Langford Herefords is a seedstock operation with a room full of show banners
and an eye always on their reason for being — the commercial beef producer.

On this beautiful Eastern Oklahoma ranch, all that matters is the customer and

Doing What Works

By Katrina Huffstutler • Photos by John Andras

Leon Langford grew up liking Hereford cattle with "lots of meat and bone in them that were still
easy to look at."

Some things never change.

Even as a very young man he knew — registered breeders or not — his family was in the meat business.

"There's no other reason for us to be in this business except to raise bulls [whose progeny] will
put quality beef on the table. That's why we raise seedstock and why we've stuck with that type
of cattle," Leon says.

Langford Herefords, Okmulgee, Okla., comprises 2 families — the Langfords and the Watsons —
and is an equal partnership between Leon, his wife Suzy (Watson) Langford, and their son Watson Langford. Coincidentally, the Watson and Langford families bought their first registered Hereford
bull in 1939.

Today, they sell 200 bulls and approximately 100 females each year, numbers made even more impressive since all of their sales are private treaty. (Their website boasts, "One of us is always
here to show you cattle.")

‘We've got to do what works for our guys'
The cattle business is how these 3 make their living. They select for efficient cattle that don't
require a lot of feed or pampering — cattle they will not only work for them, but more importantly
for their customer, the commercial beef producer. Leon says for them that means easy-fleshing
cattle of sufficient size that don't require a lot of feed.

"We feel that is one of the things that we owe our success to — we like big, thick, heavy-boned
cattle that cross well on other breeds and can add pounds to just about anybody's cow herd,"
Leon says. "We keep a lot of meat and muscle in them, but we're also real picky about keeping
reasonable birth weights, good milk and good udders in our cows. We like EPDs (expected progeny differences), but we don't run cattle for their numbers. We're here for the commercial cattleman and, if our bulls don't go out and do the job for him, then we're out of business."

He says the popularity of black-hided cattle has hurt a lot of Hereford operations in the last 30 years, but adds, "those of us who have stayed in it and tried to raise the right kind of Hereford cattle have a pretty good market for them now.

"We're not out here trying to compete with Angus or any other breed," Leon says. "We're trying to complement them. We want to raise a bull that you can put on an Angus cow and get a calf that is superior to either of the original breeds."

Their office may be filled with banners, rosettes and photos from prestigious livestock shows, but the Langfords are quick to point out that's not what they're all about.

Watson says chasing after fads doesn't keep them in business and, whether their kind of cattle is popular in the registered world or not, they're going to keep doing the same thing.

"We've done that for generations and that has led to a lot of our success," the younger Langford says. "We've done what we believe in. We've just concentrated on what our customers want and we don't care what anybody else does — we've got to do what works for our guys.

"Our entire goal is not to raise a great one. Our goal is to raise a whole bunch of good ones."

Leon adds, "If we sell a high-priced bull or have a show winner, that's just icing on the cake. It's not our focus. We don't point our compass toward the show ring — we point it toward what commercial cattlemen want. We show a few cattle and, naturally, we like selling some high-priced bulls. But that's not what our operation is all about."

"That does not put food on our table. Selling range bulls is what keeps this business going," Watson says.

Recognizing the importance of satisfied bull customers and repeat business, the Langfords use strict criteria to determine which animals will become steers, or which will remain intact and be retained in the Langford herd or be sold.

"We when wean our calves, we go through the bulls and if one is not good enough for me to turn out on my own cows, I just won't sell him [as a bull]," Watson says.

"We still run them down the alley 1 at a time," Leon interjects.

And those animals not deemed worthy of being Langford bulls? Well, they make pretty impressive steers. For many years, the family retained and fed out their own calves, which consistently graded 70 percent Choice with average daily gains in the high 4 pounds per day and phenomenal conversion rates.

A well-planned development
That kind of efficiency is bred into Langford cattle and emphasized by the way they're developed and maintained.

"In general, cows are meant to survive on a grass-based diet, but not all of them will," Leon says. "Our cows will do well on grass and just a little bit of supplement, even in the winter."

He tells the story of an old cow they had back when the ranch was still based in Eastern New Mexico. They showed her at the New Mexico State Fair as part of a cow-calf pair and she won. Leon says he'll never forget what the judge said about that cow, who was, as Leon describes her, "just as fat as she could be."

The judge said, "That old cow takes care of herself, but she takes care of that calf, too."

Leon says that's precisely the kind of cows he wants to raise — the kind that come up fat and with a fat calf. It not only makes it easier to get them bred back, but "it won't take so dang much feed to get her through the winter," he says.

Watson explains that they run their cows on a forage-based diet year-round. They don't feed hay or silage during the winter unless there's snow or ice on the ground. The cows get 3.5 pounds per day of a 20 percent by-product feed during the winter and, other than salt and mineral, that's all they get.

"We try to run our cow herd as close to how a commercial operation is run as we can so we know what these cows will do," Watson says. "We don't baby our cows around and we don't pamper them."

He says if a cow cannot breed back and produce a good, fat calf every year on the program as it is, then she is gone.

"Our cows have to make money," Watson says. "This is our sole business and if it doesn't make money, I've got to look for another job."
Likewise, the young bulls are developed on a similar no-frills, light feed program. Post-weaning, bulls are placed in large groups in large pastures. Through the summer, they'll feed them just enough to keep them growing out well, and in the winter the bulls get about 1 percent of their body weight per day of a 15 percent bull feed. The idea is that the bulls will be in good shape and grow out well, but not be fat.

Watson says, "I think that's one of the keys to our success. When guys come in and buy a group of bulls here, they can kick them out and forget about them without them falling apart. They're ready to breed cows, as opposed to standing by the windmill waiting for the feed truck."

Personal service
No doubt, another plus to selling bulls year-round is the personal service the Langfords provide to each customer.

"By selling private treaty, we get to know our customers so much better," Watson says. "We get to learn about their cow herd and what they are trying to accomplish. It helps us understand what kind of bull they are going to need.

"I feel that is one of the things that has made us successful. We build personal relationships with our customers and, in a lot of cases, we even get to be really good friends. We're all in the same business and have the same interests. It is pretty neat."

He says they spend a lot of time consulting with their customers, and it's definitely a 2-way street. The customers ask for advice, but the Langfords also ask their customers for advice on how to improve their program.

"These commercial cattlemen are sharp," Watson says. "They run some awesome cow herds and they know what they're doing. I want to know what they think about our deal. Do they think we need to move in a different direction, or do they like what they are seeing?

"It's all about them. If our bulls aren't working for them, this deal isn't going to work whether I like the cattle or not."

For more information about Langford Herefords, visit LangfordHerefords.com