24 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN December 2025 PAST The Evolution of Early Range Cattle When the Great Plains was stocked after the Civil War with the previously feral Longhorns from Texas, breed improvement was an immediate priority. The beef from these once-feral Texas cattle was considered inferior and, prior to the cattle boom on the Plains after the war, many of the Texans who slaughtered a feral Longhorn would only harvest the hide, any tallow they might have and the tongue, which was considered a delicacy, leaving the rest of the carcass for predators to consume. When most people think of the cattle on the early range they think of Herefords, but this was not actually the case. In Alvin Sanders’ definitive 1914 book, The Story of the Herefords, he stated, “The Hereford had no place in the original invasion of the range country.” Instead, it was Shorthorns that producers looked to as a way to improve their herds, based on availability, if nothing else. Shorthorns were first imported into the United States from Great Britain in 1783, which was the same year the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Revolutionary War. The breed grew rapidly once it reached the shores of the new country. Amazingly, by 1785, the new breed had already made its way over the Allegany Mountains and, by the early 1800s, were thriving in Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley. During the first half of the 19th century, they continued to spread rapidly until they were commonplace throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Meanwhile, Herefords were first imported in 1817 by statesman Henry Clay of Kentucky but were slow to catch on. Therefore, when the Plains were first stocked after the war, Herefords were relatively few in numbers, making them scarce and expensive for use as range bulls. In contrast, an indication of Shorthorns’ popularity was demonstrated when Henry Clay’s son decided to import cattle, he chose Shorthorns over adding more Herefords. Due to their popularity, a steady stream of Shorthorns would continue to be imported until late in the 19th century. Meanwhile, the first Angus breeding stock would not be imported until 1878, so they were a non-factor in the early years of the range. In general, Shorthorns were very versatile cattle that, depending on the type selected, could be used for beef, as draft oxen and for a family’s milk supply. This made them very popular with farmers or grangers, as the farmers who settled on the railroad land grants in the Plains were often referred to. Shorthorns had also been trailed to the Oregon Territory starting in the 1840s where they also thrived. In contrast, it wouldn’t be until 1880s that the Hereford breed would achieve the critical mass and popularity to significantly impact the western beef industry. After the Civil War, the demand for Shorthorn bulls by the early ranchers of the Plains proved to be insatiable, and breeders could sell all the bulls they could produce. The one caveat was that the ranchers wanted them to be red, which helped make the color pattern of the Longhorns more consistent and thus more marketable. Although most of the range bulls were sourced from the Midwest, the demand proved so great that ranchers started to move Shorthorns back over the Rocky Mountains from the Oregon Territory to help supplement the supply, with Montana ranch giant Conrad Kohrs being credited with first large purchase of Northwest Shorthorns. The Bates Fad There were two distinct strains of Shorthorns – the dual-purpose type cattle, which were favored by farmers for their versatility – and beef Shorthorns, which were particularly popular in Canada. The Booth family in England is generally credited as breeding the foundation herd of beef BOB HOUGH | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Roundup of Longhorns. Credit: The U.S. National Achieves.
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