Paul Hitch is the real thing, a genuine descendant of Oklahoma’s earliest pioneers.His great-great grandfather, James Hitch, left Tennessee in the early 1880’s for Kansas seeking his fortune with $10 liberated from the family cookie jar.In 1884 he drove a small herd of longhorns from southeast Kansas to the Oklahoma panhandle and claimed 160 desolate acres for his animals.Two generations later, Paul’s father, “Ladd” Hitch, did some pioneering of his own when he started one of the first large-scale cattle feeding operations near the original family homestead just outside Guymon.
The land, homesteaded by almost the entire Fitch family before Oklahoma became a state, measures about 10,000 acres, and is now Hitch Farms, Inc.The original Henry C. Fitch Feedlot with room for 52,000 head has been joined by Hitch Feeder I with capacity for 59,000 animals and Hitch Feeder II which can handle 48,000 head.It’s a business that can handle almost 160,000 animals at any one time.
From that original feedlot Hitch Enterprises Inc. has grown into an agricultural conglomerate that dominates the Oklahoma panhandle.Hitch Cattle Co. is the cattle buying arm, Hitch Ag Credit finances feedyards, Hitch Commodities does hedging and risk management, Hitch Ranch owns a 150 head cow herd and Hitch is moving into pork farrow-to-finish operations.
The business has always been family-friendly with a long list of sons taking part in the daily operations dating back to the early days of great, great grandfather James."I grew up on a ranch, my two sons grew up on the ranch, and now my grandson will grow up at the ranch," he said.
After growing up on the ranch, Hitch earned a BS in Animal Science from OklahomaStateUniversity, a school that considers him one of their most distinguished alumni, and an MS in Business Administration from StanfordUniversity
A person who might be labeled hyperactive if he wasn’t so laid back, Paul is president of Hitch Enterprises Inc., chairman of the board, director and chief stockholder.In his not-to-spare time he works on community and statewide activities, even stepping onto the national stage through his activities with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association where he served as Live Cattle Marketing Committee Chairman and is currently the Policy Division Chairman. He’s been on the NCBA Board since 2000 and the executive committee since 2003.He’s also held positions with the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association and the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Filling up the rest of his day, he’s a member of the Guymon Chamber of Commerce and the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce.Add in his time spent on the board of City National Bank & Trust Inc., as a board member and founder of PROAG - an agricultural promotion group and a member of the boards of directors for the TexasCountyYMCA and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and its clear he can use all the family help he can get.