"As part of the group trying to have the Martin Grade designated a Scenic Highway so that we can protect its amazing tree canopy, I asked AgTEC only one question: Would it help us protect the tree canopy or would it hurt? They immediately promised to help, and then, they kept that promise by putting it in the Comp Plan that AgTEC will help create traffic and funding plans to protect the Martin Grade tree canopy into the future. It wasn�t even a debate. They simply understood how the environment makes Martin County such a special place to live and found a way to help keep it special. And they kept their promise."

�Mary Dawson, Chairwoman of Sustaining Community Lands; former member of the Committee for a Sustainable Treasure Coast

 
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About King Ranch

King Ranch is one of the largest family-owned landowners in the United States. At nearly 830,000 acres, the King Ranch is the largest ranch in the country, with a significant presence in Texas as well as Florida. The pristine nature of the Texas Ranch looks essentially the same as it did 100 years ago because of the family�s strong environmental stewardship ethic and use of best practices for land management.

King Ranch is also the primary owner of Consolidated Citrus LP (CCLP) � one of the largest citrus growers in Florida with holdings in more than seven counties. CCLP is also the largest private landowner in Martin County. King Ranch�s other Florida operations are varied, and quite literally, growing. Additional crops include sugar cane, sod, sweet corn, green bean and other specialty crops, all of which are grown under the principle that good farmers are good stewards of the land.

Through best practices management of the land, every effort is made to reduce the impact of farming on the natural environment by:

Additionally, King Ranch conducts employee training programs to ensure that environmental and operational Best Management Practices are implemented.

In addition to our well-known innovations in cattle and horse breeding and large-scale ranch management techniques, King Ranch continues to be on the forefront of innovation in farming. In addition to its large scale ranching and farming operations, today�s King Ranch is active in industries as diverse as publishing, retail, and eco-tourism. To learn more about King Ranch, go to www.kingranch.com.


The History of King Ranch

The story begins in the mid-1830�s in New York City. Richard King, a young boy who had been indentured, sneaked through the Manhattan Wharfs to become a stowaway on a ship heading south � south toward his destiny.

Young Richard distinguished himself as a tireless worker and a fast learner with an ever-keen eye for opportunity. He rose quickly in the steam boating business on the Alabama and Florida rivers, becoming a captain. After moving to South Texas, he founded a steam boat line with his lifelong friend Mifflin Kenedy � setting up ports and moving goods and people along the lower Rio Grande River.

In the middle of the 19th century, Captain King traveled north from the Rio Grande to Corpus Christi. He traversed a region then known as the Wild Horse Desert and was captivated by it. His eye for an opportunity was at its sharpest when, after well over a hundred miles of riding over the wild lands, he and his party came to the cool, refreshing waters of Santa Gertrudis Creek. King saw that this place that nourished so much wildlife could also sustain domestic stock, and King's vision for a great cattle ranch began to take shape.

He and business partner Gideon "Legs" Lewis purchased the 15,500-acre Mexican land grant then known as the Rincon de Santa Gertrudis � the first foothold of what would become the legendary King Ranch of Texas.

By the end of the Civil War, King Ranch had grown to 146,000 acres�supporting thousands of head of cattle. Captain King's domesticated longhorns were some of the very first hoof stock to comprise the early northward Texas cattle drives. Around this time, Captain King registered a brand that has since taken on mythic significance in the taming of the West � the famous "Running W".

One of Captain King's most important contributions to his ranch's improvement was the outworking of his vision to improve his cattle and horse stock through an aggressive, thorough and studied upbreeding (breed improvement) program. By means of this program, King began to transform the hardscrabble longhorns and wild horses of his lands into the finest cattle and horses in Texas. Scientific upbreeding programs have been hallmarks of King Ranch since its inception, and they have paid off in spades. The upshot of one such program in the years after King's death would be the development of the Santa Gertrudis breed of cattle � the first officially recognized new breed of beef cattle in America.

The same innovative thinking and persistent hard work that distinguished the earliest eras of King Ranch's development continue to inspire the businesses of modern-day King Ranch. To learn more about King Ranch, go to www.king-ranch.com.