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More Than a Gift Blewett Family Donation Brings Santa Gertrudis to TSU By Jessie Topp-Becker, Managing Editor

to conduct research that further demon strates Santa Gertrudis’ ability to adapt and thrive in a variety of environments. The university’s size was another factor in the Blewetts’ decision. As Texas’ third largest university, TSU has a goal of becoming a leading research facility, making this a very strate gic partnership. The proverbial stars aligned, paving the way toward a ben eficial project for everyone involved. “We, as a breed, have the chance to partner with a major university whose stated goal is to produce research that improves the sustainability, produc CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 

A dding Santa Gertrudis to Texas State University’s (TSU) cow herd has been a goal for Kevin and Heather Blewett of Buena Vida Cattle Company for the last four years. This year, that goal becomes a reality, thanks to the Blewetts’ recent dona tion to TSU. Their gift of more than $500,000 will fund Santa Gertrudis research at TSU’s renowned Freeman Center. The project’s primary goals are to utilize Santa Gertrudis genetics and cash donations to improve the qual ity and employability of students graduating from the TSU Department of Agricultural Sciences and to establish the department as a primary destina tion for top agricultural students and faculty. The addition of Santa Gertrudis to the university’s herd will provide more hands-on experience for students and expand research opportunities for students and faculty.

“The ultimate goal of this project is to improve the quality of agriculture education at TSU through hands-on research and development,” Heather Blewett explains. Beyond benefiting the university, this project will benefit Santa Gertrudis breeders as well. “The project will provide data to improve the production and value of Santa Gertrudis and STAR 5 cattle,” Blewett says. As the birthplace of Santa Ger trudis, Texas is home to a large number of Santa Gertrudis breed ers, making the Freeman Cen ter’s location ideal for conducting valuable research that will impact numerous operations using Santa Gertrudis. Located in the Texas Hill Country of central Texas, the Freeman Center’s location is char acterized by extraordinary climate variability, making it well situated

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JANUARY 2023 • WWW.SANTAGERTRUDIS.COM