Gilliland Longhorn Ranch 

Summer/Fall 2026

  
The spring 2026 sales in the Longhorn industry did exceptionally well-- Longhorn Legacy. Texas. Treasure Heifer, Glendenning Fiesta and the Midwest Affiliate -- and all sales exceeded my expectations. In the past, we have done a tremendous amount of Embryo Transfer and Artificial Insemination work in our herd. The quality of the cows is now elevated to a much higher level and we are going to pasture breed with some of the best bulls in the industry. We purchased. KDK Transformer ( KDK Hercules X BR Right On)from Janet Harman and Kent Mayes and are leasing Intimidator LM7( Colluder X 3S Danica) to stack some 3S Danica genetics on top of some Marlboro Man heifers.Gilliland Ranch is also excited to host a Hired Hand online sale of 25 head on Thursday September 3, 2026 before Labor Day weekend. Stay tuned for some exceptional animals with great genetics.

Mark Gilliland MD

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