Tidy rows of pine trees grow where cattle once grazed through the rolling hills of East Texas.
Housing developments and lignite mines have swallowed prime pasture land.
Around Longview, cows and calves are dotting fewer landscapes, and local ranchers blame rising costs, fluctuating markets and changing lifestyles for pushing people from cattle production, a rural business with long ties to East Texas.
“The older generation is passing on, and the younger ones don’t pick it up,” said Byron Ford, a Hallsville rancher who runs the Longview Livestock Commission sale barn. “There’s not a lot of money in it, and it’s hard work.”
The number of cattle in the area has fallen by nearly half in the past three decades, but it’s hard to tell that on a Thursday in Longview. That’s when the livestock commission holds its weekly auction, where men in denim shirts and wide-brimmed hats still gather around the cafe at the sale barn just as they always have.
They chew on chicken-fried steak and shoot the breeze. Later, they’ll wander the catwalk high above the holding pens, inspecting the week’s offering. There will be breeding bulls, horses and goats, as well as heifers destined for somebody’s pasture and yearlings and worn-out mama cows destined for the feed lots and slaughter houses out west.
Among the onlookers will be only a handful of serious buyers. Though several East Texans still run large operations, many say they hold onto a few head of cattle as a hobby or for nostalgia. They’re just happy to break even on the endeavor.
“Most of our clients will be people with smaller herds. They’ve been in it forever and were raised in it,” Ford said. “It gets in you. People do it because they’ve always done it.”
Longview’s sale barn was built in the 1960s. There are other sale barns operating around East Texas, including ones in Carthage and Henderson. Ford expects that sales have slowed at all of the East Texas auction houses, and he said he wouldn’t be surprised if some begin to close in the years to come.
“If our numbers don’t pick up, everybody can’t stay in it,” he said.
A small-timer’s habit
These days, most small-time ranchers hold other jobs to pay the bills.
Among them is Danny Jordan, who retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture after 36 years and now runs a small herd and hauls cattle for a rural sale barn on the weekends.
“Back when I was a kid, back in the ’50s, that was when East Texas was fencing up, and my granddad had a few old cows. It wasn’t nothing because everybody had a few head of cattle,” he said. “Now it has evolved over the years that we have either got some big operators or we’ve got a lot of small operators like me that have a town job to support their habit.”
In the early part of the 20th century, Jordan said, many rural East Texans grew crops for their livelihood. Following World War II, they converted to cattle production. They didn’t have massive spreads like those found in cattle-producing areas of South and West Texas.
“The problem over here in East Texas is everybody’s got 80 acres of land,” he said. “We don’t have any real big landowners. As the cattle industry evolved over the years to better types of cattle, better breeding and better feeding, we had to expand or go out, and there was just so many people here, and I’m exactly what they are.
“Everybody had 75 to 100 acres, and it wasn’t enough to run cattle full time,” he said. “There wasn’t enough money there so they had to go to town and get a job.”
Jordan runs around 60 head of cattle on 92 acres in Laneville.
“I’m so small-time it’s ridiculous, but that’s what I want to do,” he said. “I don’t want to go fishing.”
Fewer cattle, more people?
The USDA figures that show a declining cattle population in East Texas might not tell the complete story, according to Greg Clary, an economist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Overton.
“There may be less cattle, but that doesn’t mean there are less people involved,” he said. “We have so many small herds in East Texas and across the South, there’s just a lot of people that have some cows.”
Clary is among several Texas A&M experts who are leading a “grazing school” this week at the Overton facility, in which greenhorns learn about forage management, genetics and other basics of livestock production. Clary, who is also chairman of the Texas Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, said some small producers still make money from their cattle.
“The possibility is there,” he said. “There are more people that are not making money than are, but there are some that do make money. But you have to really pay attention to all the management aspects of it and keep track of what’s going on from a production standpoint and a cost standpoint.”
Back at the sale barn
Before Thursday’s auction began in Longview, a long line of trucks waited to unload their livestock for the noon sale. Around 600 head of cattle were expected to pass through the auction gates that day, and Art Dudley was next in line to drop off a dozen head.
Dudley, a full-time cattle producer in the Henderson area, said he was just doing what he has always done.
“It’s what I like,” he said. “I don’t want to work for anybody else.”
3,538 responses to “Cattle ranchers dwindling in East Texas”
I’d also like to express that most of those who find themselves without health insurance usually are students, self-employed and those that are laid-off. More than half on the uninsured are really under the age of Thirty five. They do not experience they are requiring health insurance as they are young along with healthy. Their particular income is typically spent on property, food, as well as entertainment. Some people that do work either whole or part-time are not offered insurance by way of their jobs so they proceed without owing to the rising valuation on health insurance in the states. Thanks for the ideas you share through this blog.
I have been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It?s pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.
I think that is one of the such a lot significant info for me. And i am satisfied studying your article. But wanna commentary on few normal issues, The website style is great, the articles is truly nice : D. Good job, cheers
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be interesting to read articles from other writers and use a little something from other websites.
My developer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a variety of websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress content into it? Any help would be really appreciated!
Hey there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
Greetings! Very useful advice within this post! It is the little changes which will make the biggest changes. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this article. I’d personally also like to say that it can often be hard if you find yourself in school and simply starting out to establish a long credit ranking. There are many learners who are simply just trying to survive and have a lengthy or positive credit history can often be a difficult factor to have.
I was more than happy to discover this site. I need to to thank you for your time for this fantastic read!! I definitely liked every little bit of it and i also have you book marked to check out new stuff on your site.
