Bob McCan of Victoria, Texas, oversees the cattle operations and recreational hunting and wildlife operations for his family’s company, McFaddin Enterprises, Ltd. in Victoria, Refugio, and Bee Counties. The ranches are stocked with Victoria cattle, a commercial cross-bred of three-fourths Hereford and one fourth Brahman with a uniform Hereford coloring.
McCan was born in Victoria County on October 16, 1957. He graduated from public high school in 1975. After spending his freshman year at Victoria College, he transferred to Texas A&M University in College Station and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Range Science in 1980.
McCan was appointed to the board of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association in 1990. In 1999, he was named second vice-president of the Association and in 2003 he became president of TSCRA. Some of the accomplishments McCan is most proud of during his tenure there were organizing the association’s long range strategic planning process and creating a partnership stewardship award program between TSCRA and the Society for Range Management Texas section to honor Texas ranchers for their stewardship achievements.
During his tenure as president, TSCRA received an award for their leadership role along with Texas Beef Council and Texas A&M Extension Service on creating the Texas Beef Quality Assurance training program.
In 1995, Governor George Bush appointed McCan to serve on the Fire Ant Research and Management Account Advisory Committee. He was then elected chairman of this state committee. Under his leadership, McCan was responsible for helping coordinate research efforts for controlling the red imported fire ant between Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, and The University of Texas.
Since 1993, McCan served on the National Cattleman’s Beef Association board. He served as vice chairman of the Private Lands and Environment Committee. From 2005 through 2008, he served as a regional vice president for NCBA and served on the Executive Committee during this time.
McCan has also taken an active role with the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, serving as the state chairman on two separate tenures over the past fifteen years. GLCI is an organization founded by grassroots producers in an effort to re-establish technical assistance for range land producers and grazing managers and also to help provide education to grazing land managers. Under the leadership of McCan and many others in Texas, this coalition effort has been very successful in increasing technical assistance for ranchers.
In 2001, McCan was given the outstanding Rangeland Management Award for the State of Texas by the Society for Range Management. In 2007, he received the Lone Star Land Stewardship Award for the Gulf Prairies and Marshes region by Texas Parks and Wildlife Agency.
From 1995 to 2008, McCan served as chairman of the local Victoria Soil and Water Conservation District where he and other board members oversee the many different state and federal conservation programs. During his leadership tenure, the Soil and Water District of Victoria received an award for being the top soil and water district office in the state.
Governor Rick Perry appointed McCan to serve on the Farm and Ranch Land Conservation Council in 2006. Then in 2008, the Governor appointed him to serve on the Coastal Coordination Council of Texas.
McCan has served as a director for the First Victoria National Bank since 1997. He also serves on the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management Council, which oversees a ranch management graduate degree program at Texas A&M University in Kingsville.
One accomplishment Bob and his wife, Julie, are most proud of are their two children, Robert August and Mary Isabel. The children are the sixth generation of their family to work on the McFaddin Ranch.