Legacy, Resilience & 35 Years of Raising Total Package Cattle with Nancy Dunn, Rolling D Ranch

This week we sit down with Nancy Dunn of Rolling D Ranch in Eclectic, Alabama to trace a legacy built on grit, family, and a lifelong love of Texas Longhorns. Nancy opens the gate to her program’s history—how it started, what’s shaped it over the years, and the values that still guide every pairing on the ranch today.

We talk about her well-known cattle, including Dunn Lucky Dice, and the traits she insists on keeping front and center: correctness, longevity, and a calm, workable disposition. Nancy also shares timeless insight for both new and seasoned breeders—how to evaluate cattle with clear eyes, avoid common traps, keep learning from the community, and stay dedicated to the breed through the ups and downs. It’s a conversation full of heart, hard-won lessons, and the kind of perspective you only earn by living the Longhorn life, day after day.

Rolling D Ranch: https://www.rollingdranch.com/

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi there, I'm Molly. And I'm Jamie. We're the owners of Hired Hand Software. And this is season six of our From the Pasture podcast. For more than 15 years, we've been helping breeders promote their pedigree livestock with our easy-to-use, animal management-driven website software. Each week, we bring you stories from the pasture, breeding philosophies, ranch traditions, cattle knowledge, and conversation with folks using Hired Hand to power their livestock marketing. So settle in for today's episode of From the Pasture with Hired Hand.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Today on From the Pasture with Hired Hand, we're visiting with one of the most respected breeders of the Southeast, and someone whose story deserves to be told in full. Nancy Dunn of Rolling Dee Longhorns has been raising Texas Longhorns for over 35 years in Eclectic, Alabama. While her cattle are well known for their quality, with names like Dunlucky Dice making headlines at the legacy, many may not know the full story of Nancy herself. Her journey started with a hundred-year-old family farm, the Carter Family Plantation in Monroe County, where she was raised around beef and dairy cattle and row crops. After studying agriculture at Auburn and a career with the USDA, Nancy built her own Longhorn program that has become one of the most recognized in the Southeast. But while her cattle may be the household name in the Longhorn world, Nancy herself worries that many of today's younger breeders don't know her personal story, her family roots, the history she carried forward, and the path that led her to build Rolling D Longhorns. That's part of why she is joining us today. Not to share just her cattle's history, but her own. We'll talk about her family legacy, her own history in the breed, the cattle she's most proud of, and what it means to raise Texas longhorns in Alabama. Welcome, Nancy. Thank you, Jamie. Thanks for waking up early today and chatting with us. I hope that's the worst part of the whole podcast. It will be. Waking up early. I promise. Well, Nancy, let's get started with your family's Carter Family Plantation. Tell us about the history and the role it's played for five generations.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

I was born there. Um my grandfather started it, my grandparents. They had just a small dairy. They did their own hand milking at the time, had their own milk route, delivered the milk, you know, long years ago. And then my father and my uncle continued there and row cropped beef cattle in addition to the dairy. Um interesting tidbit. I never had store-bought milk until I started school. And then I thought, it's water, it's not even real milk because we had, of course, non-homogenized milk and it was so thick and good. And now I drink, still drink full heavy cream in my coffee to this day, but I never knew what um store-bought milk even tastes like.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

There's a difference for sure.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

So, how did growing up in Monroe County, surrounded by real crops and beef and dairy cattle, shape your perspective on agriculture?

SPEAKER_02 3:05

Well, I've always known that agriculture, even bec before some of these taglines about agriculture being, you know, sustainability for families and that sort of thing, we live that. And, you know, you hear people say land rich and money poor, and I would say that was probably the case with our family. We didn't have much. Um, we grew up in a house that was built prior to the Civil War, an old log house. We had run and water, but we did not have an indoor bathroom. We had an outhouse. And uh so I learned about that at an early age. I have all brothers, and I'm the only girl. If you had to go to the outhouse in the dark, that was a scary thing when you're a little kid. But, you know, I mean, we had everything we needed, but we didn't have anything extra, you know.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

