Why not? Asks Y-Knot Farms

They call it “Y-Knot Farms” because Marie Froese said her husband Henry, ever the optimist, is always asking, “Why not?” The Froese family has a can-do attitude and a hearty work ethic when it comes to diversifying their farm, vineyard, and ranch to make it healthier, sustainable, and more profitable every step of the way.

Henry and Marie both have families with agrarian roots in a Mennonite community in Cuauhtemoc Chihuahua, Mexico. The farms their parents and ancestors managed there had cows, orchards, gardens, and more. Today, the couple lives near Loop, Texas where they are working hard with values set forth by both sets of their parents. Their story has also expanded to include two Graze Master bulls and a dream to one day convert most of their acres to livestock production.

“I heard Del Ficke speak on a John Kempf podcast,” Henry said, “He described cows like drought tolerant cotton and how they should be raised in tune with the environment. That was one of my favorite John Kempf podcasts. Del and I eventually connected, and I already had the Red Angus cattle on hand and was researching the South Poll (one of the breeds in Del’s composite cattle), and I was looking for bulls. I called Del and then one of his Graze Master partners, Larry Hafer, delivered the bulls to me from his place. Now we have two bulls, and it was dang near meant to be.”

Today the Froese run 42 cows, “I would like to get to 250 mama cows, and I am very confident I can by implementing rotational grazing. This is the first time we will be breeding all 42 and it’s very exciting.”

To start their cattle operation, Marie and Henry took 300 acres out of peanut and cotton production and converted the land to permanent pasture. It was planted to an eight-way species of grass, a little drought tolerant alfalfa, and buckaroo grass.

“The bulls we got from Larry and Del are currently grazing hard red winter wheat and are doing very well on that,” Henry noted. “They are doing very, very well. They are beautiful animals, and we are very pleased.”

Hafer said, “The Froese family is perfectly situated to incorporate Graze Master Genetics® into their successful, diversified farm and ranch operation. They understand the performance and stature that is needed in cattle to adapt specifically to their environment. It was a pleasure to meet them and will be rewarding to watch them grow their herd efficiently and productively in the years to come.”

“We couldn’t be more honored to work with the Froese family,” Ficke added. “Their independent mindset and desire to have cattle that work for them is exactly what we want for the farmers and ranchers we serve across the nation. We look forward to seeing them raising their own perfect beasts in Texas that are prolific in form and function all while achieving profitability.”

---

Long before the Graze Master bulls arrived on their Texas land, the Froese family has an incredible story to tell when it comes to building Y-Knot Farms . . .

---

“My dad moved from Mexico to Gaines County, Texas in 1989,” Marie explained. “He left behind the livestock in Mexico and started farming row-crop acres only conventionally. Now we are working to farm more sustainably and incorporating livestock and other crops back into the farm like our families did in Mexico.”

Henry and Marie share a passion for farming and ranching and embody fiercely independent spirits. Marie was the first in her family to drop out of private school and entered public school when she was 16, “I graduated high school. I didn’t want what was traditional for Mennonite daughters, to drop out of school as early as the age of 12 and get married before being 20 years old.”Henry left school around age 13 or 14 and started working right away, “My first job was pouring 50-pound peanut bags for farmers and then I just kept at it from one job to the next. My dad went into construction because the farming at the time (in the 1980s) was horrible.”

With a love of farming flowing strongly in both their veins, Henry and Marie were a natural fit as a couple. Henry always had aspirations to venture out farming on his own and credits his friend Brent Woods for giving him a chance, “When some land came up for sale, I had been working for Brent, and I convinced him to let me use his equipment to get started. I farmed those 320 acres thanks to Brent’s help and then I completely jumped out on my own.”

Henry and Marie have grown their farm to 2,000 acres they own and 1,300 acres of rented land, “In 2012, we started growing organic on the 800 acres we purchased. That’s when everything started to change. We grew a huge organic peanut crop with no synthetic inputs. We couldn’t get that out of our heads and really started asking questions.”

“We started transitioning our other acres into organic,” Marie went on. “I will never forget the day we pulled a peanut plant out of the field and there were all these earthworms connected to it. We had never seen that before. It was so exciting.”

“It was not always easy, and we had to learn a lot on the way,” Henry admitted. “But it has been worth it.”  

Currently Y-Knot Farms grows peanuts, cotton, milo, hard red winter wheat, and rye with plans for sunflowers. They have a small herd of Kunekune pigs that they raise for their own meat as well. They also have 16 acres of wine grapes that they harvest by hand with the help of their children and 50 seasonal employees. There are about 1,100 plants on one acre consisting of five different varieties. The grapes are sold to Bending Branch Winery in the hill country of Texas.

“We are certified organic,” Marie said. “We have to keep track of everything we do very closely and have an inspection every year. It’s a lot of work keeping all the records, but so far, we have been able to keep up with it.”

“Eventually it would be nice to move away from having to be organically certified, but the consumers, grape buyers, and the cotton buyers still want to see the certification,” Henry noted. “We were one of the first vineyards certified organic in the state of Texas and that was a good move for us.”

Caring for the land, livestock, and their family of four – Morgan (15), Samantha (12), Daniel (9), and Alivia (6), are the main drivers and inspiration for Henry and Marie.

“We want to become more sustainable in everything we do and conserve water for the generations to come,” Marie said.

“I want to increase the cattle herd with mob grazing and move them from one quarter to the next without using trailers. I feel very confident that one day most, if not all, our cropland will be converted to grazing. I would like to get to the point of selling a tractor so we can add to the cattle operation,” Henry said confidently.

“I also have aspirations to downsize once I have the situation going that I want on the land,” Henry admitted. “This is against what others may aspire to do, but it makes sense for us. I want to steward what we have and save the water as well.”

Henry and Marie especially want to thank their parents for being such strong role models.

“We lost dad in 2022,” Henry said. “Dad was very intelligent and taught us to work hard and never give up. Both my mom and dad were very hard workers, and I give them so much credit for teaching us that.”

Marie said her dad showed her how to trust in herself and get the job done, “My mom is the hardest working person I know, and my dad taught me to be very independent and to figure out how to do things on my own. They really showed me you can do anything you put your mind to.”

As Henry confidently poises the question so often around Y-Knot Farms, the team at Graze Master couldn’t agree more – when it comes to living out your dreams on the land, we should all be asking ourselves, “Why not?”