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.”
5,816 responses to “Cattle ranchers dwindling in East Texas”
Hi there, You have performed an incredible job. I will definitely digg it and for my part suggest to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this web site.
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been conducting a little homework on this. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this subject here on your site.
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon every day. It will always be interesting to read content from other writers and practice something from other web sites.
how to buy rifaximin generic rifaximins
how to order rifaximin canada medicine
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this post and also the rest of the website is also very good.
where to buy xifaxan no prescription no fees
discount xifaxan purchase from canada
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this write-up and also the rest of the website is also really good.
order staxyn canadian discount pharmacy
cheapest buy staxyn generic from canadian pharmacy
cheap avodart cheap mastercard
how to order avodart generic where to buy
This article is truly a nice one it assists new web people,
who are wishing for blogging.
generic dutasteride in the united states
order dutasteride buy dublin
cheapest buy flexeril cyclobenzaprine generic version
buying flexeril cyclobenzaprine generic south africa
I truly love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you make this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m looking to create my own site and would like to find out where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Many thanks.
Howdy! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept preaching about this. I will forward this article to him. Fairly certain he’ll have a good read. I appreciate you for sharing!
get fildena purchase singapore
cheap fildena australia cheap
purchase itraconazole generic from the uk
how to buy itraconazole usa buy online
kamagra levné žádné rx požadovaná kanada
kamagra online
commande kamagra livraison
sans ordonnance kamagra avec fedex
I could not refrain from commenting. Very well written.
You should be a part of a contest for one of the best blogs on the net. I most certainly will recommend this blog!
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful post. Thanks for supplying this info.
Hi, I do think your blog may be having internet browser compatibility issues. Whenever I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Other than that, wonderful blog!
how to get gabapentin prescription on line
buy gabapentin cost per tablet
There’s definately a great deal to learn about this topic. I love all the points you’ve made.
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who had been doing a little research on this. And he in fact bought me lunch because I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this issue here on your internet site.
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon every day. It will always be useful to read content from other writers and practice something from their sites.
You have made some decent points there. I looked on the web for more information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this site.
Hi there! I just want to give you a big thumbs up for your excellent information you’ve got right here on this post. I am returning to your website for more soon.
You are so awesome! I don’t think I have read something like that before. So nice to discover another person with a few unique thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This website is one thing that’s needed on the internet, someone with some originality.
I need to to thank you for this good read!! I definitely enjoyed every bit of it. I’ve got you saved as a favorite to look at new stuff you post…
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Many thanks!
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me. Thanks a lot.
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me. Thank you.
You made some really good points there. I looked on the web for more information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this web site.
There’s certainly a great deal to learn about this issue. I really like all the points you have made.
This is a topic that is near to my heart… Cheers! Exactly where are your contact details though?
There’s definately a lot to find out about this issue. I love all of the points you made.
Good info. Lucky me I came across your site by chance (stumbleupon). I have book marked it for later!
Greetings, I believe your site might be having internet browser compatibility issues. Whenever I take a look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in Internet Explorer, it’s got some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Aside from that, great blog!
Hello there! I simply wish to offer you a big thumbs up for your excellent info you’ve got right here on this post. I will be returning to your blog for more soon.
Everything is very open with a really clear clarification of the issues. It was really informative. Your website is extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing.
I’m amazed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s both educative and amusing, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is an issue that not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy I came across this during my search for something concerning this.
I need to to thank you for this great read!! I absolutely loved every bit of it. I have got you book-marked to check out new things you post…
Excellent post. I am facing a few of these issues as well..
Oh my goodness! Impressive article dude! Thanks, However I am experiencing issues with your RSS. I don’t understand why I cannot join it. Is there anyone else having similar RSS issues? Anyone who knows the answer will you kindly respond? Thanks!!
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who has been doing a little research on this. And he in fact ordered me breakfast simply because I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to talk about this topic here on your internet site.
Hello! I just wish to give you a huge thumbs up for the excellent information you have got right here on this post. I am returning to your website for more soon.
Next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn’t fail me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, however I genuinely believed you would probably have something helpful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something that you could fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.
Greetings! Very useful advice within this post! It is the little changes that will make the biggest changes. Many thanks for sharing!
When I initially commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you can remove me from that service? Thank you.