Longhorns Can Survive In Texas, we have recently gone through a declared National Disaster from the winter storms that hit hard statewide. The loss of power for many days has decimated the agriculture industry. 8 million dollars worth of milk a day is being dumped due to the loss of power and the shut down of trucking. Manufacturing of livestock feed closed and will take weeks of good weather to recover. The chicken industry has been decimated with i ncubators going inactive. The citrus crop in the lower Texas Valley will not recover. The wildlife, especially exotics, have been hit hard. Longhorns have over 500 years of survival instinct dating back to Christopher Columbus, and that comes in handy outside of Texas where severe winter weather is the normal. I had a reminder during this winter storm at what it really means to have Longhorn genes. As soon as the ice and snow melted off the trees, the cattle left the protein feeders and hay to hit the desired leaves on the trees. The horns are highly attractive, the color is amazing, and the lean meat is highly desirable, but this weather was a personal reminder that the Longhorn’s greatest attribute is the 500 years of instinct and survivability. Breeds other than Longhorns know no other way than to stand around and partake in the provided handouts.
Pioneer Plaza Longhorns, Dallas TX with Glen Rose Roots The sculpture — the largest of its kind in the world commemorates 19th-century cattle drives that took place along the Shawnee Trail, which went through Austin, Waco and Dallas. The 49 1,200-pound steers, along with three trail riders, cluster along an artificial limestone ridge that winds down from Pioneer Cemetery at the top of a hill overlooking Young and Griffin streets and the Dallas Convention Center. In 1994, the Texas Trees Foundation dedicated Pioneer Plaza to the City of Dallas providing a focal point with historical significance for downtown Dallas. The Plaza commemorates Dallas’ beginnings by celebrating the trails that brought settlers to Dallas. The site features native plants and trees and a flowing stream in a natural setting and a re-creation of a cattle drive in bronze with longhorn steers being driven by three cowboys on horses. Each piece of bronze art was created by artist Robert Summers of Glen Rose, Texas. It is located adjacent to the Dallas Convention Center at Young and Griffin between the historical Pioneer Cemetery and the Dallas Convention Center. Pioneer Plaza represents the largest public open space in the central business district. Developed on what was once a 4.2 acre parking lot, Pioneer Plaza is second only to Dealey Plaza as the most-visited landmark in downtown Dallas. The Plaza, located in front of the Dallas Convention Center, depicts a cattle drive featuring three cowboys and a herd of forty longhorn steer. Cast in monumental scale (larger than life size) the Plaza has become the second most visited tourist attraction in the downtown area. Only Dealey Plaza, the site of the Kennedy assassination, attracts more visitors each year. The Plaza is situated on a 4.2-acre site, which was donated by the City of Dallas to construct this magnificent open space. Under the direction of Trustees and Project Co-Chairs, Jim Lake (deceased), Diane Scovell and Jack Beckman, $4.8 million in private funds were raised from individuals and local businesses. The design of Pioneer Plaza was begun in 1992 with site work beginning late that same year. The Plaza is a work in progress, and additional steer will be added, as appropriate, to complete the herd.
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WI Longhorns Roland West * 816-255-5456 * wilonghorns@gmail.
