The Most Interesting Guy I Know...
Manages 350 acres of land, lives simply, and talks more with the land than most men do with their friends
The Most Interesting Man I Know Lives on a Ranch
A couple of years ago, Jared and I were at KG BBQ in Austin when he started talking about fishing—not casually, but obsessively. He said he got so into it he had to pull back. It was consuming him. But that’s Jared. When something grips him, he doesn’t flirt with it—he dives headfirst and learns every detail. He chases mastery, not mediocrity.
That same obsessive curiosity now guides his life as the land manager at Origin Ranch, a rugged stretch of Central Texas that demands both humility and precision. Jared doesn’t just walk the land—he reads it. Every bird call, every blade of grass, every shift in soil moisture tells him something. And he listens. Closely.
Jared sees what most people miss.
He’s been managing land in this region long enough that his eye is tuned like a tracker’s. He can spot a new bird species before you’ve even registered a sound. He called them his report card—proof that the land is coming back to life under his care. He pointed out grasses I didn’t know had names, identified invasive plants like Tree of Heaven by sight, and explained the subtle war they wage underground with their roots. It was like walking the property with someone who had a secret map, but the map was in his head—and it was written in pattern recognition.
We toured the land in a sidecar, whipping through trails like it was The Magic School Bus for adults. Jared stopped at five different spots: two along Barton Creek, one at a carefully managed burn pile, another with the chickens, and one final paddock where the sheep were grazing. Each place had a purpose, a rhythm, a relationship. Nothing was random. He knew the behavior of the animals, the needs of the soil, and the microclimates created by tree cover or elevation shifts.
Watching him whistle the sheep into fresh grass was surreal. They came bounding over like kids at recess. Jared lit up. He loves those animals—not just for what they give the land, but for how they move through it. As ruminants, he explained, they’re master recyclers, turning rough forage into nutrient-rich manure that feeds the soil and keeps the cycle going. No machines could replicate what they do so simply.
After the tour, back at the garage, we talked about bowhunting. Jared had been teaching the landowner’s family how to do it right—ethically, skillfully, with respect. I asked how often contractors needed to come out for maintenance. He grinned and said, “Not many. I know how to do just about everything.” Welding. Electrical. Mechanical. He doesn’t outsource problems—he solves them.
I pointed to the old muscle car in the garage and asked if it was his. He laughed: “If it was mine, it’d be finished by now.” That’s Jared. He’s not just thoughtful—he gets things done.
Everything about him—his stillness, his intensity, his craftsmanship—comes back to one thing: attention. He lives by it. Builds with it. Manages life through it. Where others see a stretch of dry Texas land, Jared sees a living, breathing network of relationships—between species, seasons, water, and time.
If you ever get the chance to ride shotgun with him, take it. You’ll walk away seeing the world with a different set of eyes.
And I still bet you couldn’t guess what story he’s telling in this photo—but I promise it’s worth hearing.
3 Big Takeaways from Our Visit to Origin Ranch
1. Soil Isn’t Dirt—It’s the Foundation of Life
What looks like barren land to the average eye is actually a living, breathing system. Jared’s approach to regenerative soil health is about working with nature to rebuild fertility from the ground up. The animals aren’t just there for meat—they’re tools for healing the land. Every hoofprint, every manure drop, every grazing cycle is intentional. You don’t just grow food—you grow soil, and the soil grows everything else.
2. This Isn’t “Farming” as We Know It
Most people picture farming as tractors, rows, and inputs. But what Jared is doing is closer to land stewardship. It’s dynamic, experimental, and deeply observational. He’s not forcing production—he’s managing relationships between species, plants, and weather patterns. The land tells him what it needs, and he listens. It’s farming reimagined—not as extraction, but as partnership.
3. Raising Healthy Food Starts with a Passion for the Process
It’s clear Jared doesn’t just want to raise animals—he wants to raise the bar for what food can be. His love for the sheep, his attention to pasture quality, his obsession with nutrient cycling—all of it speaks to one mission: produce the highest quality nutrition possible, straight from the land. This isn’t factory farming. This is food grown with conviction, care, and a long-term vision.
We’re planning on recording a podcast with Jared in the fall — if you haven’t already head over to Spotify and subscribe to The Meat Mafia Podcast to stay up to date with everything we’ve got going on. If you leave a 5-star review, that’s all the better.
A final thought: One last thought I am wrestling with is this: how does this model of agriculture replicate? Are there enough Jared’s out there to make this more skillful style of land management possible around the US?
I don’t know the answers but I’d love to hear from you in the comments.