Professor of the Practice and Paul C. Genho Endowed Chair in Ranch Management
robert.wells@tamuk.edu
Robert S. Wells, Ph.D., PAS is a South Texas native who has spent his career consulting with ranchers to meet their ranch management and profitability goals across the Southern Great Plains and internationally.
Wells earned a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Stephen F. Austin State University, his Master of Science degree with a focus on ruminant nutrition from Texas Tech University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in beef cattle management and ruminant nutrition in 2004. He is a registered Professional Animal Scientist.
Dr. Wells worked as a Livestock Consultant for the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, subsequently Noble Research Institute in Ardmore, Oklahoma for 19 years. His areas of emphasis include: forage-based beef cattle production and cow/calf nutrition, herd health programs, improving herd genetics, stocker health and nutrition, marketing and value-added calf programs, and general ranch management.
Wells was the Executive Director of the Integrity Beef Alliance (2011-2025) which is a value-added calf marketing program dedicated to improving the sustainability, genetics and profitability of member ranches. Under his direction; Alliance programs expanded from the original traditional preconditioning program to include a replacement female program, and Integrity Beef Legacy program which is recognized by the United States Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB, cow/calf sector) as the first and only member run program where the members own the cows. Under his guidance, the Alliance won the 2018 BEEF Trailblazer of the year award. In 2022, he co-wrote a USDA Climate Smart Commodity Grant with American Farmland Trust that was awarded a $30 million grant to implement climate smart production strategies and marketing programs across eight states.
Prior to working for the Noble Foundation, Wells was the Assistant General Manager and Operations Manager for the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo, Inc. in Mercedes, TX. While working for the livestock show, Wells coordinated several hundred volunteers annually and managed the daily operations of the 110-acre event facilities.
Before his two-year stint at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo, he was the Beef Cattle Research Coordinator at the University of Illinois for over seven years. His responsibilities included coordinating and assisting with all research station activities across the state such as processing newly arrived cattle, artificial insemination, collecting ultrasound and carcass data and management of a ruminant nutrition laboratory on campus.
In November 2024, Robert accepted a faculty position in the King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management (KRIRM) located on the campus of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. As professor and holder of the Paul C. Genho Endowed Chair in Ranch Management, Robert works closely with graduate students, teaches and cooperates in the development and conduct of KRIRM’s numerous Lectureships and the annual Holt Cat® Symposium.
Robert and his wife, Danielle, have two beautiful daughters, Emily and Erin. Emily is an Oklahoma State University Extension Educator and owner of a 4,000-acre ranch in Eastern Oklahoma. Erin is actively involved in 4-H with her citizenship, leadership and horse project.