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Louisiana farmer fulfills dream of running purebred Brahman herd on family farm.

Ginger Rowsey, Senior writer

December 10, 2021

6 Min Read
Roy and Brahman
Roy McIntyre raises purebred Brahman cattle, wheat, hay and alfalfa on his farm near Delhi, La. Ginger Rowsey

Roy McIntyre grew up working cattle with his father and grandfather on their family farm in northeastern Louisiana. Back then then they ran 800 head of cattle — mostly F1 crosses from Hereford cows and Brahman bulls. 

“As a child, I was always fascinated with the Brahman bulls. They looked like a prehistoric animal to me,” McIntyre recalled. “That’s where my love for the Brahman breed began.” 

Life took McIntyre from Louisiana to Mississippi where he ran a 6,000-head cattle operation. Later he started a contracting business, building feedlots across the southeastern United States and even into Central and South America. But eventually the family farm called him home. 

“I wanted to have cattle on the place again, and I really wanted a purebred Brahman herd,” said McIntyre who runs the operation with his wife, Milly. “We looked for years to find the right cattle, and finally found some we liked in South Texas.” 

Now more than 50 purebred gray Brahman, with their distinctive humps, droopy ears and long, loose necks, dot the pastures of the McIntyre farm. Plans are to continue to grow the herd. McIntyre sells purebred seedstock, as well as F1 crosses, to commercial cattlemen looking to add Brahman vigor to their herds. (There is one lone Hereford bull on the place, that McIntyre keeps around to breed heifers. “The F1 calves make a better mama out of the heifer,” McIntyre insists.) 

Brahman nature 

Beside their unique physical characteristics, Brahman are perhaps most associated with temperament — and not necessarily in a good way. McIntyre believes the breed has been unjustly labeled as aggressive. 

“They are great mothers and very, very protective until that calf gets a couple of days old and can run on his own,” McIntyre said. “You do have to be careful approaching new mothers, but as a breed, if they are reared right and are handled properly, they are some of the most docile, loyal cattle you can have.” 

Roy and Brahman 2

Curious and intelligent, McIntyre admits Brahman cattle can make things interesting, but as you watch him with his herd, you get the impression the cattle are almost like pets. 

“We try to spend a lot of time with them. After we wean the calves, we put them in a small pen and hand feed them and try to bond with them,” he said. “They’re just like folks, they respond to affection.” 

The docility of McIntyre’s herd is also a product of strict culling. 

“In my experience, temperament is extremely heritable, so if we see a sign of aggressiveness, we remove that cow from the herd, because their calves tend to be exactly like them.” 

The future is Brahman? 

McIntyre’s second go-round with Brahman cattle has only made him more of a fan of the breed. Their vigor, heat tolerance and adaptability may be leading to a growing interest in Brahman for many others. For example, Texas A&M University recently announced a three-year USDA grant-funded study to improve the economic value of tropically adapted beef cattle due to climate change concerns. 

“If climate change occurs as predicted, there will be an increased reliance on tropically adapted livestock,” said Thomas Welsh, Jr., an endocrine physiology professor and Texas A&M AgriLife Research fellow. “Brahman cattle have important genes to contribute to adaptability to heat, humidity and parasites.” 

The USDA-funded project will acquire new information about how energetics and temperament may interact to affect sustainable production of meat. The team believes that with increased knowledge about Brahman-influenced cattle at the cellular level, they may potentially produce as high meat quality as found in the Angus. 

Brahman bull

Another ongoing USDA-funded study at Texas A&M is evaluating differences in nitrogen metabolism between cattle subspecies — Bos taurus taurus, which generally have no hump, and originate from Europe, and Bos taurus indicus, generally having a hump and originating in India. The goal is to develop precision diets for each subspecies to reduce overfeeding and underfeeding of nitrogen. Brahman-type cattle may require less nitrogen supplementation, although the study is still ongoing. 

Must be more efficient 

Off-setting high prices, whether it be with nitrogen, other nutrients, fuel, or feed is the biggest challenge facing growers today, as McIntyre sees it. 

“Rising inputs have made us be more efficient. We can’t not make a profit and stay in business,” McIntyre said. 

While there are few alternatives to fertilizer, McIntyre has focused on managing where his cattle are putting nutrients in the field. 

“We use rotational grazing. We also unroll our hay,” he said. “Unrolling the hay helps spread our nutrients out. The cattle waste less hay. And a bonus is they’re standing there in a line while they eat, so they’re easier to check.” 

Another efficiency measure he’s implemented is fence-line weaning. Once separated, the calves stay put, while the cows are moved to an adjacent field. It breaks the cow-calf bond more gradually. 

“The calves can walk along the fenceline and visit with their mother. There’s less bawling, less stress, and it doesn’t set them back as bad,” he said. “Maintaining weight gain through the weaning process will mean more weight, which equals more dollars. If you have to spend more, you have to make more.” 

Brahman calves

Alfalfa 

In addition to cattle, McIntyre raises wheat and bermudagrass hay. Two years ago, he also began growing alfalfa. While alfalfa production is very limited in Louisiana and the rest of the South, McIntyre has found it to be a productive and profitable crop. He partnered with the LSU AgCenter to host a field day in his alfalfa fields this past summer. 

“We’ve been told that you can’t grow alfalfa this far south, but it’s turned out to be very hardy,” he said. “It’s Roundup-Ready. It doesn’t winter-kill. There are not many pests down here. It doesn’t do well on heavy clay soil, but on sandy loam like we have, it has performed exceptionally well.” 

He does four alfalfa cuttings a year. While the alfalfa crop will need to be replanted every four years, McIntyre says those costs are offset by what he can sell his alfalfa hay for. A bale of alfalfa brings more than double a bermudagrass bale. He plans to continue expanding his alfalfa operation, as well. 

Traditions continue 

At 73, McIntyre now gets to introduce his grandchildren to farming and those “prehistoric creatures” that fascinated him as a young boy working alongside his own grandfather. Continuing traditions through the fifth generation on this family farm is special indeed.                      

“I love living in the country. I love making a living doing something I absolutely love. I love that I can teach my grandchildren to love farming,” he said. 

About the Author(s)

Ginger Rowsey

Senior writer

Ginger Rowsey joined Farm Press in 2020, bringing more than a decade of experience in agricultural communications. Her previous experiences include working in marketing and communications with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. She also worked as a local television news anchor with the ABC affiliate in Jackson, Tennessee.

Rowsey grew up on a small beef cattle farm in Lebanon, Tennessee. She holds a degree in Communications from Middle Tennessee State University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee at Martin. She now resides in West Tennessee with her husband and two daughters.

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