Our philosophy is simple…
We're about the animal that can hold up their end of the bargain, where each generation they produce is better then their own. Substance, milking ability, producing ability, and HORN.
The thing that's so great about these animals is that they are still cows! This is evolution at its finest. The best things about the longhorn what Mother Nature gave it. Great milking ability, great mothers, great calvers, disease prone, and intelligent. We want this in every one of our animals. A 100 inch cow that can't raise a calf is really a disappointment and disrespectful to all the past and future cattlemen and women. We breed Longhorns.
A majority of our program focuses on bottom side of an animal. They need “Cow Power.” We strive for all our females to be out of proven genetics (We figure about 60-65% of the calves’ future and producing ability comes from the bottom side). Cows that are proven for what we look for often raise a better calf for what we want. HOWEVER, that does not go to say that some animals that are “not proven” don’t produce great offspring.
The bull is also just as important. Our bulls need to have the power on the bottom AND the top. In the past decade, the longhorn market really focused on the top side of animals. Recently there has been much more focus not only on the sires but also the dams.
G&G also understands that whether you get into this industry play around and have cows or to run a business, that you want cattle that are going to make money. We want that too! It doesn't matter what market you are involved in ranging from top end cattle, starter cattle, embryos and AI, or beef. Each market has its niche; we understand...We are or at one point were involved with every one of those markets! Countless new breeders have started their programs with the first visit to Catlett, VA and now Rochelle, VA and on any given day you can bump into one of them on the farm or even someone representing any of the large established ranches across the country.
There seem to be two positions in the Longhorn industry, buyers and breeders. Everyone starts as a buyer…and time determines breeders. The past 20 years have taught us much about world we live in, the people we deal with, and the cattle that shape our lives. Pleasure no longer comes from buying all the cattle we wished we could have...but breeding the ones we always wanted. Joy comes from new owners excited about our breeding, calving their first crop, winning their first show, or selling their first lot.
We are proud to be apart of such a wonderful group of people all across the board, no matter what group you run with, which part of the country you are from, or how big your herd is.
We love the Longhorn life…and raising Texas Longhorns the way we always have.
Hope to see everyone shorty.
OPERATIONS:
Health Matters
Our heifers are OCV'd when they are branded. We contact state health departments concerning transportation to other states. They are given their Black Leg and Nine Way shots along with wormed and Multi-Min. We also worm and Multi-Min multiple times a year as well as Johnes Test each animal when we blood test them.
Breeding
Our bulls are turned out and brought back in the same times every year. We use to turn our bulls out Memorial Day to Labor Day. But in 2016 when we moved to Rochelle we started a heavy rotational grazing program. With that required us to dry lot over the winter. Our normal calving operation would put calves in March. March is a tough time of year for us. So now we run bulls late June to the end of September. This allows us to concentrate our calves from the beginning of April to the end of June. Our winter breeding co-exists with Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. Again allowing us to concentrate our calves at the very end of August until the middle of November. Many breeders that face the possibility of cold winters and hot summers have a similar breeding schedule. This also allows us to manage our bulls to make sure they are healthy and capable for breeding when the time comes.
This close cluster of calves allows us to get our weaning schedules as close as possible. We try to wean twice a year for efficiency purposes and this schedule allows us to do that.
Note: Other breeders' schedules may be different. This does cause us to wean certain calves at different times.
Hauling
G&G makes several trips a year out west for various sales and events. Most of the times (emphasize MOST) we are able to haul cattle we sell through private treaty to our buyers out west during these trips. We are able to get the cattle to these sale locations and will help arrange drop off and/or pick up locations for transferring these animals to the new owners either there or along the way. Any animals that are needed or wanted before this transportation by G&G is available then there are two options, 1) either the new owner is more then welcomed to come to our ranch and pick up their animals or 2) G&G will be happy to deliver the animal at a shipping cost. If option #2 is where you think you are going, please contact Shawn about details.
Pricing
All of our animals are priced. All of our cattle are priced right there on the website. The reason being is we don't play games. The prices are listed for every single person, no matter who you are. If you're interested in an animal contact Shawn. He'll get current photos of any animal, at any angle, that you may like so that you can focus on different areas of the animal that you want to see in more detail than what the animals photo on the site shows. Shawn spends countless hours studying G&G's animals, watching their growth both in body and horn, tagging calves, and seeing their disposition. We breed the best producing bulls we can find to the best producing cows we can find. This industry has a foundation based on trust and relationships. We want to talk to you about our program, our cattle, why we are doing what we do, and talk about your animals too! That's our passion in life.
We do have a "layaway" program. We do take installment checks for animals in a "pay-as-you-can" program. That is not to say we will hold animals for an extended period of time. If there are any questions concerning this please contact Shawn because it is very vague and open for interpretation.