What's the plantation like today? And what does it mean to you personally to be part of that? I guess.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Oh, it's everything. And I'm the only one of my siblings um that doesn't live there in in my hometown. All all my brothers live there and live on the on the place. And um, my younger brother is actually fulfilling um, I guess, our family legacy because he still does hay and has cattle there. And then my other brothers, of course, all pitch in and they live there. Um, I'm the only one. I I wish I lived there, but obviously we have our place a little further north. Yeah, we're a couple hours away from there. So I do get to go, not as often as I'd like, but but it's still in full operation, and uh it's of course a beautiful place. And you know, where you're raised and been in your family for so long, you know, it's just it's a feeling like you can't explain to somebody unless they have that themselves. But it's it holds near and dear. There's family cemetery there, and you know, I would like to see myself, well, no time soon, but I'd like to reside there as a permanent resident one day. Let's hope um others in my family will honor that and it's gonna be recorded, so they can't say they didn't know.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

It's out there now, right? Yeah, right. Well, we find it very hard to believe. You reached out about doing a podcast interview with us because you feared that many folks knew about your cattle, but not about you. Why do you think that? And what do you want to share about yourself for folks to know?

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Well, I've been in the Longhorns for for quite a while, and it's been a lot of work, but it's a passion, obviously, and I love it. I had been really active in the faturity world uh long before it's as active and big and organized as it is now, and I loved it, just loved it. And been a member of SETLA, the Southeastern Association, for a long time, and we put on faturities for years. I just love that concept because I think it's an opportunity to get your cattle out there, let people see them, and and you get to meet so many people. It's a great networking opportunity, and you learn a lot, you know, just talking to people and what works for some people in different parts of the country. And unfortunately, I had some health situations that came about unexpectedly. And so I've really been sort of out of commission November will be five years from my cancer diagnosis. And I was really sick. It started um during the COVID IT of COVID, obviously, and I wasn't able to travel. I wasn't able to, I mean, it was bedridden for a couple of years and on oxygen, so I just wasn't able to go. And we have had so many new breeders to come on the scene, and I've been sort of out of the loop now for a while and haven't been able to get my cattle out where people could see them and hadn't been able to participate very much. I went to a few fraternities this year, but that's really kind of been my first dip back into it. And it feels odd to me to have known most everybody for years and years, and now all of a sudden be out of it for a little while and oh, there's just new people everywhere, which is wonderful. I'm I'm so happy to see that the that the business is growing and you know, we've got new, excited, enthusiastic people. And some are young and some are not as young, but they're all equally enthusiastic. And I just, you know, it was hard. I used to could travel to ranches and meet people that way, and it's hard now for me to do a lot of traveling. Um just thought it'd be a good idea to sort of, you know, introduce myself and and um I'm not a newcomer, I've been on the scene for a long time, but I just hadn't been able to sort of mingle, I guess, as much as I'd like. So just thought it'd be a good idea.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

What do you want most people, especially the younger generation of breeders, to understand about you and your history in this industry?

SPEAKER_02 7:58

Oh goodness. Um well I've had the same goal for a really, really long time from the beginning. And and that is that my interest is in just the term and not just the term, but I'm trying to do that, accomplish that, uh, total package cattle. I've raised cattle that have a lot of horn. I've raised several cows over a hundred inches. Lucky die, she mentioned she was the first um cow ever sold at a registered sale that was over a hundred inches. And I have several others that are over a hundred inches. But while I recognize that the horn length is value, it is not my goal to raise the longest horned cattle that I can. It's nice to be able to do that. But the total package part where you have number one, the cow has to be a brood cow. That's her job. And in if she is not fertile and she can't breed and she doesn't milk and she can't raise a good calf, I don't care how much horn she's got, because being a brood cow in my book is the number one absolute requirement, and there's no leeway there. But, you know, having good confirmation, easy fleshing, um horn, obviously, and I love twist. So sometimes, you know, you have to be patient on that twist, and you have to give up some tip-to-tip early tip-to-tip measurement to while you're waiting on the twist to come. But I like, you know, I don't want all my cows to look the same. I want all different horn shapes. But the total package part really is where I've stayed in that same lane the whole time. I've not veered from that. Um I just I want them to have the total representation of those characteristics of the breed that we all love, you know, and and they're just so tough and they're so resilient, and they can make it under conditions that other cattle really struggle under. And you just have to admire that about the breed. Um, but number one is just that they they do their job and they do it well, and disposition, because I work the cattle myself, is is just, oh gosh, so important because they have a bad attitude. They I say they need to be removed from the gene pool. I'm not gonna sell them to another breeder, but if they got a bad attitude, they don't have a place as far as I'm concerned. Um, but mainly just that total package deal, you know. They just you want them to have it all. I've said that in some previous podcasts, you know, you just want it all. And that's true. I mean, and I've never changed. I've never never been much for flavor of the month. I've just stayed right in the middle of the road, and that's where I continue to stay. And when I talk to new breeders, I try to stress that very thing because I see sometimes new breeders get off on a path where they're chasing a single trait. And I always think that's a mistake. You know, whether it's color, horn, whatever. You just there's so many wonderful traits. How could you even pick one anyway? But I do think you lose those other traits if you only focus on the one trait. So that'd be my one single piece of advice, probably. And to, you know, if you're gonna be building a herd, obtain your cattle from people that you trust and that have a really stellar reputation because in the end that's all we have is just our reputation anyway.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

