At Rocking M Cattle Company, we believe in the modern, balanced, multi-trait Texas Longhorn as well it's unique place in our American heritage as an icon of the west and the cattle industry of the past and future.
We believe that sourcing and placement is perhaps the single most important piece of the buying experience with our company. We strive to meet our customers' needs, regardless of how unique or specific those may be. We appreciate our buyers and appreciate the relationships we develop with them.
How we Evaluate and Price our Cattle
Bulls
1) Size and conformation...it has to be there...period, herd sires weighing 1800 lbs. or more at maturity
2) Horn...these are Texas Longhorns, and only sires with a projection over 70" tip to tip at maturity are used on our cows...period
3) Pedigree...we believe in the power of genetics and that this is paramount in the Longhorn industry...we plan ours carefully and strive to match up pedigrees for our customers
4) Disposition...we run a successful beef business with our longhorns, anything that doesn't meet our disposition expectations goes that route as a steer
5) Fertility...we start evaluating the potential fertility and reproductive health of all sire prospects beginning at weaning, any issue leads to immediate removal from sire consideration and a relocation to the steer pen. This allows us to provide our customers with a confidence that their sire prospect has been evaluated against other bulls of the same age, environmental factors, data, and for it's reproductive capability.
Cows/Heifers
1) Size and conformation...we prefer cows that weigh between 1000 and 1250 lbs. at maturity
2) Horn...again, they are Texas Longhorns. 50" tip to tip is our "floor," meaning we won't purchase or retain any cows under that at maturity...60-65" mature projection is our new heifer "floor"
3) Pedigree...just like the bulls, but we focus more heavily on the maternal genetics of dams and granddams, including milking traits, weaning weights, offspring horn, and color for breeding matchups
4) Disposition...a Texas Longhorn mother cow must be a calm and controllable animal, and this includes while she has a calf on her
5) Fertility...a Texas Longhorn cow who can't reproduce is a trophy steer, for all intents and purposes. We carefully monitor udder development, hip structure, depth and capacity, and of course monitor heat cycles and track pregnancies very closely
Here are some examples of some of our great "total package" cows:
K.C. Tenille
1100 lbs
77" TTT
Shy Loofy
1125 lbs
71" TTT
Tarva
1210 lbs
52" TTT
Overhead Opal
Projected over 73" TTT
Who We Are
Welcome to Rocking M Cattle Company. We are a family owned and operated multi-generational ranch in Northeast Oregon, just outside of the town of Wallowa. We chose to specialize in the Texas Longhorn breed in 2007, following a struggling commercial cattle market and due to the obvious match they were for our property and lifestyle. We have roots tracing deep into the beef and livestock industry over the past several decades.
We believe in the self-contained nature and efficiency of our operation and our cattle. We raise longhorns much like we have always raised commercial cattle, but with an additional focus on genetics, and obviously horn and color as well.
We strive to produce well-balanced, multi-featured cattle who excel in numerous traits...not JUST horn length.
This is not to say we don't love horns, and believe us, we are looking to produce BIG horns, but we always keep the big picture in mind: 1) You can't eat horns, and 2) Selection should always be multi-factored and never based on a single trait