Interested in the iconic Texas Longhorn? Want to know more about grassfed beef as a healthier alternative? Time Warner Cable News spent a couple of days on the beautiful Seco Valley Ranch in Medina County with Don and Debbie Davis, who have dedicated themselves to work sustaining the breed of cattle synonymous with Texas' ranching heritage. Some factoids:

  • Don Davis is vice president of the American Grassfed Association, or AGA. The AGA is a third-party certifier of grassfed production standards. Ranchers that earn the right to display the AGA logo on their labels can be trusted by consumers to have raised their animals according to scientifically researched standards set by the AGA. These include animal traceability in the USA from birth to harvest, forage only diet, no added antibiotics or hormones, humane animal treatment and sustainable pasture management designed to benefit the soil and groundwater. All Grassfed Livestock Alliance LLC producers are members of the American Grassfed Association.
  • All Grassfed Livestock Alliance, or GLA, producers have passed quality audits by the Global Animal Partnership.
  • The Davis herd of Texas Longhorns is registered with the Cattlemen’s Texas Longhorn Registry, or CTLR. Both Don and Debbie Davis are past presidents of this organization. The CTLR’s mission is to engage in scientific and historical research, education and other charitable purposes associated with Texas Longhorn cattle, to recognize and make known true Texas Longhorn cattle, to promote sound breeding practices, to preserve purity of the breed, to recognize breeders, to encourage others to develop and maintain records and herds of high quality, to promote the use of the breed’s naturally evolved unique gene pool, and to affect research and aid in the advancement of scientific knowledge for a better understanding of the breed's ancestry.
  • The Livestock Conservancy has declared historically correct, genetically pure Texas longhorn cattle of the phenotype they raise critically endangered. There are fewer than 3,500 of the living animals left in the world. In an effort to raise public awareness of the value of this naturally evolved breed and create a market for the animals in hope of encouraging others to raise them, Bandera Grassland™ was formed. This enables the Davises to remain on the land and maintain a herd of Texas longhorn cattle.
  • In 2005, the Cattlemen’s Texas Longhorn Conservancy, or CTLC, was established as a public charity and sister organization to the CTLR. Its mission is engaging in scientific and historical research and education and other charitable purposes associated with Texas longhorn cattle. The organization worked with geneticists at the University of Texas at Austin to develop a genetic definition of the breed through DNA analysis. The CTLC has developed fourth and seventh grade Texas history curricula and high school science curricula using the Texas Longhorn as a teaching tool.
  • In cooperation with the Livestock Conservancy and Salt and Time Butcher Shop and Salumeria in Austin and the Food Lab at UT, the Texas longhorn is being nominated to the SlowFood USA Ark of Taste, a list of delicious and distinctive foods facing extinction. 

If you want to know more, contact:

Debbie Davis
DWD Longhorns ®, LLC
P.O. Box 36
Tarpley, TX  78883
(830) 562-3650