Ranch & Rural Living and Sheep & Goat: History, TSGRA Ties, Content and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
Ranch & Rural Living is the monthly magazine of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association, published in San Angelo and mailed to every association member. It descends from the Sheep and Goat Raisers' Magazine of the early 1920s, took the Ranch & Rural Living name in 1992 and also publishes under the Sheep & Goat banner.
| Roots | The Goat and Sheep Raisers Magazine of Texas, published by R.E. Billings of Menard; Sheep and Goat Raisers' Magazine by 1922 |
|---|---|
| Association ownership | Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association owned it from 1963 |
| Current name | Ranch & Rural Living, since 1992 (previously Ranch Magazine) |
| Office | PO Box 2678, San Angelo, Texas |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Readership | About 18,000 |
| Official website | RanchMagazine.com |
History of Ranch & Rural Living
The Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association was founded in Del Rio in 1915 by ranchmen V.A. Brown, B.M. Halbert, J.B. Murrah, Johnson Robertson and E.E. Stricklen, with 57 members mostly from Edwards, Sutton and Val Verde counties, to fight livestock theft. Its first official magazine, published by R.E. Billings of Menard, was The Goat and Sheep Raisers Magazine of Texas. By February 1922 it carried the name Sheep and Goat Raisers' Magazine, and for a time it was known as Southwestern Sheep and Goat Raiser.
The association moved its headquarters permanently to San Angelo in the 1930s and took its current name in 1935 after merging with rival wool and mohair groups. It did not own the magazine until 1963. The publication later ran as Ranch Magazine and was renamed Ranch & Rural Living in 1992, the year its current library record begins; it went online with a content website in 1996.
The magazine has followed the industry through good times and bad, from the association's early research work at the station that became the Agricultural Research Station at Sonora to the long decline of wool and mohair after synthetic fibers arrived and most warehouses closed.
Ranch & Rural Living Today
Ranch & Rural Living remains the official publication of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association and is mailed monthly to all association members. It is also mailed to members of the Rio Grande Electric Cooperative, extending its reach across rural West Texas.
Under the tagline Living and Loving the Rural Life, it reports a readership of about 18,000 in West Central and Southwest Texas and the Big Bend, west to El Paso and north to the New Mexico line. The company also publishes Sheep & Goat.
What Ranch & Rural Living Is Publishing Now
Sheep, goats, wool and mohair
News and management information for the sheep and goat industry, the association's core purpose.
Ranch and rural life
Stories about ranch families and rural communities in West Texas and the Big Bend.
Association news
Coverage of Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association meetings, membership and industry issues.
Ranch & Rural Living Editors and Staff
Library records and association history name:
- Scott Campbell - Publisher (per library catalog record)
- R.E. Billings - Former publisher of the original magazine, Menard, Texas
The magazine's general contact address is info@ranchmagazine.com.
Who Reads Ranch & Rural Living
Readers are sheep, goat and cattle ranchers, wool and mohair producers and rural families on the Edwards Plateau, in the Trans-Pecos and across West Texas. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension serves the same range country with livestock information, and the American Sheep Industry Association lists the Texas group's winter meeting among national sheep events. Nationally, USDA's Economic Research Service tracks livestock receipts that include sheep, goats and their fiber.
Ranch & Rural Living readers raise animals that can climb fences, eat anything and outsmart a dog, so they have a strong sense of humor already. For more, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor with a West Texas deadpan, plus ranch humor for anyone who has chased a billy goat across the Edwards Plateau. Its farm jokes are soft as mohair and twice as tough.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
Ranch & Rural Living Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Val Verde County Historical Commission: Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association - the association and magazine history.
- Library catalog: Ranch and rural living - publication record and former titles.
- Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association - the publishing association.
- American Sheep Industry Association: TSGRA winter meeting - the national producer association.
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Livestock publications online - extension livestock resources.
Ranch & Rural Living FAQ
What is Ranch & Rural Living?
The monthly official magazine of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association, published in San Angelo, Texas.
What was Ranch & Rural Living called before?
It began as the Goat and Sheep Raisers Magazine of Texas, became the Sheep and Goat Raisers' Magazine, and later ran as Ranch Magazine before taking its current name in 1992.
Who receives Ranch & Rural Living?
All Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers' Association members, plus members of the Rio Grande Electric Cooperative.
How do I contact Ranch & Rural Living?
Email info@ranchmagazine.com or write to PO Box 2678, San Angelo, TX 76902.
A century after ranchmen in Del Rio banded together, Ranch & Rural Living still carries their association's news to sheep and goat country every month.