McCoy's Farm and Ranch Family: Region VIII Koch Family

Congratulations to this month’s Farm and Ranch Family, the Kochs! In order for their ranch and irrigation company to be a success, everyone pitches in! Cody and Traci work alongside Cody’s parents, George and Karen, and two of their three kids, Wyatt (22) and Garrett (17). Their oldest daughter, Meaghan Koch-Timberlake, recently got married and works as a nurse practitioner in Hondo and Del Rio.

The Rockin 7 Ranch has been in the Koch family for four generations now. In fact, Cody and Traci live in the house that was once Cody’s grandparents’ house. The cattle ranch, which is located in Hondo, Texas (Region 8), is primarily run by George and spreads over 2000 acres. It is also the headquarters for Koch Landscape and Irrigation, which is run by Cody.

The everyday work is different for each person. George is always checking fences and taking care of the cattle, making sure they are fed, watered, branded and vaccinated. Cody on the other hand deals with the ins and outs of the landscape and irrigation business. The Koch’s oldest son, Wyatt, runs a crew for the landscape business and is also currently working on getting his irrigator license. Garrett also works for the landscape business when not in school.

“My dad’s great grandfather had one of the oldest drip irrigation companies in the state of Texas,” Garrett said. “My

great grandfather was named the Hondo man of the year, Medina county farmer and agricultural leader in 1982.” Once Wyatt gets his irrigator license, he will be taking over his great great grandfather’s legacy and begin running the irrigation portion of Koch Landscape and Irrigation.

Additionally, Garrett, Wyatt and Cody all help George do ranch maintenance and work the cattle. “It is a job that takes the whole family plus more,” Garrett said. “When my Poppy retires my brother and I would love to continue with the cattle operation.”

While Traci has a day job, working in the agriculture business for USDA (a farm service agency), she loves being on the ranch. “I’m waiting for the day I can retire and check cows all day!” Traci said.

The Kochs chose a ranching lifestyle because of the tradition in the family. “This is just part of the tradition,” Traci said. She went on to add that the boys in the family “love what they do, and they love taking care of and keeping the land that was passed down to them.”

Traci and Cody hope that ranching teaches their children as much as it has taught them and instills certain values in their lives. One thing that they firmly believe is that “if you have faith pretty much everything else falls into place.” Traci went on to add, “I want my kids to be respected wherever they go. Cody and I keep instilling in them that they need to be respectful, honest and faithful, in whatever they do, in order to succeed.” They also hope that this lifestyle has taught their kids the importance of hard work, integrity and tradition.

When they aren’t on the ranch, the Koch family’s favorite thing to do together, if not rodeoing, is to take the horse trailer to the Frio River during a long weekend. “We just love to be together,” Cody said. Traci added, “if you see one of us out and about the others are usually there also.”

Rodeo is also a big part of their lives, as George used to rodeo and Cody still team ropes. While Wyatt used to compete in THSRA as a team roper, Garret is keeping the rodeo legacy strong. He is currently a senior competing in team roping. Traci loves that THSRA has allowed the family to be around other families that have the same values as them. She is also grateful for the lifelong friends her kids have made through THSRA.

Luckily, the Kochs have a McCoys in San Antonio where they shop. “It is basically a one stop shop,” Cody said. “For our ranching landscape and irrigation business we could pretty much find anything we need at their stores from irrigation supplies to fencing supplies to gates.” They are honored to be named this month’s McCoys Farm and Ranch Family!