Many people wish to actually retire around age 55. Not so for Lee and Linda Ragains of Sallisaw, Okla. While it’s true that Lee retired from veterinary practice in Nebraska, he and Linda buy ranches and improve them for resale while running their registered Longhorn operation. They have 200 head made up of 120 momma cows and seven bulls with the rest being calves and yearlings. Two previous spreads were a 1,400-acre ranch in Duncan, Okla., and a 1,780-acre ranch in Lynchburg, Mo.
The Ragains have been on their new 300-acre ranch less than two-and-a-half years and have many projects on their improvement list. Their first project after buying the place was to properly fence it for their cattle. Then they added another barn and a corral. One area they are now addressing is better drainage.
Linda is hoping this new ranch will be their last but is unsure if Lee will agree. The tight knit couple work the place by themselves with meticulous attention paid to developing a gentle-natured, as well as prize winning, herd. Lee said, “We don’t keep any that aren’t gentle. Every breed has renegades, and Longhorns are no exception.”
In his early years, Lee worked on a ranch and rodeoed as a bareback rider. Then he served in the military and used the GI Bill to help him become a veterinarian. While he, “doctored anything that came down the road,” Lee was an equine specialist. Today he and Linda have only Foxie, a two-eyed jack, registered Quarter Horse mare, because they work their herd with a 4-wheeler and a feedbag. The animals are so accustomed to being handled that they will follow the couple anywhere.
The Ragains’ herd started with nine animals in 1979. An early favorite was a cow named Maggie whose bloodlines still run in the herd. Breeding has been done by AI, embryo transplantation, even cloning as well as natural breeding. Lee said, “The challenge is to raise good quality animals with a lot of horn and a strong frame.” Testaments to the Ragains’ success are the multitude of trophies and the sets of massive horns displayed throughout the home.
The couple believes that Longhorns are a good breed because they calve into their 20s and have smaller calves, which cause few birthing problems. Further, any kind of bull with a Longhorn heifer decreases the birthing problems of larger breeds. Lee added that a Holstein heifer and a Longhorn bull produce a smaller calf that can be put into production sooner. He said, “In Missouri, where we had our Veterinary practice, we sold all of our young bulls to our dairy clients to use on their first calf heifers, which helped us cut down on our late night calving calls.” Another advantage of the Longhorn is that the breed has a pretty clean genetic pool so Longhorn breeders don’t seem to run into many of the problems other breeders do. Then Linda added, “A big advantage of Longhorns is that the meat has a lower cholesterol count than chicken, something people are looking for today.”
As much as the Ragains love their animals and treat them like pets, the herd is a business. They have sold their animals across the country including California, Minnesota, Alabama, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, as well as in Canada. About 10 years ago Linda decided it was time to take advantage of the sales opportunity on the Internet. She got a computer, learned how to use it and put up her own website. Linda laughed and said, “The Internet has really paid off for us, but I look like a suicide bomber because I always have camera and cell phone around my waist under my shirt.”
Almost immediately after the website was posted, Linda got a call from a buyer in Florida who purchased 12 cows and a bull to start his own herd. One of the cows was a special favorite of Linda’s that she didn’t want to part with, but the buyer made her an offer she couldn’t refuse and Phenomenal Prinzess was off to Florida.
Just recently Linda saw Phenomenal Prinzess come up for sale in a breeder’s catalogue. Linda was excited and bought her back through a phone bid. The cow is still producing good calves and recognized Linda right away allowing Linda to hand feed her as soon as she arrived.
The couple makes few concessions to age. They like Oklahoma because they don’t have to shovel a lot of snow and they no longer halter break their bulls. However, they start at daybreak and are busy all day long. Lee said, “We love the people we know here, but that isn’t as many as we would like. We know the people at church but have been too busy to really meet everyone. We haven’t even completely unpacked yet but hope to find the time soon.”
