FRANKLIN -- Klaus Birkel was far from being a rancher when he moved to Texas in 1991 and took over Camp Cooley Ranch.
Unlike others in the industry who were carrying on the cowboy tradition of ranching, as many in their family had done before, becoming a rancher was never on Birkel's agenda.
Before moving to the area, Birkel had taken over his family's food business in Germany, where he manufactured pasta sauces and ready-to-eat meals.
"If you're coming out of Europe, space is important," Birkel said. "Especially Germany, it's a highly populated and highly dense area. I wanted to have the luxury of a lot of space. I never envisioned what we had to do with the place."
But since Birkel took the reins of ranch operations two decades ago, Camp Cooley, which at nearly 11,000 acres is the largest ranch in Robertson County and has a carrying capacity of about 4,000 head of cattle, has become well-known in the beef industry for its innovations in genetics and breeding and record-setting stock sales. It also is recognized as one of the oldest exotic game preserve ranches in the country.
Today, the ranch is for sale and Birkel is looking for a buyer who will take over the ranch and run it as a unit, he said.
Camp Cooley includes about 7,400 acres of pastureland, 1,000 acres of high-fenced exotic game preserve land, and another 1,400 acres of wetlands.
During the Civil War, the ranch served as a recruitment camp under Capt. Charles G. Cooley, and was a popular stomping ground for the Comanche Indians before they were pushed onto reservations.
Birkel had the business expertise to run a successful operation, but needed experienced ranchers to make the place into what he had envisioned.
"I tried to hire real good people and develop a business plan," he recalled. "It was fun, more or less, to show the people that outsiders can do a good job. We pushed the organization to heights that we never expected."
In 1998, two calves were successfully cloned by scientists at Camp Cooley, and a consistent herd of Brangus cows -- a mix between Angus and Brahman cattle bred to handle sub-tropical weather conditions -- has been maintained for the last 15 years.
"I think our biggest achievement is we brought a lot of service and support to our customers to make them successful," Birkel said. "Not only genetic-wise, but consulting -- how they should manage their ranch, how they should do their breeding program."
Most of Camp Cooley's clientele over the years consisted of co-op ranchers who would go on to sell the cattle to beef producers, Birkel said.
The hard choice
The decision to sell Camp Cooley didn't come easy for Birkel, and it was his other business ventures that have led him to the tough choice.
As someone heavily vested in the real estate industry, his portfolio took a major hit during the economic downturn, Birkel said, causing him to rearrange his finances.
As a result, he said, Camp Cooley will have to switch hands.
Bernard Uechtritz, an international consultant based out of Dallas who is handling the sale of Camp Cooley, said he expects to sell the ranch by mid-April, although he didn't disclose a selling price, saying that an exact price was hard to pinpoint.
As someone who was raised on a cattle ranch in Australia who has handled high-profile real estate sales -- past clients include TV personality Howie Mandel and radio host Dr. Laura Shlessinger -- Uechtritz said he's confident in his ability to pinpoint qualified and appropriate possible buyers who will be the right fit for Camp Cooley.
In 2008, Camp Cooley was subject to investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture after one its cows was found to be infected with malignant catarrhal fever, an animal disease that's fatal to cattle but doesn't pose a threat to humans.
The cow had contracted the disease from a wildebeest, then passed it on to her calf when she gave birth.
As a result, Birkel decided to sell off his entire herd of 3,000 cattle, but the infected cow incident isn't what led him to decide to sell the ranch, he said.
A boost to the economy
Joe Fuller, former vice president of marketing for Camp Cooley and a member of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, said the ranch has played a vital role in the local economy.
"It does absolutely contribute to the job market," he said. "All levels of education and skills were employed at the ranch, and there were easily more than 50 employees at one time."
Camp Cooley also has been advantageous to area economies by drawing in visitors -- often 800 to 1,000 at a time -- from all over the world who would make the trip to Robertson County for cattle sales, Fuller said.
Hotels would sell out and restaurants were always busy during the events, he said, bringing a boost of revenue to the area.
Ideally, the next owner will want to continue operating Camp Cooley in a similar manner as Birkel, Fuller said.
"The best solution would be for a registered cattle operation to buy Camp Cooley Ranch and carry on some of the things the ranch is doing or do some of their own programs there," he said. "No doubt that when it was operating in its peak capacity, Camp Cooley was a tremendous economic driver in the Brazos Valley, and that's certainly missing right now."
Birkel said the ranch was at the top of its game in about 2008, when there were more than 60 employees. About 40 work on the ranch today.
The next owner
When considering potential buyers, Birkel said he's looking for someone who will continue his operation with fresh ideas.
That's what Uechtritz is looking for, too, he said.
"It's important to me that Camp Cooley sells to somebody who buys the whole thing as a turnkey operation," he said. "We're not just showing the ranch to anybody."
To pre-qualify, potential buyers have to sign a confidentiality agreement stating they won't disclose any financial information they're exposed to and need to be able to prove they're in the position to afford the ranch, as well as make the investments needed to improve and maintain the land and facilities, Uechtritz said.
Because Camp Cooley goes beyond operating as a typical cattle ranch, and is rich in minerals and wetlands, estimating a sale price is challenging.
Interested buyers are presented with a range of values stating how much each part of the ranch could be worth, Uechtritz said. For example, a value range is presented for the mineral-rights component.
A unique aspect of the ranch is that it's so close to four major cities -- Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.
"Buyers of legacy ranches such as Camp Cooley expect to fly to their properties, not drive a couple of hours from Houston, Dallas, or Austin," said Eric O'Keefe, editor of The Land Report.
"That's what makes it such a rarity," O'Keefe said.
Expecting a Texas sale
O'Keefe said he expects to see a Texan take over.
"Who better to appreciate the value and the opportunities associated with such an iconic property?" he asked.
Leaving the ranch won't be easy for Birkel, who's lived in a home on the property with his wife since moving to the area.
But, it's the people he'll miss most.
"The cattle business brings people together, which is amazing," he said. "I met a lot of interesting people of out Mexico, South America, Australia, and a lot of high-class people here in Texas and the United States."
He'll be moving to Dallas, where he already owns a home, he said.