I'm Clyde Sommerlatte, and I began my venture in the cattle business in the early 1960’s in Gonzales, Texas, when I joined my family in the commercial cattle ranching business more than six decades ago. Our goal then was to provide quality beef for consumers, and for me this goal never changed.
2 Bar C Cattle Company began in the mid-1980’s, the opportunity to lease 1,000 acres in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin presented itself and I jumped at the opportunity. I wanted to pass along the experiences, lessons, and values instilled through the hard work and dedication it takes to successfully raise cattle that I learned growing up to the next generation. I’ve now been blessed with the opportunity to pass these lessons and values along to a second generation, too.
By the mid 1990’s, we began purchasing land in Caldwell County just outside of Luling, Texas. My wife, Karen, and I moved to the ranch from Austin in 2008. Our son, Chris, his wife, Maja, our granddaughter, Ili, and grandson, Riley, followed and moved to the ranch in 2009. Chris manages the day-to-day operations on the ranch. Ili attends The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Riley will graduate early this winter from Luling High School.
Late in the spring of 2019, our daughter, Kimberley, with her husband, Jason, and our granddaughter, Emma, made the ranch their home. Emma graduated from Lee University in Tennessee in the spring of 2024, with a major in Pastoral Ministry and a minor in Worship Music Ministry and is now pursuing a master’s degree. Kimberley manages the administrative operations and events held in our 2 Bar C Sale Barn and Event Center.
In 2002, we expanded our cattle operation and added a registered herd of Black Angus. This intentional shift helped us to expand our goal of providing some of the highest quality of beef available for consumers and offering excellent genetics and consistently producing high-quality Black Angus to breeders who want generational improvements for their herds. Our 2 Bar C Ranch herd began with 15 heifers purchased from BB Cattle Company in Connell, Washington. Through the years we selectively purchased cattle from some of the top Angus breeders around the country to increase the quality and consistency of our herd.

In 2016, we put about 50% of our bulls in the GrowSafe® Performance Data program. By 2018, we enrolled 100% of our bulls into the program. If you’re unfamiliar with the GrowSafe® Program and how it can impact your herd and your wallet, allow me to explain. The GrowSafe® Program gives us data on each animal by measuring its daily intake and weight gain. The data gathered allows producers the opportunity to select more efficient genetic performance to enhance their herds. Better feed efficiency for your program puts more dollars in your pocket.