Spear L Ranches is located in northern Nebraska where cattle ranching has been a lifestyle for several generations of thousands of families. The beef cattle industry is Nebraska’s single largest industry, and has a $12.1 billion impact on the state’s economy. There are over 20,000 cow/calf operations and close to 5,000 cattle feeding operations statewide, with 4.7 million cattle fed and marketed each year.
My grandfather, Louis Laughlin, started raising purebred Hereford cattle on the family ranch in the 1920′s. He was well known for selling quality breeding stock. He was also one of the last ranchers in the county to use draft horses to harvest hay and feed it to the cattle. That makes me a third generation cattle rancher.
Spear L Ranch - Crawford, NE
Spear L Ranches is home to over 150 female Native Shorthorns, in addition to a commercial herd. The Native Shorthorn cow herd includes all eleven of the cow families from Haumont Shorthorns near Broken Bow, Nebraska, which has been raising Native Shorthorns since 1919. Those cow family names are Rosabell, Goldendrop, Secret Beauty, Cherry, Cherry Blossom, Maid of Promise, Lilac Lily, Lilac Lady, Clara, Mazena Lavender, and Helianthus. Other Native Shorthorn cow families specific to Spear L Ranches have been developed by using outcross Native Shorthorn bulls on cows purchased from Haumont Shorthorns and other Native Shorthorn breeders.
The best prospects for breeding stock are chosen at weaning time, and those top end calves are culled again the following Spring, after the first breeding season, and every year thereafter when the calves are weaned. To remain in the breeding herd, the cattle must be low input, highly fertile, easy fleshing, structurally sound, and easy calving, with longevity, good conformation, a quiet disposition, and good udders on the cows.
Spear L Ranches includes some rugged terrain in a region with an average annual precipitation of 9 to 12 inches, and can have some harsh winters. Pastures are large, and cattle are required to walk long distances over rugged terrain to survive. This type of environment is a natural selection process which “weeds out” any cattle with structural problems. The term “ survival of the fittest” applies here.
There are six genetic defects that appeared in Shorthorns and other breeds in the last few decades. They are Tibial Hemimelia (TH), Pulmonary Hypoplasia with Anasarca (PHA), Idiopathic Epilepsy (IE), Arthrogryposis Multiplex (AM), Neuropathic Hydrocephalus (NH), and Osteopetrosis (OS). I am confident that my entire Native Shorthorn herd is free by pedigree of these genetic defects, because there has been no infusion of genetics in them that trace back to the carriers.
