Survivor of the Past - Bright Promise for the Future
by Dr. Stewart H. Fowler, PhD
Cattlemen caught in a devastating cost-price squeeze are now
taking a serious second look at the old Texas Longhorn. Doubly
stunned by the inflation of all cost factors and the recession
of cattle prices, cattlemen are actively seeking new "profit
genes" for their beef herds. The quest has broadened to an
international search for "new" genes that might boost
productivity and profits. In this process, many have tended to
overlook a promising gene source close to home. I refer to the
Texas Longhorn.
An almost forgotten reservoir of unique genetic material, the
Longhorn is literally an old source of new genes! In fact, the
Texas Longhorn may prove to be a real "genetic gold-mine" in the
future of our beef industry.
Foundation stock
What is so unique about the Texas Longhorn? What makes it
different from the multitude of other breeds now available in
North America? Simply this: The Texas Longhorn was fashioned
entirely by nature right here in North America. Stemming from
ancestors that were the first cattle to set foot on American
soil almost 500 years ago, it became the sound end product of
"survival of the fittest". Shaped by a combination of natural
selection and adaptation to the environment, the Texas Longhorn
is the only cattle breed in America which - without aid from man
- is truly adapted to America. In his book The Longhorns,
J. Frank Dobie states this situation well: "Had they been
registered and regulated, restrained and provided for by man,
they would not have been what they were."
Hardy, aggressive, and adaptable, the Texas Longhorns were
well suited to the rigors of life on the ranges of the
southwestern United States. They survived as a primitive animal
on the most primitive of ranges and became the foundation stock
of that region's great cattle industry.
With the destruction of the buffalo following the Civil War,
the Longhorns were rushed in to occupy the Great Plains, a vast
empire of grass vacated by the buffalo. Cattlemen brought their
breeding herds north to run on the rich grazing lands of western
Nebraska, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Montana. Thus, the Great
Plains became stocked largely with these "bovine citizens" from
the Southwest. And, the Texas Longhorns adapted well to their
expanding world. They had reached their historical heyday,
dominating the beef scene of North America like no other cattle
breed has done since. However, the romantic Longhorn era came to
an end when their range was fenced in and plowed under and
imported cattle with quick maturing characteristics were brought
in to "improve" beef qualities. Intensive crossbreeding had
nearly erased the true typical Longhorn by 1900.
Rescue from extinction
Fortunately, beginning in 1927, the Texas Longhorn was
preserved by the United States Government on wildlife refuges in
Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Also, a few southwestern cattlemen, convinced of the
Longhorn's value as a genetic link and concerned for their
preservation, maintained small herds through the years. The
Texas Longhorn has been perpetuated further by members of the
Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America, which was formed
in 1964. Thus, the Texas Longhorn was rescued from extinction.
It was unfortunate for today's beef industry, however, that most
of the continuing interest in the Texas Longhorn was in its
historic and academic aspects. The Longhorn's genetic prospects
and economic potential were almost completely overlooked for
many years.
Genetic diversity
After seven years of closely observing and studying Texas
Longhorns, I am convinced that these cattle may prove to be a
real genetic goldmine. Preserving the Texas Longhorn has
maintained a substantial amount of unique biological variation
which was accumulated over some 400 years in these nature-made
cattle. This genetic goldmine provides insurance against genetic
erosion that stems from genetic uniformity in our modern cattle
breeds. Such genetic erosion could make it almost impossible for
cattlemen of today and tomorrow to meet emerging new needs. The
reservoir of unique genes of the Texas Longhorn can provide some
of the genetic variation and flexibility needed to meet the
emerging and future needs of the beef industry. At the same
time, the Texas Longhorn maintains genetic diversity capable of
maximizing hybrid vigor for man's current needs.
Thus, the reservoir of genetic material in the Texas Longhorn
represents a valuable natural resource. This genetic reservoir
grows more valuable as our rapidly-changing economy forces new
needs, handicaps, and demands on our cattle industry. It becomes
increasingly valuable as our human population bites off
increasing amounts of our more productive land, as our grain
supply moves into international trade, and as farm and ranch
labor becomes less available. This is why the Texas Longhorn is
rapidly becoming "the old breed with the new future."
Profit-building trails
By utilizing the Texas Longhorn's unique genetic potential,
several of the physical and economic problems confronting the
rancher and feeder can be solved or greatly eased. This genetic
potential includes genes for high fertility, easy calving,
disease and parasite resistance, hardiness, longevity, and the
ability to utilize the browse and coarse forage material on
marginal rangelands more efficiently than most other cattle
breeds. Under the harsh environmental conditions of many areas
of North America, the existence of these traits, which have been
strongly fixed by nature's culling in the Texas Longhorn, spell
the difference between a comfortable profit and the cattle
enterprise becoming a "story written in red ink!"
High fertility is the most important economic trait in the
beef industry. Without a live calf with which to work, all other
traits are purely academic! Unfortunately, many of the European
breeds of beef cattle are not noted for high fertility, and
several are plagued with real difficulties at calving. During a
long period of survival of the fittest, however, a Texas
Longhorn strain evolved which virtually assures that every
healthy cow will present a new addition to the herd each year.
This extremely high fertility, which is built into the Longhorn,
could perhaps boost the low calf crop percentage found in many
beef herds.
The photographs and information contained on this page are
provided courtesy of the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of
America, P.O. Box 4430, Fort Worth, Texas 76164
