Jason and Katy Ballard worked a combined seven years to buy a 76-acre ranch in Mason County. The couple is now raffling off the land for around $6.75 a ticket.

For the two attorneys, the acreage bought during the pandemic represented a chance at their dreams: Recreation, camp, and eventually living. The land was also for their homestead business, where they produce grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, and free-range eggs.

"So we've been talking about this homestead expansion for years," Jason Ballard said. "And of course, life, the job that actually pays the bills, everything keeps getting in the way."

The Mason County ranch is more than four hours from Dallas. It is closer to Austin, but still not close enough for the Ballards. The couple said they have an 18-month-old son, Remington —

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