Ren’O DOB: 7/16/2013 Over Kill x Reneger
WI Rainy Day Woman DOB: 4/12/2013 Drag Iron x ZD Delta Texas Cash
Queen Tuttess DOB: 4/11/2007 Top Caliber x Jewel of The Nile
www.wilonghornsandleather.com
For those that calve seasonally in the southern US it’s time to think about turning out bulls for spring calves next year. There are a few considerations you should think about based on your breeding operation. Do you raise and use your own bulls? Do you lease bulls? Do you buy virgin bulls? Do you buy proven sires? If you raise your own bulls and have a closed herd there is a low risk of venereal diseases entering your herd. You should be considering the age of your bulls and the work load you are asking of them (how many cows they are expected to service and how much and what type of country they are expected to cover). A bull in his prime can naturally cover more cows in rougher country than an older or younger bull. If you lease or buy bulls do you only lease certified virgin bulls? This is the only way to ensure you are not bringing venereal diseases into your herd (introducing trich, lepto or vibrio could devastate your entire herd and some of these diseases are not treatable). If you’re using older, proven bulls be sure that they have been trich tested before turning out with your cows and that they have a current passing BSE. Nothing is more disappointing than turning out a new bull and getting no calves because he is unfertile or sub fertile. Finally, bulls work hard during the breeding season. Are your bulls in an appropriate BSE? Young bulls new to their job may overwork themselves in their enthusiasm and older bulls may suffer from the weather more than bulls in their prime and may need a little extra condition at the beginning of the season to ensure they can hold themselves through the end of the season. Ideally bulls would be at a BCS of 6-7 on a 1-9. If you have questions about BCS scoring or testing of bulls please reach out to your local veterinarian or extension agent for more information. Until next month, may your pasture be green and your calves be healthy! Dr. Pack is a large animal veterinarian specializing in reproduction, and has been raising Longhorns since 1998. Information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as diagnosis or a treatment regimen.
I get asked from producers all the time about how I know which cuts to get processed. Here are a few tips that I have learned over the years hoping that it will help you as you grow your Beef Empire. 1) Bovine Choice – The size and the age of the animal and whether the animal has been Grass-fed, or Grain-fed make a big difference in the type of product you choose. Grain-fed animals in a pen will grow faster however, with Grass-fed animals you will be able to market to all classes of people. For example, a person may have a health condition which they are only able to eat Grass-fed beef rather than Grain-fed beef. At KD Bar Cattle Company, we offer 100% Grass-fed and finished beef. We only get primal cuts from steers 24-48 months and over a 1,000 lbs. Anything that doesn’t meet that criteria goes into ground cuts, stew meat and jerky. Although this is my company’s rule of thumb, I have had steaks out of a five-year-old bull that were great and steaks out of a four-year-old bull that were as tough as boot leather. So, every animal is different. I do the best I can to be consistent in the products I sell. I am working on getting DNA on all the cattle I get processed so I will know what the tenderness score is before I take them. The data we have received has been pretty accurate. 100% Grass-fed and finished takes longer but it brings a higher price. The average price for Grass-fed ground beef in the US is $9 a pound versus the average price of Grain-fed ground beef being $5 a pound. When you process for ground cuts, such as ground beef, sausage, stew meat and jerky, the age, size, or sex of the animal will not matter.
2) Know your Cuts – Why is it important to know your cuts? You will build your business and trust with customers when you are knowledgeable about where the beef cuts are located. First are Primal cuts as they bring the highest revenue per pound. These cuts include the Ribeye, T-bone, NY Strip, and Tenderloin. The Tenderloin being the most tender cut. Second are Choice cuts, which don’t bring as high revenue but, are far more versatile in the way that they are able to be used.These cuts include Sirloin, Flat-Iron, Denver, Chuck-Eye, Round, Skirt, and Flank Steaks. The market for these cuts would include, stir-fry, chicken-fried steak, and fajitas. Next are Miscellaneous cuts. For example, brisket, roast, soup bones, stew meat and s hort ribs. Soup bones have become popular recently because of its health benefits in bone broth