From the Homestead to a Household Name — Gardiner Talks History and Progress, Marbling and Fertility

Gardiner Angus Ranch started with a Kansas homestead, a willingness to work and a quest to stay curious, says fourth-generation rancher Mark Gardiner.  From “pay it forward” and “there is no downside to marbling,” Gardiner shares both life advice and breeding philosophy during this episode that covers everything from the history of the ranch and their involvement in the start of U.S. Premium Beef to today. Early adopters of artificial insemination (AI), Gardiner talks of the change they’ve been able to make because of technology and access to information over the years. But in the end, it all comes back to the people who help make it possible. 

HOSTS: Mark McCully and Miranda Reiman  

GUEST: Mark Gardiner, Gardiner Angus Ranch, is the fourth generation to raise cattle in western Kansas, near Ashland. 

Longtime Angus producers, the Gardiners were early adopters of AI  and are now one of the largest embryo transfer (ET) programs in the breed. Mark is a founding board member and current board chairman of U.S. Premium Beef, former Board member of the American Angus Association, former chairman of the NCBA Seedstock Council and former president of the Kansas Angus Association. He is also active in the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF). Under Mark’s guidance in 2012, the Henry C. Gardiner Scholarship and Lecture Series was created and endowed at Kansas State University, and they began a structured internship program at the ranch. 

Mark and his wife, Eva, have three sons, Cole, Ransom and Quanah, who represent the fifth generation of the Gardiner family ranching in Clark County, Kansas. 

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