Our Story

We were introduced to the Santa Gertrudis breed by our grandfather’s brother, Dunlap Harper, one of the charter members of Santa Gertrudis Breeders International, who established his Herd #37 in 1944. Our father, Kenneth Hefte, and our grandfather, Tom Harper, purchased cattle from Uncle Dunlap, Heldenfels Farms, Chaparrosa Ranch and several other early breeders.

Hefte Ranch runs cattle in both Hondo and Agua Dulce, Texas: KT and Lauri manage the Agua Dulce division while Kathryn and family run cattle in the Hondo area, together about 150 head of cows. We take every opportunity to performance test, and keep adding new genetics and technology so our cattle are more efficient and productive.

We stay involved in our breed: KT serves as president of the South Texas Santa Gertrudis Association, Kathryn serves on the SGBI board and chairs the SGBI performance committee, and Kade chairs the SGBI foreign marketing committee. Since 2018 we have partnered with Strait Ranches on the Tried & True Production Sale.