diets. Lastly, Ground cuts such as, ground beef, smoked sausage, breakfast sausage, Summer sausage, and Snack Sticks, are the staples that keep your customers coming back week in and week out. 3) Best Price Per Cut – Primal cuts come with a premium tag in regards to their minimal processing cost for no grinding, smoking, or seasoning versus the superior value that the world market has placed upon these elegant cuts of steak, meaning that you will be able to maximize your profit per cut. Steaks are a great sales point to draw customers in, but it leaves a lot of products left over. A way to maximize your use of these products would be to, instead of just selling ground beef, sell a variety of sausage products. For example, breakfast sausage is a great supplement option because not a lot of people sell 100% beef breakfast sausage. It is also great for Queso con Carne, Jalapeno Poppers, spaghetti, and I’ve personally used it to make chili. Jerky is a big seller and brings people in however, the manufacturing costs are some of the most expensive. Lastly, stew meat is used from the remainder of the Primal Cuts which would make the processing cost inexpensive, but because of market value, it can be priced above ground beef making it an exponential return on investment. I hope that this helps. If you have any questions email me at dowlingjoe@yahoo.com and we will talk about it in next month’s issue of the Drover along with the topic, “Which Processor is right for you?” -ITLA Region 9 Director Joe Dowling
Cold Weather Challenges By Rich Fregien, Sunset Ranch Cattle Co., LLC Growing up in South Dakota, extremely cold weather accompanied by snow and ice is not a foreign experience to me. However, living here in Texas for the past thirty years has certainly thinned my blood a little bit, and last month’s cold snap was certainly a surprise, especially considering temperatures at, or below, zero, and the amount of snow and ice combined with the number of days that the freezing temperatures hung around. One news report touted the fact that it was the first time in recorded history that the entire State of Texas was under a winter storm warning all at the same time! Many experienced icy roads, power outages and freezing temperatures that contributed to water restrictions - or loss of water all together, freezing pipes which led to water damaged buildings and homes, and difficulty in getting food for our families. Those of us who have bovine family members, these issues raised many of the same problems concerning our herds. Our Miniature Registered Texas Longhorn cattle in Collinsville, Texas was no exception. Grayson County had become the Tundra. The only source of water on our land, and in our pastures there, is a stock pond that normally serves us well and stays wet with water year-round. As with most of us, we doubled up on our sweet feed, put out all the hay that they could eat, and even built wind breaks with round bales Never did we consider, even at the beginning of this season’s winter weather, that the entire pond would eventually be covered with a three -to-five inch sheet of ice. Breaking ice on our above ground water tanks was expected, but we never seriously considered the pond. In short order, this reality set in and we spent hours every day putting out food, checking on expectant cows and heifers, accounting for existing calves that may need some extra attention and an extensive work out swinging a sledge hammer to break ice along the perimeter of the water’s edge. Our neighbor down the road from our land, Kyle Koiner, took it upon himself to help us check on our cattle and regularly went out in the cold to help break ice. We also used our Bobcat with hay forks to help break ice and to move the larger pieces aside. We were committed to do whatever it took to keep everyone sustained and alive. It seemed like we were fighting a losing battle.
On day three, another neighbor, Chris Lowery, who cuts hay, pulls our vehicles out of the pasture when we wade in too far after a muddy rain, and generally is always there to lend a helping hand, shared with me a solution that he had deployed in his own pond that supplies his beef cattle. He told me that had sunk a fifty-gallon drum in about a foot of water on the edge of his stock tank, filled it with wood, added a healthy dose of diesel fuel and started a bon-fire. The heat from the barrel’s flames had kept the open water he had cleared from freezing back for critical additional hours, giving his cattle more time to get their fill of crucial water that helps them to stay hydrated and ultimately is needed for them to keep warm. Since many business’ were closed due to the weather conditions and icy roads, I was at a loss for where to get my hands on any barrels. I eventually remembered turning