Very true. So, what's one lesson you've learned in 35 years of raising longhorns that you wish you had known when you started?

SPEAKER_02 11:39

It's not easy. I didn't realize it was an addiction. I like to refer to it as a passion. That just sounds so much better. It does sound better than addiction. It does, it does. But it's true. It it it's both an addiction and um and a passion. You have to have patience. You really do. And if you think you're gonna jump out there and especially with Twisty Horn and you're gonna have that accomplished in a couple of years. The other thing I think is uh there's nothing wrong with acknowledging if you get into it and the cattle that you start with aren't taking you where you thought you were going to go. And that happens to a lot of new breeders, and in about three to five years, they're thinking, well, these cattle that I started with aren't taking me to the destination that I'm desiring. And when that happens, the best thing you can do is just start over. Don't be ashamed to start over. You're probably better off to get rid of some of those cattle, or sometimes people have to get rid of all of them, and you just start over. And you can do that. There's no shame in that. It happens to everybody. Most people buy cattle from the first longhorn person they ever come in contact with. First longhorn cattle they see, they think they're magnificent, they're beautiful, and they just can't live without them. But what they don't understand yet, because they just don't know enough about the about the breed, is you may think on a scale of one to ten you're buying in with an eight, and then later you find out, mmm, that was a number two, because you haven't seen yet the other cattle that are out there, and you just buy from the first people. I think people should visit as many ranches as they can, go to events, see as many cattle as possible, and develop an eye for the traits that are out there and identify what it is that you like and what you want to breed for. We don't all have to want to breed for the same thing. There's nothing wrong with that. There are enough traits out there that you can choose whatever it is that you like. And if you just want cattle to admire and you don't want to be in the breeding business, trophy steers are a wonderful, wonderful thing. And you don't ever get disappointed and you don't worry with calving or any of those, you don't have to have a bull. You just have them to admire. And what greater thing is just to have majestic longhorns and less work, you know, obviously, less stress. So you can just raise steers if that's what you want to do. If you don't want to be in the breeding business, but identify what it is that you want to accomplish. And then along your way, if you realize the cattle that you started with won't take you there, change. Change. Get rid of those cattle, add different genetics, and just continually work towards what it is that you want to do. Because, and I say this to people all the time, we don't all have to want to do the same thing. We don't have to want the same goals. You have to know what your goals are to make a plan on how to reach those goals. And sometimes we know so little when we get started, and there's no shame in that because you don't know what you don't know. And then as you go along, you'll learn it. And then I think sometimes people are hesitant to say, gee, I wish I'd started with different cattle, or now I think I want to do this. Do what you want. And if if that means starting all over from scratch, just do it. And unfortunately, some people buy in at prices that maybe were not what the animal is worth, and then they have to take a little bit of a hit. And I hate when that happens, so you need to be really cautious when you buy from people. Know what you're getting, know what you're getting. Sometimes people rush into it, they don't ask the right questions, um, they don't see the animals in person. And we have to remember that a photograph is only as good as the photographer. So you have to be careful about that. You know, I suggest seeing them in person, especially bulls. Size is one of those things that's so very hard to evaluate from a photograph, and the animal may look perfect, and when you see it in person, it just might not meet your expectations. And size is one of those things, body size. You just can't evaluate that from without seeing them in person.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Well, let's talk about your journey into longhorns now. So after Auburn and your work at the USDA, when did you first realize longhorns were going to be the breed that you chose?

