Pioneer in Agriculture

Warren Hahn

The Gillespie Soil and Water Conservation District #220 is proud to recognize Warren Hahn as their 2023 Pioneer in Agriculture award winner.  The Hahn Ranch contains 650 acres of rangeland, pastureland, cropland and wildlife land east of Doss.  Warren has a deep appreciation for the land and is dedicated to conservation of the natural resources that have been handed down from his family which he has been entrusted to manage.

Warren is very proud of his German heritage.  He attributes his success to the work ethic that his ancestors instilled on their children to accomplish their goals. He feels that without his ancestors and family he would not have been able to accomplish all of that he has.  Warren said that they are just much part of this award as he is.

He has done extensive research on his family history which he has documented and recorded in his book “ The Son Who Never Left Home”.  This is very good information on the pioneers of this area and a very good “read”.

Warren grew up on the same property where he has lived his entire life.  He has seen many changes on how land was managed.  From horse drawn equipment to modern day tractors.   Of when deer were few to when they became plentiful and how management has changed.  The different crops that were grown, from cotton to hay to small grains. Also, many changes in the livestock industry, from differ classes of livestock sheep, goats, and cattle as well as changes in breeds.

Warren says he was fortunate to be able to work with his family and be able to keep the ranch together as a single operating unit in which he took control in 1959.  He reflects that these were very challenging times as money was tight and there were many things that needed to be done.

In 1962 Warren married Katie Smith and they began their life on the ranch together. They were blessed with a son Joe in 1964 and in 1967 a daughter Nancy. The legacy continues as Warren passes on his knowledge.

Warren and Katie both had jobs in town.  Warren worked a Hill Country Community Press for over 30 years and Katie at Hill Country Memorial Hospital.  This made for many late nights and long weekends to get all the ranch chores done.  Because of their love for the land and their work ethic they made ranch work fun and rewarding even when they went to work on Mondays tired and sore. They both retired from work in 2000 and were able to continue their work on the ranch.  These were good times for the Hahn family.

The whole family was involved in the ranch as well as other church and school functions.  As time passed the Hahn’s were blessed with four granddaughters who have all spent time at the ranch.

Warren has always been a forward thinker and always interested in soil and water conservation.  He attended field days, studied the literature, and practiced trials on the ranch to see what practices would work for him.  He worked with the Gillespie Soil and Water Conservation District and the Soil Conservation Service to develop conservation plans and enter cost share programs to implement these practices. He enrolled in the Great Plains Conservation Program in the 1980’s to construct cross fences for rotational grazing.  He installed grass waterways to reduce gully erosion. He controlled brush and planted native grasses to improve the rangeland.  He built ponds, drilled a well, developed springs, installed pipelines, a storage tank and troughs to get better grazing distribution on 8 pastures.

Since Warren had spent his whole life on the ranch and observed many of the conservation activities that were being implemented in the area, he formulated a plan to achieve his objectives.  He said he wanted to do a lot of things but had to really think it out because of a limited budget.  One example of this is, he needed a new water source on the ranch where he had a spring that would flow at certain times of the year and then stop.  He did not have the money to drill a new well, so he went to the spring and cut all the brush around the spring, and it started flowing. He later made a spring box added a pipeline and the spring has served water troughs since 1964.

Warren says after mechanically controlling cedar he kept seeing new seedlings coming up, and that he would have to come back every few years and nip all the new plants.  With constraints on time, he knew there had to be better way.   Warren became a pioneer in prescribed burning in Gillespie County.  The first prescribed burn conducted in Gillespie County was at Warren’s ranch in 1980.  This was a learning experience for him and others, but they accepted the challenge and conducted many successful burns over the years.  Warren was one of the founders of the Gillespie County Prescribed Burn Association.  Warren also conducted a prescribed burn through the EQIP program with NRCS in 2004.

Using a planned grazing system, Warren ran cattle and Angora goats together in one herd.  The goats help control oak sprouts. The livestock were rotated through six pastures.  While one pasture is being grazed, the other five are rested. 

Warren also utilized prescribed or controlled burning, which can dramatically improve rangeland.

In 2012 Warren entered the ranch in a Conservation Stewardship Program contract with the NRCS.  This is a program that is designed to reward the best land managers that have completed the all the basic practices and are interested in making enhancements to what they have already done.  These enhancements benefit the land, livestock and wildlife.  IE, the icing on the cake.

Deer hunting was always a big deal at the Hahn Ranch.  This picture was taken in 1939, a very big harvest for the whole family. Warren is a member of the Doss Wildlife Management Association where he and others have seen much improvement in the Doss area whitetail deer herd since they began the management program.

Warren has always been an advocate for soil and water conservation and wildlife management.  As a member of the Gillespie County Prescribed Burn Association, he helped many others conduct burns as well as explain the process to those that were interested but unsure.  Warren has also spoken at various field days and tours promoting good stewardship and land management practices.

Warren has always been a good neighbor, from helping build cattle pens, to playing a friendly baseball game, church picnics, and many others.

Along with being the Pioneer in Conservation for the Gillespie Soil and Water Conservation District in 2023, Warren has been recognized by others for his achievements.  He was named Conservation Rancher of the year in 1985 by the Gillespie County Soil and water Conservation District.  He was also recognized by the Society for Range Management in 1996 with their Excellence in Grazing Management Award.

The Gillespie County Soil and Water Conservation District would like to thank Warren Hahn for what he has done for conservation in Gillespie County we are honored to present you the Pioneer in Conservation Award this year.