in empty steel protein tubs to our local feed store, D&L Farm and Home, in exchange for $10 deposit. Up stepped another hero, Hunter Inge, Manager of the Celina, Texas store. He had kept his store open every day during the weather challenges, and the day I called was no exception. He told a store employee who answered my call to tell me that I could come and pick up 5 metal tubs that I requested, and for the same price as the deposit I had been paid for the ones I had returned in the past. And so, I did. I took the barrels, drilled 4-5 holes around the perimeter of the tub, about 11” from the bottom of the tub to allow for the fire to draw oxygen, filled the tub with fire wood, doused the wood with diesel fuel, and placed the barrels on top of the ice next to the approximately four-foot diameter holes that had knocked in the ice. I ignited the fires with SpeedLight squares that I had purchased in the past to start my Big Green Egg. Wah-lah! The fires burned for hours, kept the water open much longer, and literally made the ice breaking the following day much easier! In case you’re wondering, these mini bon-fires never melted through the ice and never fell into the water. I would also note that larger, full sized barrel would add burn time to the fire and thus even more hours of open water. We were lucky enough to not to lose power, have any frozen pipes burst at our ranch, lose any cattle, or to have any calves born during the storm. We realize that many people in typically colder parts of the country and world may deal with this icing problem on a much more regular basis. We also know that others were not as fortunate, and that they suffered damage to property and the loss of cattle. For those of you in this group, our ranch is wishing you a speedy recovery and will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. As I pointed out earlier, I am not claiming this idea was my own, but instead, sharing it for the purpose of helping others if this situation arises again. I also wanted to give credit to just a couple of the many people who help breeders, such as Evonne Keene and me here at Sunset Ranch, to do what we do every day, not just during an emergency. I know that I personally, couldn’t do it without her continued and constant help.
Happy Trails!
Beef Tartare from Texas Longhorn For about 1 kg tartare (or freeze the rest of the sauce) Take a tender part with no fat and tendons (or clean perfectly) like filet 125 g onion 100 g of pickles 25 g capers 12.5 g anchovy paste 37.5g mustard 250 g ketchup 1 teaspoon sambal olek 1 teaspoon paprika sweet 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 75 g olive oil 7.5 g salt black pepper Dont grind but cut the meat into small chunks (as small as you like it) Mix and cut everything and mix with meat Eat with sandwich and butter
“Ants on the Tree” (Asian recipe) for 4 persons 500 g ground beef from Texas Longhorn 200 g glass noodles 4 spring onions 4 peppers, red (chillis) 2 tbsp sugar 4 tbsp soy sauce 2 teaspoons of cornstarch 1 teaspoon red chili paste 8 tbsp oil 240 ml clear broth Soak the glass noodles in hot water according to the instructions on the package (usually about 10 minutes). Mix the ground beef with the sugar, soy sauce, starch and chili paste well. Finely chop the spring onions and chilis (pepperoni). Heat the oil in the wok, first fry the onion and the chilli briefly, then add the meat and fry until crumbly. Add the drained glass noodles, mix well and pour on the broth. Let the whole thing cook over a mild heat, when the broth has boiled down or evaporated, serve on preheated plates.
3991 N FM 312 Winnsboro, Texas 75494 To the ITLA Directors and Members, I don't know about the rest of yall, but I am so ready for summer and some time in my tractor cutting and raking hay. February was so hard on all of us in Texas. I know our Northern Friends deal with temperatures like this a lot, but I can honestly say, I love my Texas Sunshine! Many of us were without power, water and ran low on food and fuel for our vehicles, and for our livestock.We built shelters, hauled water, busted water and tried to keep them warm, fed and watered on top of still being concerned about Covid. A new problem came up when the Feed Mills ended up down, as well. Hopefully, by the time this letter prints, we will have everything as back to normal as possible. March brings a full calendar of shows and the ever popular ITTLA Heifer Futurity in Overbrook, Oklahoma at the end of the month. Entries are due March 6 and I was so excited to do a promotional video for the Futurity! If you missed it, you can find it on the Indian Territory Texas Longhorn ASsociation Facebook page or on Longhorn Legado. Also, get those entries in for the ITLA Spring Classic before March 26 to win a free two nights stay at the Clarion Pointe Hotel! I am so excited about this new show! Finally, did everyone watch our own ITLA President, Larry P. Smith II and Lana Hightwower representing the ITLA and Texas Longhorn Cattle on RFD-TV? We are so blessed to be a part of such an awesome organization with passionate leaders and members willing to step out and promote on a national level. Very exciting! If you missed it, there is a link to the youtube video on the ITLA Facebook page. Check it out! See you all soon! Blaine Moore
