FALL 2023

The State of The Country--
Russia and the Ukraine are at a stalemate.The attack on our southern border and energy independence persists. Immigrants are accumulating in sanctuary cities and crime is increasing. Quality of life is declining. What are we thinking? Donald Trump has indictments in four different states. The Hunter Biden's case keeps getting postponed. The country will survive but has many obstacles to overcome. I try not to worry about things I can't control.

The State of the Longhorn Industry---
The industry remains strong at the top end. New breeders now understand it is preferable to enter the business at the higher end than the middle or low end. High quality cattle demand premium prices. Furthermore, the selection committees for sales are insisting on better cattle for their consignments. Educating new breeders is key and the future looks bright.

The State of the Herd--
We have improved the herd with more cow and bull power. We have 6 confirmed embryo transfer pregnancies and 5 AI pregnancies.We are in multiple bull partnerships to advance our 2024 breeding program ---#1 M7 Grate Iron( Bwana Chex X BL Monka Elite) --a winner of multiple futurities and owned with the Mannings and Torkildsens #2 Marlboro Man LM ( KDK Wildfire X LM Danica's Image) owned with the Davis/Manning/Kott /Hicks consortium.Getting the 3S Danica genetics in our herd is a perfect outcross to advance our goal. #3 PCC Cactus Jack (Pace/Gilliland/Manning/ Loomis) continues to outperform and is right at 87'' at 3y. His progeny have been outstanding.

2023 Fall Longhorn Sales
We are looking forward to our fall longhorn sales with consignments to Herdsman Legends on 9/15/23, Fred Bryant on 10/7/23, and the TLBAA Horn Showcase on 10/14/23. Be sure to look at the Gilliland Ranch consignments as they feature many heifer calves with PCC Cactus Jack ( CR Apollo X PCC Dream Catcher) who is 87" TTT @ 3.0 years.

Warmest Regards,
Charlene and Mark Gilliland MD


Herdsman Legends Sale



  

Fred Byrant Sale

TLBAA Horn Showcase


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.