King Ranch--Texas Size BIG!

Last Saturday we visited the King Ranch, largest ranch in the U.S, located in southwest Texas in Kingsville, not far from Corpus Christi. We had an interesting two hour tour of the ranch where we learned how they manage the land to keep it producing for agriculture, cattle grazing and conservation, a real challenge in the dry southwest part of Texas. they farm without irrigation. the ranch has 825,000 acres. They grow cotton and sugar cane. They have oil wells. They raise cattle and quarter horses and have developed their own breeds of each, particularly well suited to surviving the hot, dry climate. In addition to their operations at the ranch, they are also the biggest citrus grower in Florida, and the largest pecan processor in the country. it's a privately owned corporation, with many generations of the founding King family still involved. Quite an operation, all started by an immigrant Irishman in the mid-1800's.

Pictures show their Santa Gertrudis breed of cattle, the "running W" brand, developed because it cannot be altered (should someone try to steal their cows), and finally a shot of the grounds around their main ranch house.