Not to crash your little party Longhorn ranch but do know how many longhorns are in oregon let alone any other state besides warm southern ones. The total is practiclay 0 because they have horns and are often skinnier and don't get as much muscling and build as an english cross. Not that longhorns don't have their place but i don't think they are as readily available in oregon as they are in texas. If i was starting in the cattle business i would not want somethign with a 5 foot horn spread. Plus don't you need to have special facilities to handle long horns liek a different chute to accomadate their horns. If they already have working facilities designed for beef cows not longhorns they would have to cahnge things to accomodate them. rfranches i would stick to the idea of some older cows that are freindly with good calves by side that have a few years left in them and are in good condition, Such as a 5 or 6 year old cows that are tame. Salers are pretty big up your way and i have heard that they are pretty good so i would look into some crosses. Ask the farmer lots of questions, why are you selling them, have you ever had any trouble with any of the cows calving or with them being overly protective of calf, ask to see calving records if at all possible, find out what bull or bullsthey were bred to. look at where they are hosued and how the place is maintained. A well maintained place usually means well maintained cows. A run down palce sometimes meansnot well maintained cows but that is NOT ALWAYS TRUE. Walk through the cows and see how they act to your pressence. Look at their bags make sure that they are all in good shape. Don't spend to much money since this is jsut a trial run to get experience.Hope it works out for you and good luck. Oh and find some people in your local area that can mentor you.
