From Overgrowth to Productive Pasture: How C&D Cattle and Farming is Revolutionizing Land Reclamation for Ranchers
Charlie Angle comes from a long line of cattle ranchers. His family's ranching heritage stretches back more than a century, from their original 300-acre ranch in Pickens, SC, to the Winchester Ranch founded in Wyoming in 1912, to Charlie's own operation in Malabar, Florida, established in 2002.
To Charlie, this heritage is an essential part of the story of his business. His family history laid the foundation for his career in the cattle ranching industry, and his cattle ranching experience enables him to offer one-of-a-kind, expert service through his forestry business.
As a result, Charlie now runs a unique forestry and land clearing operation - one that focuses specifically on preparing land for raising cattle.
His business is called C&D Cattle and Farming. Altogether, his operation includes cattle ranching, palm farming, and a forestry division, for which he runs a PT175, a PT300, a PT400, and an SFH multitask attachment, paired with a John Deere 8R370. These machines, combined with his cattle raising expertise, allow Charlie to offer unparalleled service to landowners and ranchers in the Southeast. We spoke with Charlie about his business and how his FAE machines help him make the difference in the field.
Charlie’s experience goes back nearly three decades. About 27 years ago, he started a harvesting business digging cabbage palms. Over time, the operation expanded into cattle farming and conventional land clearing before eventually moving into forestry and agricultural land improvement.
“We ended up going more into forestry, working on cattle ranches, improving land, and turning it into grassland for cattle,” he said.
Charlie told us about the types of jobs that C&D Forestry usually works on. “Our primary application is for agricultural purposes,” Charlie explained. “We’ll come in and take timber areas down on unusable land on cattle ranches, and we’ll mulch it up. Then we’ll till it in. Then we’ll get it seeded and processed for cattle within a year.”
He explained how his expertise helps him offer premium service.
“When I come onto somebody’s farm, I know exactly what we’re doing,” Charlie said. “I know exactly where we’re trying to end up with that finished product.”
The right machine for the job
Just as he knows cattle, Charlie knows heavy equipment. So when he started his forestry business, Charlie went straight to the big leagues. His first forestry machine was a PT300, which he purchased from his go-to dealer: Dobbs Equipment. He later purchased a PT175 and, more recently, the first PT400 to be sold in the United States. For him, the PT400 wasn't a hard sell. “We were all in at that point. We knew that if it was just a little bit bigger, we would take it. So we bought the first PT400 in the country. We put it to use, and we haven't been able to shut the machine down.”
Charlie commented on his favorite elements of the PT. “A big factor is the comfort of the machine. The cab is very comfortable, and the gauge layout is well designed. The ergonomics are very user-friendly, which is important when you're spending more than 10 hours a day in the machine, as we often do.”
“The tough construction of the machine has proven to be extremely durable,” he said. “We like how the head is positioned and balanced with the carrier, and the low ground pressure is a big advantage when working in boggy areas, especially during the rainy season. The protective cage system, the overall design, and the machine's durability are all great. We like everything about it.”
In addition to his praise for his PTs, Charlie is enthusiastic about his SFH multitask attachment.
“A lot of cow farmers can’t believe what this machine can do because they’re used to a standard tiller. That’s good for land that’s already been cultivated, but with this machine, we’ll come in and take stumps out. We’re talking twenty-seven, thirty-inch hardwood stumps. We’ll sit on them, and it’ll take them down more than a foot into the ground. Then, when we jump in with the tiller, we’ve got beautiful land to run. After that, they can maintain it with their farm tractors without stumps tearing up their equipment. So this SFH is an amazing thing.”
With the SFH, Charlie is able to offer full service from start to finish. With his PTs, he can take down large standing material, leaving a layer of mulch. Then, using the SFH, he is able to process that mulch back into the soil, leaving a clean area ready for planting, which will benefit from the nutrients added by the mulched material.
Customer service that makes the difference
While Charlie is extremely positive about his ” equipment, it’s his experience with customer service that has truly made the difference.