This is a topic which is near to my heart… Best wishes! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Awesome blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you advise starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any tips? Thank you!
aliciaallenleak, leaked, leakshttps://www.start.gg/user/572effbe
obviously like your web-site but you need to check the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to tell the truth nevertheless I will surely come back again.
There is definately a great deal to find out about this subject. I love all the points you made.
I have learned new things through your web site. One other thing I’d really like to say is the fact that newer laptop or computer os’s often allow additional memory to be used, but they additionally demand more memory simply to work. If one’s computer is not able to handle extra memory and the newest program requires that memory increase, it might be the time to shop for a new Laptop or computer. Thanks
Great blog you have here.. It’s difficult to find high-quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
520332 588343This is some fantastic info. I expect additional facts like this was distributed across the web today. 706292
An additional issue is that video gaming has become one of the all-time greatest forms of entertainment for people of various age groups. Kids enjoy video games, and also adults do, too. Your XBox 360 is amongst the favorite video games systems for individuals that love to have hundreds of games available to them, as well as who like to experiment with live with other individuals all over the world. Thank you for sharing your thinking.
I have realized that over the course of developing a relationship with real estate proprietors, you’ll be able to get them to understand that, in every single real estate exchange, a fee is paid. Finally, FSBO sellers never “save” the commission payment. Rather, they fight to win the commission by means of doing a good agent’s occupation. In completing this task, they expend their money as well as time to accomplish, as best they are able to, the duties of an adviser. Those obligations include disclosing the home by marketing, presenting the home to prospective buyers, creating a sense of buyer emergency in order to trigger an offer, preparing home inspections, controlling qualification investigations with the lender, supervising maintenance, and aiding the closing.
Simply desire to say your article is as astounding. The clarity on your publish is just cool and that i can think you’re an expert on this subject. Well along with your permission let me to seize your RSS feed to stay up to date with drawing close post. Thank you a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.
Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all of us you really know what you’re talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my site =). We could have a link exchange agreement between us!
Great blog you have here.. It’s difficult to find excellent writing like yours these days. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular post! It’s the little changes that make the greatest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
I’m impressed by the quality of this content! The author has undoubtedly put a tremendous amount of effort into researching and organizing the information. It’s inspiring to come across an article that not only provides valuable information but also keeps the readers captivated from start to finish. Hats off to her for making such a masterpiece!
Pretty great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I?ll be subscribing on your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Good write-up. I absolutely love this website. Thanks!
With every thing which seems to be developing throughout this specific area, all your perspectives are quite refreshing. Even so, I am sorry, but I do not subscribe to your whole plan, all be it radical none the less. It seems to everybody that your opinions are not completely justified and in reality you are yourself not even fully certain of your assertion. In any case I did enjoy looking at it.
Great beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your web site, how could i subscribe for a weblog web site? The account helped me a appropriate deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright transparent idea
Hey there! I simply would like to offer you a huge thumbs up for your great info you’ve got here on this post. I will be returning to your blog for more soon.
I need to to thank you for this excellent read!! I definitely loved every bit of it. I’ve got you bookmarked to look at new stuff you post…
Aw, this was a very nice post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to generate a superb article… but what can I say… I hesitate a lot and don’t seem to get nearly anything done.
Thanks for your post on this web site. From my very own experience, periodically softening upwards a photograph may well provide the wedding photographer with a little bit of an inspired flare. Many times however, this soft cloud isn’t just what you had under consideration and can often times spoil a normally good picture, especially if you intend on enlarging that.
I’m amazed, I must say. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s equally educative and entertaining, and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is an issue that not enough people are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy that I stumbled across this in my search for something relating to this.
After looking over a number of the blog articles on your web site, I really appreciate your way of blogging. I added it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my website too and tell me how you feel.
There are some fascinating cut-off dates on this article but I don?t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I’ll take maintain opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as properly
Wonderful post! We will be linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the great writing.
A great post without any doubt.
obviously like your web site but you need to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very troublesome to inform the truth then again I?ll definitely come again again.
Hey there are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Excellent post. I’m dealing with many of these issues as well..
I?ll immediately grab your rss as I can’t find your e-mail subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly let me know in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.
Thanks for your recommendations on this blog. One particular thing I would like to say is that purchasing electronic devices items from the Internet is certainly not new. In reality, in the past few years alone, the market for online electronic devices has grown a great deal. Today, you will find practically any specific electronic device and devices on the Internet, from cameras and camcorders to computer spare parts and gaming consoles.
Hi there, I believe your website could be having web browser compatibility problems. When I look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in IE, it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Apart from that, wonderful website.
Thanks for your article. I would also like to say this that the very first thing you will need to carry out is determine if you really need credit score improvement. To do that you simply must get your hands on a copy of your credit file. That should not be difficult, since the government makes it necessary that you are allowed to receive one free of charge copy of your own credit report per year. You just have to consult the right folks. You can either look at website with the Federal Trade Commission or even contact one of the main credit agencies instantly.
Good write-up. I absolutely appreciate this website. Thanks!
What?s Going down i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve found It absolutely useful and it has helped me out loads. I hope to contribute & aid other users like its helped me. Good job.
okmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I am quite sure I?ll learn a lot of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!
Hi there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
The next time I learn a weblog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as a lot as this one. I mean, I do know it was my option to learn, however I really thought youd have one thing attention-grabbing to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you might fix when you werent too busy on the lookout for attention.
It?s laborious to seek out educated people on this matter, however you sound like you recognize what you?re talking about! Thanks