Corteva Range & Pasture: Built on Legacy, Driven by Determination

Corteva Range & Pasture:

Built on Legacy, Driven by Determination

Stuart Ranch honors legacy. Founded in 1868, it’s the oldest ranch in Oklahoma under continuous family ownership. The ranch’s primary focus is its commercial cow-calf and yearling operation. In addition, it operates a successful Quarter Horse breeding program, a bucking horse program, an outfitting service and a direct-to-consumer beef business.

Fifth-generation Terry Stuart Forst leads the ranch operations, along with her sons: Clay and Robert. Her great-great-grandfather, Robert Clay Freeny, founded the ranch. Forst carries a quiet confidence that commands attention. She commands admiration without saying much at all.

Their brand, the 7S, represents generations of grit, innovation and dedication to stewardship.

“The 7S brand is our legacy,” Forst said. “It is our reputation. It means integrity. If you see that brand, you can trust that we will stand behind it and you’ve got a whole family generations deep that will stand behind that.”

Above all, continuing the ranch’s heritage for future generations is the most important thing to Forst.

“Leaving this ranch to the generations that follow and having a place for them to come home has been a mission for Clay, Robert and I,” Forst said. “And we’ve so far been successful.”

She credits much of her success to having pioneering, sharp mentors. People who really became her close friends and shared their knowledge with her.

“I was very fortunate to have some of the best cattlemen and -women in the world be mentors to me,” Forst said. “They were influences who wanted me to be better, to produce the best cows I could produce, and to seek and find cattle that would work on this operation and become efficient, productive and help us create revenue.”

Apart from excellent mentors, Forst has been dedicated to learning. After graduating from Oklahoma State University, she attended a ranching–for–profit school, took range management classes and graduated from the prestigious Texas Christian University Ranch Management Program.

“I have wanted to make whatever I was involved in the best it could be,” Forst said. “Mother Nature doesn’t always agree with me and makes it extremely difficult, but I understand that and accept the challenges.”

Stuart Ranch has tailored its program over the years to be the most efficient, effective and economical for its location. Forst uses Corteva Agriscience™ Range & Pasture products, such as Remedy® herbicide and Sendero® herbicide Powered by LandVisor® Advanced Brush Management as tools for weed and brush control, along with prescribed burning and rotational grazing. The ranch faces challenges, including mesquite, blackberries and musk thistle. Forst develops a burn schedule a year in advance and works strategically within her budget to spray pastures when it’s advantageous.

“I think to be a good steward of what God has given us, we have to access all the available tools to make it the best possible,” Forst said.

Forst scouts her pastures on horseback. She monitors closely and understands the mechanics of rotational grazing and letting pastures rest. Forst is also committed to nurturing the native grasses on the ranch.

“We trotted through a pasture last fall that we were going to calve in, and I literally had big bluestem as tall as me on horseback,” Forst said. “I got goosebumps.”

Big bluestem is a native, warm-season bunchgrass known for rapid growth during mid-to-late summer. It develops a deep, extensive root system that improves soil structure and provides highly nutritious forage for cattle.

Forst fearlessly forged her own path to get to this point. She is determined and focused. She knew going in that she had a lot to prove, and she has. When her father asked her to come back to the ranch, she developed a five-year plan to change the trajectory of the business. She set a goal of the ranch financially supporting itself within those five years, and she achieved that goal.

“This is what I’ve wanted to do my entire life,” Forst said. “There’s nothing else I want to do.”

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