SPEAKER_02 16:47

Well, probably through team roping, really. Um my husband team roped. Um after years of working the chute for he and my son to team rope, I decided there was something wrong with that picture. They were never getting off their horse, and I'm working the chute. So I decided that I was going to learn to team rope at what would be considered to be an advanced age. I won't tell you the age, but um I bought me an old, old horse that knew everything, and I started heading. And oh my goodness, I fell in love with team roping. And we would always acquire steers to team rope. And one year I said, you know, this business of buying steers, and then when they get too big, take them to the stockyard and just give them away. I said, I think I want to buy heifers. And then I'll start raising me some team ropers and team roping cattle. Anyway, so that's how I got started. And I actually bought a herd of registered cattle, but it was a divorce situation, and they didn't agree on the paper. I didn't get the papers, although they were registered cattle. And I just fell in love with them, and because I'd been around cattle forever, you know, beef cattle. But uh, there's so many things I admire about longhorns, and they're just so resilient and so, oh, just everything about them. So then I started gradually just adding registered cattle, and I would sell some of my unregistered, save my money. My cattle have always had to pay for themselves. I'd sell a few unregistered ones, save my money, and replace them with the registered ones. Got hooked up with Jimmy Jones, who lives not, you know, real far from me in Alabama, about an hour away. And um, of course, Jimmy has stellar cattle and uh, you know, reputation out of this world. And so I bought some older, proven producing cattle from him and sort of got started that way. And then, of course, at that time, bull partnerships were almost unheard of. And Jimmy was a big proponent of that, and that was a great thing for me. So I was able to get into some bull partnerships with some just extraordinary bulls, and just, you know, just sort of went from there from the team roping and gradually got into the registered part, and then it just from there it's just become, you know, everything.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

The passion took off.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

The passion took off, yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

So over the years, you've raised some very influential cattle. Can you walk us through a few rolling D bred animals that have really made an impact? Wow. Well, and of course, we'd like to talk about Dunlucky Dice specifically.

SPEAKER_02 19:19

Well, I knew you did. I knew you did, but it but it really starts before there. Yep. Okay. And I would have to say um JS Overdrive, which was a bull raised by Stockton and Burton. Uh, and it's a bull that um Jimmy and I partnered on with them, and he sired um beautiful bodied and twisty horn cattle. And I have still an I still have one overdrive daughter left, and she is, let's see, she's an O2 model, so she's 23 right now, and you would never know it. Amazing cow. And she is actually the granddamn to one of my favorite cows, which is 200%. And 200% has been gracious enough to, she's a 50-50 daughter, um, to give me daughters, and you know how best to evaluate a cow if she gives you a lot of heifers. And she has done that. But um, she in her own right is a wonderful cow. And Lucky Dice as well, who, as I mentioned before, was one of the first um over 100-inch cows, and she sold at the legacy for 200,000, which for me was mind-blowing because I never, in my wildest imagination, would think that that would happen. Um sort of bittersweet in a way, because that probably was the pinnacle, I guess, of my career in raising a a cow over 100 inches and her bringing that amount of money. And it was I had consigned her already to the legacy, and then I got sick, and I wasn't even able to attend the sale, which was ironic to me that there's this great achievement, and I couldn't even be there because I was bedridden at the time. And um, I did watch it online, but I always just thought that was interesting that you know, your greatest accomplishment in the cattle world.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Your son was there to see it.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

My son was there, he hauled her and good friends, and he was there, and I appreciate that greatly. But um then I went on to sell her half-sister, Unlucky Penny, too, not the following year, but the year after that. And she brought 195,000, and she's gone on to have even more horn than Lucky Dice, and who would have even dreamed that was possible, you know? So who knew? I mean they're they're great cattle, but they have really strong mothers, and I feel adamant about the strength of the maternal side of the pedigree. I believe you have to have a great bull, without a doubt. You have to have a good herd sire. An interesting fact. Probably, is other than some recit cows that I have, I do not own any purchased females. All my females I bred and raised myself. So none of those genetics are outside genetics. When I add outside genetics, I do it by the use of an outcross bull. But all of my females are my own breeding. And I don't know how many folks there are out there that can say that. A few, but but but not a lot. And it's not that I'm not I'm opposed to purchasing them, but I have the confidence in my female genetics because I've bred those for so long. And I know the strengths that those cows can bring, you know, to a mating, and that just gives me a little more confidence in them, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

So over your 35 years with longhorns, what are some of the biggest changes you've seen in the breed itself in terms of cattle genetics and other breeding priorities?

