Ben R. Houston After serving four years in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict, Ben R. Houston returned to Colorado and pursued his love of ranching and cattle breeding. In 1966, Houston and his wife, Anita, founded the Aristocrat Angus Ranch on the St. Vrain River near Platteville. Houston has had an artificial insemination program since 1952. Additionally, he is a pioneer in embryo transplanting. In 1980, he built a modern lab at his feedlot. Today Houston's staff artificially inseminates 2,000 replacement heifers annually which return to commercial ranches. Houston has served as able council to the governments of Turkey, Japan and Costa Rica. He has exchanged cattle business information with the U.S.S.R. and the Republic of Ukraine. Ben served as a member and has held offices on many boards in agricultural and non-agricultural business sectors.