Real estate
Understand the land, the buildings and what they can support. Make investment and development decisions with their long-term use in mind.
Ash River Companies
Businesses that support and grow self-reliance.
We bring real estate investment, construction, farming and ranching together to put land, buildings and practical skills to work.
How it fits together →
Why these businesses belong together
Useful places. Productive land. People who know the work.
Self-reliance takes more than owning a piece of land or finishing a building. It takes the ability to put a place to use, care for it and keep it working.
Real estate decisions shape what a place can become. Construction makes the buildings and infrastructure useful. Farming produces food from the land. Ranching brings attention to the woods, water and habitat that need care over time.
Land, shelter and food are connected needs. The businesses give us a way to sustain the practical work behind them and develop skills people can carry forward. Our aim is for the experience in one part of Ash River to strengthen the others, with more people able to contribute and learn. That purpose guides where we invest our time, effort and resources.
How the work connects
From choosing a place to caring for it
Construction
Turn those plans into useful places. Bring the people and skills together to build, repair and adapt what is there.
Farming
Put productive land to work raising food. Learn from the day-to-day care of animals, fields and the farm itself.
Ranching
Manage the land for the long term. At our Texas ranch, that means caring for woods and river bottom, improving access and managing wildlife habitat.
A farm needs working buildings and access. A building needs a plan for the land around it. Both need people who can carry out the work and maintain what they have made. We want the knowledge, tools and relationships built in each part of Ash River to help the others.
Where it is taking shape
The work already underway
Building and development
Legado Services focuses on commercial construction, with construction management, building and development advisory experience. Ash River Construction is being formed for residential construction, specializing in high-end custom homes. Current projects across Ash River include a whole-house remodel in Austin and a planned log home remodel in Burlington, Iowa.
Explore the projects →Our farm and ranch
At Ash River Farms in Blairstown, Iowa, the work includes cattle, hens, bees and hay. At Ash River Ranch on the Little River in Texas, we are clearing and managing woods and river bottom for wildlife. They are different places, each teaching us how to use and care for the land.
Meet the businesses →
Services for landowners
Land management
We provide land management services including habitat restoration, food plots and clearing. The same purpose that guides our own farm and ranch work carries into helping others care for their land and put it to use.
Explore land management services →The people and tools behind it
A purpose people can take part in
None of this happens through one person or one business alone. Our team and trade partners bring different skills to the work. Phil stays involved in both the investment decisions and the execution of projects.
Automated Process builds AI systems that we use in our own businesses first. The aim is practical: help the people doing the work organize information and get things done.
Ash River Preserve grows out of the work already underway at our Iowa farm and Texas ranch. It is the next step toward sustainability in our community and outreach that helps others, including veterans, first responders and their families. We are developing plans that connect food, land, places to gather and opportunities to take part in the work.
More about the Preserve →Get involved
Bring your experience, your ideas or your willingness to learn.
We want to meet people who see a place for themselves in this work. You might have a property or project in mind, a trade to contribute, experience with farming or land management, or an interest in learning alongside the people doing it.
Tell us what you do, where you are and what you would like to work on together.
Start a conversation →