Texas Cattle Breeds
When many people think of Texas, they may think of Texas Longhorn cattle. However, there are many breeds of cattle found in Texas, including but not limited to the famous Texas Longhorn. The Lone Star State is also home to Brahman cattle; Beefalo, a cattle and Buffalo cross; Belted Galloway or lovingly called “Oreo” cows; Braunvieh, Herefords, Hotlander, Shorthorn, Angus, Red Angus, Charlais, Devon, Dexter, Limousin, Pinzgauer, Santa Gertrudis, Simbrah, Simmental, Beefmaster, Corriente and others. Among the dairy breeds are Jersey, Guernsey, Holstein and others of the bovine family. The original bovines in Texas were the roaming herds of Bison. The Texas Longhorn is very unique to America and to Texas in that it developed through natural selection on its own. This makes the Texas Longhorn very hardy and well adapted to its environment here in Texas. With high fertility and easy calving, The Texas Longhorn is a very popular breed of Texas cattle to this day. Another breed of cattle that originated in Texas is the Santa Gertrudis. This red cattle breed was developed on the historic King Ranch in South Texas by the Kleburg Family from Brahman and Shorthorn cattle and was named after the Santa Gertrudis Creek in Nueces County which is part of the King Ranch.
From the famous cattle drives to todays cattle herds- various cattle breeds as well as buffalo have a long history in Texas! Did you know that bison had roamed through the original state capital in Austin at one time?! We are now on the 3rd capital building and that was the very first one. For more information about cattle and bison in Texas visit the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Beef Council, Texas Bison Association, Texas Cattle Women, Texas Brangus Breeders Association, Texas Braunvieh Association, Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America, Texas Beef Council and Texas Department of Agriculture websites.