Gilliland Longhorn Ranch 

Winter/ Spring 2026


2026 looks bright for Longhorn breeders— the economy is improving, the stock market is hitting all time highs, interest rates are coming down AND a 70 year record low cattle inventory in the US means higher cattle prices for our culled animals at the sale barn. The high end cattle have to check more boxes than just 90’’ or 100’’ TTT—- not only color, conformation and disposition but more importantly, the ability to reproduce these positive traits and raise a great calf. The Gilliland Ranch is consigning to our favorite sales in the spring— Longhorn Legacy, Texas Treasure Heifer, Glendenning Fiesta and Hudson Ft Worth. Our partnership bull Marlboro Man LM ( with Mike Davis/ Wayne Manning and Greg Kott) will be featured at the 2026 Longhorn Legacy Sale in March. We hope to see old friends and meet some new ones along the way.

Mark and Charlene Gilliland 

GILLILAND LONGHORN RANCH

We have a herd of  150 registered Texas Longhorns in the Kansas Flint Hills at the Oklahoma border. We combine the art and science of breeding using artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer to create the best animal possible. Our goal is the complete package prioritizing a low twisty hornset  with great tip to tip measurements along with correct conformation, color, and disposition. That said, the most important trait is the ability to reproduce those traits in progeny. We have gone through each animal in our herd for several generations back to document the number of 80ʼʼ–90ʼʼ-100'' TTT ancestors in each pedigree and see if one ancestor transmits a dominant horn set. We try to genetically fix  that low twisty lateral horn length into each animalʼs blood line without compromising the total package. A pedigree with many high TTT ancestors indicates  a higher heritability factor with more predictability. We also experiment with line breeding and  periodic outcrossing to stack genes from similar and different pedigrees for additive effects.We have discovered certain  pedigree combinations which are synergistic. When we discover them, the cow goes immediately into our OPU/IVF program to enhance our  future results. We hope there are some animals in our herd that could enhance your program.




 

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From the Pasture with Hired Hand