Survivor of the Past - Bright Promise for the
Future
by Dr. Stewart H. Fowler, PhD
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
