Livestock
By Larry Gill, Jr. submitted by
Sally Metcalf Dawson
Raising livestock for sale was destined to
become one of the leading sources of income for the farmers in the Beckville area.
However, there was a long period of development before this became a reality. Several
factors were favorable for this to happen. The land surrounding Beckville had a good
supply of water all year. The short winters made it easy to carry stock through that
season. The abundance of grass in this part of Panola County was certainly desirable.
In the pioneer days, farmers kept only those
animals that were needed for use on the farm. The livestock roamed the woods with brands
on them indicating the owner. As the country became more populated, the people decided to
fence their pastures because it would be more profitable. The first fences were built of
split logs. Building these rail fences, as they were called, was very hard work and the
rails decayed within a few years. Finally the wire fences came into use. Wire fences not
only looked a lot better than the wooden fences, but they were easier to build and lasted
longer.
During this period, all cattle were scrub animals. It was not until
after passage of the stock law that farmers became interested in improving their livestock
and had a few pure bred animals brought in.
Many early settlers used oxen for draft animals but gradually their
use was discontinued. As the farmer’s income increased, they wanted horses and mules
instead of the slower oxen. Most of the horses and mules were raised on the farms. But
some were shipped in and sold or traded to the farmers.
Before rotary mowers, some farmers kept sheep and goats to help
control brush and weeds. The sheep ate the grass close to the ground, but didn’t care
for bushes and weeds, so they soon disappeared. The goats were very helpful in keeping
down the underbrush and briars.
Other livestock included on nearly all farms until the 1940’s
were chickens, a few ducks, guineas, geese and turkeys.
The razor back hog roamed the woods until the stock law was passed.
During the summers they were rather lean. In the autumn, the hogs became fat on acorns.
The people would put the hogs in pens for some days before butchering time in order to
feed them corn to improve the quality of the meat.
As the railroad came into being, a few people began to improve the
hog breeds and started shipping them to market. Poland China, Duroc Jersey, and Ohio
Improved Chester were brought into the area to upgrade the existing stock. The better hogs
brought better prices on the market. The railroad was used to ship the hogs to market
before the auction sales became common practice in Panola County.
In 1934 Vocational Agriculture was added to the high school
schedule. Through this class the Future Farmers of America was organized. This
organization has had a great influence on the community in helping to improve livestock
breeds and the methods of managing livestock.
With the decline of profits from cotton, the farmers began to look
for other ways to make money. They began to find that there was more money in the
production of cows and hogs than in cotton. Many fields that once grew crops were turned
into pastures. The full-blooded animals were increasing in number and cattle raising as a
means of making money was on its way. By the late thirties and early forties there were
several herds of full-blooded White Faced Herefords, a few Jerseys, and Polled Durhams.
Brahma cattle were just beginning to be tried out at this time.
Farmers began to sell the surplus calves and hogs to individual
buyers who came to the farms to bid on the stock, or they were taken to the weekly auction
sales at nearby Carthage, Henderson, or Marshall.
Although raising hogs for a profit was successful for some farmers,
it was never very wide spread. Most of the hogs were mixed breeds, but some were pure
bred. Many producers thought the mixed blooded hogs could be raised with less feed. Some
people thought the pure bred hogs were more profitable.
Cattle herds continued to improve and the cotton farmers became
successful ranchers. New breeds have been introduced over the years. The Brahma cattle
have proven to be a very desirable breed in East Texas.
When purebred cattle were first introduced people were striving to
develop purebred herds. Now many ranches are of the opinion that it is more profitable to
cross breed their cattle in an effort to stimulate more rapid growth.
In the late fifties and early sixties, quite a few people on the
farm invested in the poultry business. They would build several long buildings designed
for growing chickens. The poultry company specified to the owner how to build these
houses. After the buildings were completed, the companies would stock the buildings with
tiny chickens and furnish the feed. The producers were paid a certain amount for each
broiler size chicken at a later date. Caring for chicken houses was very hard work but the
income from the investment was good. One by one the poultry houses in Beckville have gone
out of business.
It does not appear that the mining operations have had any
undesirable effects in the cattle business. He says most of the land where lignite has
been dug was not very good pasture land.
The ranchers around Beckville continue to improve their herds.
There are several outstanding herds of Brangus and Santa Gertrudis, as well as, dairy
herds of pure bred Holstein.
Ever since cotton fields were turned into pasture land, raising
cattle has been one of the main sources of income in East Texas.
