Agricultural News
OSU's Totusek Lectureship Features Dave DeLaney of King Ranch
Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:16:09 CDT
Oklahoma State University Animal Science Department hosted the Totusek Lectureship this week and featured Dave DeLaney, the General Manager of Ranch Operations for King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas. DeLaney covered a variety of topics including the history of King Ranch, as well as, many changes that are occurring too.
Ron Hays sat down to talk more with DeLaney about the King Ranch, the cattle operations, what it stands for and what legacy it is leaving behind. Click on the LISTEN bar below to hear their conversation.
DeLaney says King Ranch is so unique because of the family, which has a generational outlook and they are dedicated to keeping the land as a working ranch operation. There are many other alternative land uses but they choose to use it basically as a working laboratory says DeLaney. With an incredible wildlife habitat, King Ranch is working towards a way to make the livestock and ranching industry compatible with wildlife in a working ranch setting.
In fact, the wildlife operation makes up at least half of the income of the ranch says DeLaney. Developing since the late 1980s, the wildlife operation at King Ranch has served as an excellent way to hedge against drought and bad cattle markets. DeLaney says that the ranch has been profitable every year for several years and a great extent of that is because of the wildlife component.
But, King Ranch is known for their Santa Gertrudis cattle herd, which DeLaney says is still their breed. With 1,000 Santa Gertrudis cattle, DeLaney says all genetics that come into the ranch go through that herd, which is run on an EPD system. DeLaney says they use Red Angus to create a composite of Red Angus and Santa Gertrudis animal, which allows them to still have a high quality animal with excellent carcass characteristics.
Finally, King Ranch is working towards leaving a ranching legacy behind. The family established the King Ranch Institute of Ranch Management and it has been endowed to the extent of $10 million and is the only program in the U.S. that grants students a masters of science degree in ranch management. DeLaney says it is a multi-disciplinary approach and it is for people with a passion for the indsutry and wanting to learn how to manage large landscapes.
Click here for more information on King Ranch.
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