Story and photos compiled by Adele Swearingen, State Public Affairs Specialist, Temple, Texas

The Nors family has a rich agricultural heritage spanning more than 90 years in Abbott, Texas. Fourth-generation stewards of the land, Matthew and Kevin Nors are proud of their headquarters here, along with several other locations they own and lease, encompassing more than 1,000 acres. 
 

The family's operations once included a dairy, run by their father for nearly 30 years, alongside row crops, greenhouses, and even commercial alcohol production. When their father retired in 2017, the brothers stepped up to continue the family legacy.

“I don’t know of many brothers that get along as good as we do,” Kevin says of their common goal to convert the land back into native rangeland to better support their beef cow and sheep operation.

With the help of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), they’ve established a grazing plan, a drought plan, and completed about a mile of water line, which allowed them to subdivide a larger acreage into more manageable paddocks for rotational grazing. But this is just the beginning.

A History of the Land

The Nors family legacy is deeply rooted in Hill County. Their story began in the 1930s when their great-grandfather purchased 150 acres of land. The acreage was later expanded by Kevin and Matthew's father. He went on to add another 100 acres to the estate, building a two-bedroom house that was renovated and expanded over the years to accommodate their growing family. 

“In 2017, (dad) had some health issues and he was getting ready to retire. He was trying to secure his legacy and keep the land in one piece. He got all of us together to make a plan for the place,” Matthew recalls. 

Matthew and Kevin now lead the family ranch. Kevin, with a passion for hands-on work and land improvement, manages the day-to-day operations, focusing on the health of the pastures and livestock. His previous experience in office jobs helped him realize the value of the practical knowledge he gained on the farm, which has been instrumental in the ranch's success. As president of the corporation, Matthew, a process engineer by trade, brings a strategic perspective, handling record-keeping, financial planning, and long-term strategies. Together, they blend their talents to manage and grow the family business. 

Importance of Family and Farming

For the Nors family, success is not just about profitability, it’s about preserving and enhancing their legacy. 

“This is the place I grew up on,” Matthew says. “Dad’s biggest wish was to keep this place together. One of the first things I did was to put it into a trust with stipulations that if something happened to me the land stays in the family.” 

Kevin and Matthew aren’t the only siblings to continue in their father’s footsteps. Their older brother, David, also made a career out of farming. “He farms 50 acres of corn, and he farms with his son now,” Kevin says, offering that David often shares equipment he and Matthew don’t have. Additionally, they sometimes move cattle onto their sister’s property which is nearby.

The brothers aim to keep the family deeply involved in farming, ensuring their children and future generations can continue to build on their foundation, should they choose. This commitment drives their efforts to continuously innovate and improve their farming practices.

NRCS Involvement

One of the first things Matthew and Kevin did when they took over the place was to work toward rotational grazing. “That took a little effort convincing my dad,” Matthew recalls. “He had worked this land 60 years. He had his ways of doing things and we wanted to come in and kinda change things up.”

While the Nors brothers don’t recall a time their family didn’t work with the agency in some capacity, the latest NRCS partnership began after their father's retirement. The first major project being a livestock pipeline system to improve water distribution to their cattle. 
 

“The most unique thing about Nors Cattle is the way they’ve embraced a livestock pipeline with troughs and storage and being powered from a well. In this area of Texas, people have traditionally relied on ponds for livestock water and are slower to go away from that, but there’s not an endless amount that are catching water from rain,” says NRCS Zone 5 Engineer Nick Schalitz. “The more you want to alternate or rotate cattle through your place, the less you’re able to do that when you’re relying on ponds.”

The Nors have worked closely with NRCS to implement conservation practices that have enhanced their farm's sustainability and productivity. 

“They’re willing to work with us and we’re willing to work with them, so it just makes for a great partnership,” says NRCS District Conservationist Matt Nichols, who has watched the property evolve over the past few years. “They’re willing to listen. They’re willing to take our advice and utilize it.” 

Another key NRCS-supported project has been range planting to enhance pasture productivity by planting native grasses. 

“NRCS has helped us a lot. We planted the EQIP grasses and we’re in the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program now,” Matthew says. “We try to stay as knowledgeable as we can about the programs that are coming up and if they can benefit us.”

Additionally, prescribed grazing was implemented to manage and improve pasture health. Herbaceous weed treatment is being used to control invasive weed species to promote desirable forage plants, and pasture and hay planting is establishing productive forage systems. They are also building more fences to further support rotational grazing and land management. And they are conducting land-smoothing to prepare cropland for conversion to grassland.

“Implementing these prescribed grazing plans and implementing the water system, electric fencing and temporary fencing to help rotate their animals in a more effective way on the land seems like it’s been very beneficial for them to make the grass perform better— make them more sustainable and heathier,” says Nichols.

Making Progress 

The Nors family has made significant strides in their farm’s direction, strategies and conservation efforts, but challenges remain. Kevin notes the difficulty in achieving a uniform stand of native grasses and managing soil health in areas with white rock and light soil. Despite these hurdles, they have successfully converted row crop land to grassland, are establishing the rotational grazing system, and improving their livestock management practices.
 

“Places like this that have been in the same family for such a long time, are fascinating to work with because the aspect of agriculture that they work in evolves so much over time,” Schalitz says. “On top of that, a place that has history and is willing to change just makes a really awesome producer to work with because you can try things with them. You can give them ideas. That’s ideal.” He views what the Nors have done on their land as a great example of commitment to sustainability. 

Kevin’s involvement on the Soil & Water Conservation District board and his collaboration with NRCS also highlight the importance of building relationships with other landowners and technical experts. He emphasizes the "balancing act" of managing pasture health, especially in the face of variable weather conditions.

“You’ve gotta have someone interested in doing this,” he said. “It’s not easy work.”

Future Plans on the Farm

Future goals include expanding EQIP projects, such as planting 30 acres of native grasses, improving soil health by enhancing microbial activity to boost soil fertility, and increasing farm marketing efforts to reach new customers.

Nichols hopes other producers in the community are watching and taking note of what’s going on at the Nors’ place, adding that its understandable folks are hesitant to implement change until they’ve seen it work for someone else.

“Hopefully they’ll see the benefit of it and want to do some of the same aspects on their land,” Nichols says.

“They have an objective, we have an objective, but we try to co-mingle those to come up with a solution that works for both parties.”

Kevin knows so much of what he and his brother are working hard for can be directly tied back to what they learned from their father. “He made a living—he was like a master of making this little farm produce, and so we learned from him. It was exciting for him to tackle projects with NRCS in his day—he worked to figure things out. They’d get it done and that’s what saved a lot of this land. And it’s the same thing today. It’s different times, different methods but that’s just the way it is. Change is gonna happen. You have to learn to adjust to it or you’re not gonna be in business, you’re not gonna have that next generation—there’s not going to be enough there to interest them.”

The brothers’ shared vision and complementary personalities and skills are ensuring Nors Cattle Company remains a thriving family operation, dedicated to improving their land and livestock for generations to come.