Olivarez Ranches was founded in 1898 by family matriarch Crisanta Barrera. Upon her death, the
ranch was divided up between her children, with Romula Olivarez gaining the land which is now Olivarez Ranches. Her son, Miguel, began running the ranch in the 1930s. It was Miguel who
introduced Santa Gertrudis cattle to the ranch. He bought his first two bulls in 1950 and was assigned herd #439 by Santa Gertrudis Breeders International. |
Miguel continued to upgrade his commercial herd to a purebred Santa Gertrudis herd in the 1960s with the purchase of more Santa
Gertrudis cattle.One of the foundation bulls he purchased from Mirasol Ranch was bull 411, a son of Mirasol's 511 bull, Masterpiece. Another foundation bull he purchased was a son of John Martin's Primo
bull. A third bull was bought from Chaparosa Ranch to use on the daughters of those two bulls. These cattle formed the basis of the present Olivarez Ranches purebred Santa Gertrudis herd. |
 Miguel Olivarez shows off one of his prize Santa Gertrudis cattle. This picture was taken in 1964.
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