COUNTRY PROPERTY & FARM ANIMALS – RED COW

This is “Big Red”. She is a purebred Santa Gertrudis cow who resides on land in Brenham, Texas. I use my own photographs in my marketing materials.  Opportunity of the moment with a camera on your own land is another benefit of country living. 

I raise Santa Gertrudis cattle.  The original breed of the King Ranch in south Texas.  They are cherry red to dark burgundy in color with blond tails.  I have found the breed to be very healthy and most are docile in temperament.  I like the short horns, they look the way cattle should look!  But many favor polled or “hornless” cattle. I currently have a polled bull in the herd so the offspring are sometimes polled or sometimes with horn.

I have said many times that unless you have a substantial number of cattle, so many that you can actually make a profit from your efforts, that all cattle in the country are the same no matter the breed.  I’m referring to the need to keep cattle, make hay, etc. on property to maintain the county appraisal districts agricultural valuation.  E.g most cattle you see in the countryside  are what I call “TAX COWS”. 

It is a labor intensive effort fraught with opportunity to spend money on supplies, feed, hay, and equipment repair. I don’t want to discourage your efforts at cattle ownership.  But rare is a cattleman who gets paid for his time once the cattle are sold and all associated expenses with the effort are tallied.

This is another reason the 1-d-1 wildlife conversion is increasing in popularity with new landowners.

As a new landowner you must maintain an “Agricultural Use” of the land if it was in place at the time of your purchase or risk having the property reassessed at a much higher “MARKET VALUE” vs the generally lower “AG VALUE”.  Consult the County Appraisal district in the county of your ownership or property search, for their specific criteria.

If you have questions about rural parcels tax status or the 1-d-1 wildlife valuation contact me…