How it all Started
As early as three decades ago, the Harding family began formulating a vision of the cattle industry of tomorrow. Their dream was to produce beef cattle that could be counted upon to consistently perform above the quality standards set by the rest
of the industry, and to maintain this level of excellence year after year. Being located in the northern Great Plains, the Hardings
also wanted to find a cattle breed that could thrive in the harsh conditions of this region.
Around this same time (in the late
1970’s), researchers at Fort Keogh Livestock & Range Research Laboratory (LARRL), located near Miles City, Montana, began work
on a project they called the “crossbred gene combination” (CGC) project. Their goal with this research was to develop structured
crossbreeding programs such that heterosis (hybrid vigor) would be maximized and that the desirable traits of these different breeds
would come together in one breed—resulting in a unique crossbred gene type that would optimally fit each environment.
An alternative
to the regular cross-breeding systems is to perform one or a few crosses between two or more breeds to produce a single population
called a synthetic or composite. In 1978, the CGC project at Ft. Keogh began with the purchase of 300 Red Angus females. This group of females was selected from 12 different sources where herd performance testing had been used for a number of years. During the subsequent years , these females were bred to select purebred Tarentaise or Charolais sires. This first phase of
the CGC project continued until 1981. At that time, phase II (inter se) crossbred mating began. The breeding of the two
crossbreeds resulted in a composite breed with a stabilized genetic composition of 50% Red Angus, 25% Charolais, and 25% Tarentaise.
As
research on this project progressed, surplus CGC cattle soon became available. These cattle were sold by auction to local livestock
producers, who used them primarily as female replacements in cowherds or as sires in existing herds.
It was through a friend
at Fort Keogh that the Hardings became aware of the research that was being carried out there. The Harding family had known
Dr. Pat Currie, a researcher at Ft. Keogh, for some time previous to the start of the CGC project. Dr. Currie’s involvement
at Fort Keogh acted as a bridge in linking this relatively new science of breeding with Harding’s dream and vision for the future. In 1989, Harding Land & Cattle Company (HLCC) was brought into existence and the assembling of these surplus Fort Keogh CGC animals
marked the start of the HLCC herd. Through careful mating and selection, these beginning stages in building the CGC herd have
evolved into the composite cattle raised by Harding Land & Cattle Company that are now known as “RANCHSTAR’s “. The
name “RanchStar” was formed by taking three letters from each of the breeds that make up a RanchStar animal, and combining them into
one word—Red Angus (RAN), Charolais (CHS), and Tarentaise (TAR).
To further increase the benefits of hybrid vigor in the feeder calves
that are raised and backgrounded at the Harding place, HLCC has introduced another factor into the equation for high performance. The F1 cross between a Hereford and Black Angus, commonly known as the “Black-Baldy”, has long since been known for its successful
performance in many areas. As a result, HLCC started breeding its RanchStar bulls to Black-Baldy cows. The result of this
five-way cross is an optimal feeder calf that has inherited desirable traits from five different breeds. Today, 75% of HLCC’s
cowherd is made up of F1 Black-Baldy cows. These cows make up what is known as the “commercial” herd. The calves that
are born to these cows are all backgrounded in the HLCC feedlot and sent to Nebraska to be finished. The other 25% of HLCC’s
cowherd is made up of RanchStar cattle. These RanchStar calves are scrutinized heavily and those that are not culled are kept
as replacements in the cowherd, bulls for HLCC’s use, or for sale to other producers.
