University collaborating with one of the largest ranches in the nation

East Texas A&M University's cattle herd got a significant upgrade recently as the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) accepted delivery of 30 American Cruz heifers from the King Ranch elite herd.

Introducing the American Cruz

The American Cruz is a composite breed developed by King Ranch with a focus on maternal traits, efficiency and feedlot performance. The breed combines genetics from the historic King Ranch Santa Gertrudis herd with superior individuals in the Red Angus Breed.

According to King Ranch, annual production costs for American Cruz cattle are consistently below the industry average, with feed costs 28% lower while still producing calves that grade USDA Choice+ or Prime.

“These American Cruz heifers represent our most progressive genetics and come from the same herd we use for our own replacements,” said Darrell White, King Ranch cattle manager.

He added that the American Cruz cattle were developed to thrive with minimal inputs while still producing high-quality beef.

“These cattle were bred to be efficient and maintain carcass quality without sacrificing fertility and longevity,” White said.

Integrating Into the Herd

The 30 heifers will replace underperforming cattle that were recently sold from the university's herd. Dr. Bryan Rank, dean of CASNR, said there are several future possibilities for the new livestock.

“First and foremost, we need to focus on education and research. These cattle were developed with a focus on economically important traits,” Rank said. “Tracking the efficiency of these cattle under real-world conditions, as well as marketing their offspring as breeding stock or beef, are fantastic learning opportunities for our students. This herd, as well as our registered Angus herd, will give us many new avenues for teaching and research.”

The university's registered Angus program, still in its infancy, is focused on developing elite breeding stock.

The King Ranch: A National Heritage

With this collaboration, East Texas A&M is working with one of the leading names in U.S. cattle ranching. Established in South Texas in the 1850s, King Ranch has grown to become one of the largest ranching operations in the United States, spanning 825,000 acres across six Texas counties. Considered the Birthplace of American Ranching, King Ranch has a storied history of combining innovation with tradition and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

Rank said the decision to do business with King Ranch made sense on several levels.

“King Ranch and I both thought there would be some great opportunities to work together. This initial purchase is a first step that I hope will lead to future collaboration,” he said.

Heath Grigg, vice president and general manager of the Home Ranches, added that, “The direction that East Texas A&M is taking with their cattle is a real-world industry focus. We are looking forward to finding more opportunities to work together.”

What's Next for Ag at ETAMU?

For now, the new King Ranch cattle will serve East Texas A&M students as research and educational tools for degree programs such as Animal Science and Agribusiness, as well as interdisciplinary research and teaching that will involve all majors in CASNR.

“These American Cruz cattle provide experiential learning opportunities across the college when we consider economically important traits such as efficiency, longevity, and other real-world variables in the cattle industry,” Rank said.

For more information on the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, visit the college's webpage.