Deseret Ranches
Deseret Ranches (Template:IPAc-en)[1] refers to the ranching operations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Central Florida. The Ranches include several organizations: Deseret Ranches of Florida, Deseret Cattle and Citrus, Taylor Creek Management, East Central Florida Services, AgReserves, and Farmland Reserve. The ranches are located Template:Convert southeast of the Orlando International Airport and Template:Convert west of Cape Canaveral, Florida.[2][3] Currently, Deseret Ranches is the most productive cow-calf ranch in the United States.[4]
Geography
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The ranch, owned by the LDS Church, spreads over the three central Florida counties of Osceola, Orange, and Brevard. Covering almost Template:Convert of land,[3][5] 90 ranchers and their families live on the ranch. The ranch maintains 44,000 head of beef cattle.[3][6] It is a for-profit operation and is not a normal part of the LDS Church's humanitarian efforts. Gordon B. Hinckley, former church president, said, "We have felt that good farms, over a long period, 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."[7]
History
The earliest plans for this ranch were made in 1949, and in 1950 the original Template:Convert were purchased. Deseret Ranch now covers an area Template:Convert, with a separate section surrounding Kenansville in Osceola County.
The church bought the original Template:Convert tract in 1950 and over 50 years, the ranch grew to more than Template:Convert. In 1997, it was the world's largest beef ranch, and the land was worth an estimated $858 million.[8]
Operations
Like their other financial details, the LDS Church does not disclose the revenue or valuation of the ranch. Still, it is known that in 2000, they moved 16 million pounds (7300 t) of calves, which then translated to about $16 million in revenue. In 2008, Deseret Ranch discussed selling part of the property for a development near Orlando, Florida, but the proposed rezoning was withdrawn before approval.[9][10]
The Deseret Ranch also brings in revenue from the mining of native shell beds (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.[11]
See also
Notes
Further reading
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- "From book to boom: how the Mormons plan a city for 500,000 in Florida" – The Guardian
External links
- Deseret Ranches official site
- ↑ churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide" (retrieved 2012-02-25), IPA-ified from «dĕz-a-rĕt´»
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Culture Clash". Host: Brian Unger. How the States Got Their Shapes. A&E Television Networks. The History Channel. 5-Jul-11. 44 minutes in.
- ↑ Ranching from Deseret Ranches webpage. Template:Webarchive
- ↑ Cattle from Deseret Ranches webpage. Template:Webarchive
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Biema, 1997Template:Full
- ↑ Spear, Kevin (8 July 2008). Deseret Ranch owners pull request to rezone property. Orlando Sentinel.
- ↑ Spear, Kevin (13 October 2008). Could Deseret Ranch morph into a metro area larger than Orlando?. Orlando Sentinel. Last accessed 15 May 2009. Template:Webarchive
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- 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