Deseret Ranches () refers to the ranching operations 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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(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 southeast of the Orlando International Airport and west of

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Geography

The ranch, owned by the LDS Church, spreads over the three central Florida counties of

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Muscogee language, Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfa ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

, 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 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."

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

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 Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

near

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, but the proposed rezoning was withdrawn before approval. 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 Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida. Its population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States census, up from 17,140 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay–Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne–Titusville, Flori ...

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