Gene Longcrier’s father was ranch manager for the Colcord Ranch; a 2,000-acre cattle ranch owned by legendary lawman and oilman Charles F. Colcord. “I was born a few miles from here. I attended grade school at Minnehaha three or four miles out of Colcord. I finished high school at Kansas, Okla.,” Gene Longcrier said. “So I have been around here early on and we came back here when we retired after 30 years with Dow Chemical Company in the oil field division.” Gene and his wife, Zella, celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary in August. They have three children, five grandkids and four great grandkids.
“When Zella and I retired, we bought the Flint Creek Convenience Store and Water Park. We kept that for several years,” he said. “During that time we went to real estate school and became real estate brokers. We had Flint Creek Real Estate for several years.” In 1991, they bought Twin Springs. Tulsa Mayor Herman F. Newblock built Twin Springs as his summer home in 1928. “I’ve been told this is where the stagecoach stopped, rested and got watered,” Gene added.
“When we bought the farm; rather than letting the land go to waste, we decided to go into raising registered Angus. I didn’t have enough pasture to try commercial. I have 130 acres here. So I decided to go with a smaller breed and try to improve the breed,” Gene said. “It has been an interesting thing. A lot of book work in it anymore keeping up with the embryos, AI’s, birthdates, weaning weights and all that. I’ve been raising cattle for about nine years.”
Gene still works in real estate part time as an associate broker with Arkoma Realty. “Raising cattle is not a real full time job because I don’t raise that many. I just try to raise good ones,” he said. Gene and Zella have 17 registered Angus cows and one yearling registered bull. “Angus looked like they were the most popular brand at that time. I think they still are. The more I know about them, the more I think they are a very good breed to have in your herd.”
“I like to keep no more than 20 momma cows,” Gene said. Gene finds his best market in selling bulls. “I can sell a lot more bulls than I can sell heifers or cows,” he said. “I’ve even thought about breeding sexed semen to get more bulls. Sexed semen is a little bit more but, if you get what you’re after then it is not that much,” he continued.
Most of Gene’s calves are bred through artificial insemination or embryo transfers. “I don’t do any natural breeding. I do a lot of embryo breeding,” he said. Gene uses Dennis Avery of DNA Genetics from Twin Oaks, Okla. Gene has repeat customers for his bulls requiring him to be careful about bloodlines. “I’ve just built up a clientele. With no more cattle than I have, we make sure that we don’t have the same bloodlines year after year.”
“I try to get a bull that throws small calves that grow fast and have good size to them. The females I breed to I try to increase milk production so it will help the babies grow fast,” he said. “Of course, I do try to increase the rib eye. I just try to improve the breed.” Gene also tries to breed a good-natured docile bull.
Gene finds raising cattle very gratifying. “It is hard work too especially when your having calves in December, January and February. Some calves I bring into my shop and use the hair dryer to dry them off so they won’t freeze,” he said. “I try, I don’t always get it done but, I try to calve in the fall so my bull calves are ready to be serviced when they are about 18 months old.” He sells most of his bull calves in April. “I have them in good shape, sperm tested and all that. Customers like heifer bulls because they throw smaller calves. They don’t have to have a vet come out and pull them,” he said.
Gene feeds sweet stock at 14 percent every night so he can make sure his cattle are doing well. He has a hay field close by in Twin Oaks using commercial fertilizer to make sure he has good quality hay. “I have mostly Bermudagrass and some fescue. I worm usually twice a year in the spring and fall,” he said. “I keep mineral out year round and give them their shots in the spring. Basically, I keep them pretty healthy year round.”
Gene thinks the future of the cattle business is bright. He says land prices have come down in the last five years. “Good pasture land is available for $1,500 to $1,800 an acre. If a good, year-round water source is available, it might go for $2,000 an acre,” he said. “To me, the market is wide open. I think if I were a young man going into the commercial business, the first thing I would do is get a good bull. Whether it is an Angus bull or whatever, you need a bull that improves your herd. Something that improves your cows if you breed up.”
