texas to work in the feed yards. 

“I learned a lot,” Tracy said. “I worked in every department of the cattle area; receiving, doctoring, pen riding, but it was 18 hours a day, seven days a week. I was just getting a little tired.”  

This led him to the Bradley 3 Ranch in Memphis, Texas, which was originally established by Bill Jack and Minnie Lou Bradley.  

When talking about Tracy, James Henderson with the Bradley 3, who originally hired Tracy, said they knew he could work because of his feed-lot background, and while he may not have grown up in the ranching industry, he was very smart. 

“With not having an agricultural background he’s like a sponge,” Henderson said.  

Gavin’s Day in the Life 

A normal day for Tracy from the months of August to March on the ranch consists of developing 300 bulls. The bulls are looked after in the pasture when they are born until they are weaned and are brought up to the pens where Tracy spends his time ensuring they are properly taken care of.  Tracy said that while his main task is looking after the bulls, he also helps with the day-to-day maintenance on the ranch that needs to be done. 

“Once the bulls are up here, they’re my babies,” Tracy said. 

When first hired at the Bradley 3, Texas Tech University’s Ranch Management Program did not exist, but once it was established in 2024, Henderson reached out to Tracy and said that if it was something he was interested in, they could reach out to Clint Rusk, Ph.D., the Executive Director of the Ranch Management Program. This encouraged Tracy to join the program to gain deeper knowledge. 

“I’ve enjoyed how flexible they have been,” Tracy said. “They have worked with me and allowed me to do my internship rather than go to campus. I really have enjoyed how nice they have been.” 

Because of the opportunities provided to Tracy through his internship and the Ranch Management Program, Tracy’s major takeaway is the handling skills needed to run a ranch.  

“The struggle, especially for me, at first was slowing down because I was used to going through 13,000 head a day on my own, but now I have 300,” Tracy said. “Slowing down to really look at them is a big deal.” 

Because of a ranch in Memphis, Texas and the Texas Tech Ranch Management Program, Tracy is able to continue his goal of managing a ranch one day in the future. 

Photos by Kaegen James