Minnie Lou Bradley - Running The Ranch

Running The Ranch

Bradley’s herd usually numbers about four hundred to five hundred heifers and two hundred bulls. The ranch is owned by Bradley and her daughter, Mary Lou, and Mary Lou’s husband, James Henderson. Mary Lou is hence the fourth generation of Bradleys to ranch in north Texas. The Bradley 3 supplies seedstock to commercial ranchers in the Southwest. There are only two full-time workers for the ranch, Phil and Bob. The cows require human assistance at birth, a process known as “pulling calves” from the womb. At 2 a.m. during calving season, Bradley boards her pickup truck and drives past the pens, and with her searchlight looks for pregnant cows in distress and, as needed, summons for help. She cooks all three meals for the ranch, sometimes serving a half-dozen persons. For each meal, she uses beef from her own feed yard and packing facility. In 1986, the Bradleys developed B3R Country Meats in Childress. They were instrumental in defining national standards for natural beef products. In 2002, the company was sold to George Gillette. Bradley, supplied the steaks for the January 20, 2001, presidential inauguration of George W. Bush.