The average homestead often has rough and rugged
terrain that the homesteader needs to make productive if they are to make
a go of the homesteading lifestyle. Where better a place to take
advantage of a potential meat source - that also does ground maintenance -
than in this type of environment? It means that an investment in a
few longhorn cattle could give a dual return of meat and landscaping.
I have learned from personal experience that this is
very true and practical information. We have five Longhorn cows
and one Longhorn bull.
We have a few acres that are fairly ordinary pasture land; however, the
rest is made up of ravines, heavy brush and thorny, prickly plant life.
I have not seen an area on our-more-than-40-acre homestead that these
cattle have failed to graze. They even eat the thorns on the Osage
Orange trees. There are banks on our property so steep that I cannot
walk there, yet the longhorns travel back and forth with ease.
In the coldest and nastiest of the winter months, we will put out the
occasional round bale of grass-hay or dump a bag or two of cattle cubes to
help them get by. We do this because the amount of forage available
is minimal at that time of year and we want our cows to maintain proper
nutrition for the coming calves. Of course, this is still much less
than you’d have to provide for your standard cattle breeds.
One of the greatest benefits that Longhorns offer is their hardiness
compared to the average domestic breeds. They have great longevity
and are much more disease resistant, requiring less veterinary care, on
average, when compared with other breeds. Longhorns have an average
lifespan of 20-30 years and it is common for cows to produce calves all
the way into their late teens and early twenties.
These cows prove themselves yearly with calving
percentages that make the average commercial cattle producer drool with
envy. It is not uncommon for longhorn cows to achieve live calving
percentages of 99%, and for longhorn bulls to have higher semen counts
compared to bulls of other breeds. The calves are also more vital
and energetic at birth, with much less problems birthing than other
breeds. What this can all mean to a homesteader with a few head of
Longhorn cattle is a greater opportunity for future meat in the freezer,
grown at home and not purchased at the store.
