How Diamond G became

DGF Longhorns

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I ended up moving back to Austin for a multitude of reasons and lost Grandad in 2009 and Papaw in 2012. Mom got a piece of the farm in Tyler and Dad did in Henderson. I’m sure we could have found a way to farm and let the boys roam, work, hunt, and play as I did… but it wasn’t the same. Grandad and Papaw were not there and I needed something of my own for my boys and grandkids like I had!

My brother, boys, and mom all started looking for our own place in Central Texas. My brother found a nice place outside of College Station and carried on the G5 brand. Three years and multiple contracts later, my mom, sons (Chad and Will), and I started the Diamond G in eastern Williamson County. (I owned Diamond G Auctioneers in East Texas and already had a lot of swag!) The pastures were solid weeds and mesquite. My boys and I literally camped in a tent, or slept in a scorpion, rat, spider infested cabin to start working on the property. I was ready to show them everything I learned about beef cattle and actually be good at it! However, the boys wanted Longhorns. All I had ever known about Longhorns from the old-timers was to stay away from them and you would be lucky if you got a fraction of what the other cows brought at the sale barn. NO BOYS, NO LONGHORNS!

“Dad, we will buy them ourselves then.” I wasn’t too worried as I knew their financial situation! It was the same as most other 11 and 14-year-old boys. NOTHING. The boys ended up negotiating an hourly wage for their farm work with me. They would work around every sport schedule a kid could play. They begged to spend every weekend, spring break, summer break and Christmas working burning brush, fixing fence, hauling trash, killing weeds, and sweating their little ornery brains out. They had enough money saved up to buy some **** longhorns. I had to do it.

We found three breeders in the area and bought a few registered cows from each. We knew nothing about registered longhorns. We went to our first sale and Molly at Hired Hand asked me who I was with. I proudly told her, “I’m the owner of Diamond G Longhorns.” Without ANY hesitation, she said, “You don’t look much like Gwen to me.” I immediately sat in the arena of the Eddie Woods Ft Worth sale and asked my friend Google who this Gwen at Diamond G was. It turns out she has a very reputable longhorn ranch that everybody in the industry knows about. I had to find another way to market our cattle than the name and brand I had in East Texas. Diamond G Farms (DGF) Registered Texas Longhorns soon became our registered and legal name. We still brand with the Diamond G and PHN on the left rear hip though for the time being.

After 10 years of becoming a student of the breed. I’m addicted and wouldn’t be caught with a polled black cow on the place! I even bought the ranch next door to run more longhorn cattle! Longhorns are simply smarter and superior to “commercial” cattle. They don’t tear up stuff any more than anything I owned before if it is built right! No, they don’t put weight on as fast as commercial cows but I can turn them loose on a pasture of rocks and hackberries almost! When they have decent grass, the steaks from grain fed longhorns are as good as any! That says a lot as I’ve traveled the world eating pretty dang good food!

We’ve put together a small herd with an extensive, artificial insemination, embryo, and elite sire program. We strive to build a complete cow not focusing on just one trait. We look for the normal commercial cattle traits but also twist horn genetics, color, tip to tip measurements, milking ability, mothering ability, and most of all something that will not hurt my mom or granddaughter. I sold my most expensive embryo cow with the “BEST” genetics at the sale barn for beef because she wasn’t a good mama cow. We cull hard and wish everybody else would too out of respect for the breed! Our goal is to build an elite herd of well-rounded quality Texas Longhorn cattle and help others enjoy this wonderful breed!

If you are needing an ag exemption, a hobby, F1 program, a full time beef program, eye candy cattle, front pasture yard art at a wedding venue, or simply a way to spend time with your family all while they learn what hard work, respect, love of the land, and admiration of all God’s creatures are… Come see us in Shiloh, Texas! We are about 45 minutes east of Austin right in the middle of the Taylor, Elgin, and Lexington triangle!

Audrey and I love our time at the farm cooking, hosting guests, long walks, enjoying the wildlife, and most of all, admiring the longhorns! My sons still work out here (at a much higher rate.) My mom still fights gophers and feeds for me when I’m gone, but most importantly, DGF is a place to keep my grandpas' legacies alive and spend time with those I love the most. It’s amazing where these **** longhorns have taken us!

-Ben Garner