Deseret Ranches () refers to the ranching operations of the

Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

in Central Florida. The Ranches include several organizations, including Deseret Ranches of Florida, Deseret Cattle and Citrus, Taylor Creek Management, East Central Florida Services, AgReserves, and Farmland Reserve. Located southeast of the Orlando International Airport and west of

Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type = Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. Currently, Deseret Ranches is the most productive cow-calf ranch in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Geography

This ranch, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), spreads over the three central Florida counties of

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

, Orange, and Brevard. Covering almost of land, 90 ranchers and their families live on the ranch. The ranch maintains 44,000 head of beef cattle. It is a for profit operation and is not a normal part of the humanitarian efforts of the LDS Church.

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

, former president of the church has said, "We have felt that good farms, over a long period of time, represent a safe investment where the assets of the Church may be preserved and enhanced, while at the same time they are available as an agricultural resource to feed people should there come a time of need."

History

The earliest plans for this ranch were made in 1949, and in 1950 the original were purchased. Deseret Ranch now covers an area , with a separate section surrounding Kenansville in Osceola County. The church bought the original tract in 1950, and over 50 years, the ranch grew to more than . In 1997 it was the world's largest beef ranch, and the land was worth an estimated $858 million.

Operations

The LDS Church does not disclose the revenue of the ranch, but it is known that in year 2000 they moved 16 million pounds (7300 t) of calves, which at the time translated to about $16 million in revenue. In 2008, Deseret Ranch discussed selling part of the property for a development near

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, but the proposed rezoning was withdrawn prior to approval. The Deseret Ranch also brings in revenue from the mining of native shell beds (which is used throughout Florida to pave roads), orange groves, hunting permits, and sales of ornamental palm trees. In 2011, having won control of some of its water from the St. Johns River Water Management District, it was planning on selling some to

Cocoa, Florida Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne– Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Etymology Several stories circulate amon ...

Notes

External links

Deseret Ranches
official site {{Coord, 28.186097, -80.878533, display=title 1950 establishments in Florida Brevard County, Florida Deseret Management Corporation Landmarks in Florida Orange County, Florida Osceola County, Florida Properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ranches in Florida The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States

Geography

History

Operations

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links