Miss ITLA Youth Princess 2020-2021
CHAMPION
THE STORY OF CHAMPION From the late 1890’s up until 1902 perhaps the most well known steer in the country was a pale red to brown in color steer named Champion. Born in 1890 near the Rio Grande in south Texas, his picture was reproduced on numerous postcards and appeared in books, paper and various magazine articles. His story is well documented in The Longhorn by J. Frank Dobie. The steer was once owned by Dobie’s uncle, Jim Dobie, and was purchased in 1892 for $12. By the turn of the century (1900), Longhorn cattle had been seriously improved by crossbreeding; better sets of horns, such as Champion possessed, were getting scarce. He appeared at the International Fair in San Antonio, 1899, and received a great deal of newspaper publicity but apparently no accurate measurement of his horns was taken at the time. As with many circumstances of life, the truth gets a little mixed with fiction. Various articles and newspaper accounts listed his tip-to-tip measurement from almost six feet to as much as 9 feet 6 inches. Most of the early postcards on which his picture appears list him as 9 and 1/2 feet. Champion appeared at the Democratic Convention in Kansas City in 1900 and, apparently his horns were not measure at the time. Champion became part of a Wild West Show in 1901 and is believed to have been last seen (by those familiar with him) in 1902 in Davenport, Iowa in the company of a former handler, Will Eidson, a south Texas cowboy. There are a number of stories concerning what end was met by Champion, and the whereabouts of his horns are unknown. Story Contributed by Larry P. Smith
We are Christoph Spreng, Michael Strauß, Lukas Büchler, three guys from Germany, more precisely from Niederaltheim, a small village in Bavaria. We came across the Texas Longhorn breed by chance many years ago. After thinking about it for a long time and looking for suitable animals, the first animals moved into our “ranch” at the beginning of 2018: the bull “Homerun” and the pregnant cow “Triple Five”. A short time later we already had the first calf named SBS Shootingstar from Triple Five and Homerun, which is still in our program and recently had her first calf. At the end of 2018 we decided to slaughter our bull and buy a new one. We searched for a long time until we finally came across Micha Hamersky from Texas Longhorns Austria, from whom we bought our new bull “Stardust”. Thanks again for this great bull! Stardust came to the EU as an embryo from the USA and was implanted in Austria. At that time, it was important to us to get new, different genetics into the herd, Stardust was made for that. Because of him we have Cowboy Chex, Top Caliber, Hunts Command Respect, JP Rio Grande and Zhivago in our pedigrees.
He has developed into a great bull and received the Grand Champion Bull award at the ITLA’s 2019 International Photo Contest.
In 2019 we took the next step to get new genetics into our herd. We bought embryos from the USA. After countless problems, we finally implanted them at the end of 2019. Many thanks also to Dirk Vogelaere from Belgium for his tireless help! Today our herd consists of 20 animals, about half of the animals are embryos from the USA. We live here in a meteorite crater, or rather in the Donau Ries district, a great holiday region. All our animals are outdoors on pasture all year round and are fed only grass and hay. We personally think that this feeding makes the best meat. The Longhorns not only inspire us but the locals and the many stranger’s or holidaymakers that become aware of our herd, who did not expect such fascinating animals in our latitudes. Also, here in Germany and Europe there are now many breeders of the Texas Longhorn breed, you always get to know a lot of nice people with whom you can talk about this great breed. In order to get the breed further in Europe, the next step would certainly be a European breed association or a functioning herd book, which is “apparently impossible” here due to the laws ... That is why it’s great that we from outside the USA are also allowed to be part of the Longhorn community and have the opportunity, for example, to take part in the photo contest or other events.
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