One experience, in particular, stands out. While working on a job in the Atlanta area, Charlie needed a replacement part. After ordering it through an FAE dealer, he decided to pick it up in person from FAE USA's headquarters.
Upon his arrival, he was greeted at the loading dock by FAE USA CEO Giorgio Carera, who personally escorted him into the warehouse. Along the way, Carera stopped beside a PT300, the same machine Charlie operates, and asked for his honest feedback.
“He walked me over to a machine that we own, the same type of machine, a PT300.
He asked me immediately what do I like about it? What don’t I like about it?
This is the CEO for the entire country, and he came out and greeted me. I found that to be unbelievable.
I really did. My company is a growing company right now, but it made me feel that I was important to FAE.”
In another example, Charlie noted how he was impressed with FAE’s consultative approach to customer service. While researching an attachment for one of his tractors, Charlie reached out to Tom DuRant, now his PT territory manager, for guidance. Rather than simply pitching the machine to him, DuRant took the time to evaluate Charlie's equipment and ultimately advised that the attachment would not perform properly with his tractor.
Charlie explored a similar option from another manufacturer, who strongly encouraged him to purchase their machine. They brought the machine out to him, but it quickly became apparent that it was not capable of performing as promised.
After this, Charlie immediately went out to buy a new tractor that would work with the FAE head.
“I went and bought that tractor - over a five hundred thousand dollar farm tractor - to go back, no questions, to FAE equipment. I didn’t need to try out anything else. I saw that the other equipment wasn’t built even close to the quality of FAE’s, so I called Tom and told him, ‘Everglades is getting me a bigger farm tractor, and I want that SFH.’ That’s where I ended up, and I’ve been very happy with that machine ever since.”
Grateful to offer service
After speaking about FAE’s customer service, Charlie told us about the approach he takes with his own customers.
“Being cattlemen ourselves, we know what it’s like to take care of a cattle ranch. When we come on to a piece of property, we’re not just coming on and clearing a piece of land. We know what it takes to manage cattle in a pasture. You want to leave some shade - we know what that’s like. You come in and maintain it with your farm tractor. You’re going to cross fence. You’re going to do all these things to make your cattle ranch suitable. When we leave the property we’ve worked on, we’ve set it up for future maintenance and support of the cattle.”
He continued. “On some ranches we’ll even dig a pond for the cows, and they’ll put a well on it. We make suggestions to the cow farmers; they share suggestions with us.
Charlie’s expertise quickly becomes obvious to landowners. “Once we get in there and start working, the ranchers and landowners all seem to trust us. They’ll cut us loose on a hundred acres and, before we’re even halfway through the job, seventy percent of the people that we work for open up more land to us.”
When asked about his most memorable job, he said, “Every job. Every job is special to me because we are so excited that ranchers are willing to open their land to us. For ranchers, their land is their life, and for them to trust us to come on their land and make a difference is a huge honor for us. When we close that cattle gate on the way out, we look back and we know that these people are going to put cows on it six months, eight months from now. And that’s a huge reward for us. The second reward is obviously that we get up every day, put on our boots, grab our keys, and make some money.”
Looking to the future
C&D’s forestry division has already experienced considerable success, but Charlie has big plans for the future.
“We’re so proud of how effective this process is, and we intend to be the number one company in the south: the number one company doing what we do - improving cattle land, taking unusable land and turning it into safe, productive pasture. My blinders are on with my equipment, and I plan to own more equipment, more FAE equipment, and expand this business to become the largest and the number one company doing this kind of work in the Southeast.”
The company is expanding its work into southern Georgia, with Charlie describing projects ranging from approximately 30 acres to as much as 450 acres. With another large project potentially on the horizon, he is already considering the next addition to the fleet: an FAE PT550.
As an expert in his field who truly values the opportunity to offer service to other ranchers, Charlie is sure to have continued success. He knows cattle and equipment, and he knows that FAE provides what he needs and more.
He gave us some final words about his relationship with FAE.
“We are so glad that we have chosen FAE,” he said. “They seem like they have our backs. They help us with our parts. They help us with technical support. They just feel like a partner with us in this business.”