SPEAKER_02 23:29

Well, obviously, who knew we would have the horn that we have today? There were days way back, you know, when a 40-inch cow or even a 60-inch cow, you know, and now we have cattle that are in their 90s at, you know, very young ages, and who thought that would have ever happened? So those those were goals, I guess, that I never really thought would happen. But they're here. And the other thing is faturities. You know, when I started with the faturities, there were just a handful of faturities out there. And it was a relatively new, I mean, there had been some that had been started a lot longer than others. Um, but now there are I don't I don't even know. You would know. I don't know how many faturities there are in a year.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

I would say probably somewhere between 20 and 25, I think. There's a lot.

SPEAKER_02 24:29

Right. I mean, there's a furity, I mean, anytime, anywhere you want to go, they're there, and they're all over the country, which is great because it's it's hard to travel. Being from Alabama, you know, traveling out west, which is where most of our fraternities were when we first started doing fraturities, you know, it's a long haul. It's it's a you know, it's a hard trip, and you have to really be committed to it if you're gonna travel a lot. And it's not easy, but it's worth it, I think. And it's a great way to promote your program. You I've always said, especially being in Alabama, it's easier to take your cattle to the people sometimes than to get the people to come to see you, especially when you live in Alabama. Um, and people are surprised that we have good cattle in the Southeast. People typically think that, you know, Texas longhorns have to come from Texas. And I've talked to new breeders before that are just getting started, and I would invite them to come see me. And they have said to me, well, we would, and they live in Alabama, we would, but we want real Texas longhorns, therefore we're going to Texas. And I'm like, okay, great. I just said, see as many as you can before you make decisions on purchasing. You need to see as many cattle as you possibly can, because there are good cattle everywhere, you know, up on the East Coast, just have had great faturity up there, you know, all the way to Oregon and, you know, everywhere in between. There are great cattle everywhere in this country, and there are great faturities that are being put on and promoted. And I am glad to see that networking and and there being a methodology now in place where points are being tracked, and I know that's an evolving process that's going to be tweaked as it goes along to try to, you know, make it work the best that it can. But I'm glad to see that because when I was hitting the Faturities hot and heavy, um, and I was very successful, um, if you go by how many rifles you win, my son has taken possession of those for safekeeping. You understand, which is funny to me. But anyway, it's just it's evolved, and there are so many faturities now, and it's a great way. Everybody can participate. You can own five animals and and bring a heifer to a faturity. You can own 500 and bring heifers. You know, you don't have to have everybody can play. Everybody. And I'm glad to see that because I think it lets new breeders be a part of something. And community and relationships are one of the greatest things about this breed. I mean, the people, and I I can't over-emphasize that. Everybody wants to help, and I think you shouldn't be shy about asking for help or getting opinions. We all have plenty of opinions, so those things are free.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

All right. Well, you've had some standout cattle over the year, and their names are just as memorable as their pedigrees. How do you choose, how do you go about choosing the name? And do they have special stories behind the name?

SPEAKER_02 28:26

Often they do. I try to name them something I can remember. So if they're siren dam, if any combination of that name can be used, then I'm gonna try to use that. I think it helps people as well remember the cattle's name, and you want that to be something that's memorable. And I think the other thing is try to keep their name concise. I have named cattle longer names before, like multiple words, and I think it's hard for people to remember it, hard for me to remember it, and then you get it, you say it wrong. Um, I think using if if you have a prefix or a suffix, either one, that you include in the naming of your animals, then just a couple of other words along with that, I think that's easier for people to remember. But I just try to something that's catchy and and always check and see if I come up with what I think is a really good idea, I'll go in and check in horns and see if there are other animals named that same thing. And if there are recently in recent years, then I'll try not to use that. Now, if it was back in the 60s, then I probably would go ahead. And still it's gonna say done. I put done in front of all mine. One thing I here's a good learning point I I'd like to mention. Maybe it's out of order, but you know, there's a color of cattle that's called done and horses, and that done is spelled d-U-N. And I often will see, and it always confuses me, could be on Facebook or it could be in the name of an animal, and they will say that it is a done heifer or a done animal, whatever it is, and they spell it D-U-N-N, which is how I spell my last name. And I'm immediately gets my attention because I'm thinking, I don't remember raising that animal. And then I realize it isn't my genetics, but they used the spelling of my name rather than the spelling of the color, which is confusing to me and might be confusing to other people. So we need to respect, and a lot of people don't realize this when they get started. Everybody has their ranch name or whatever they choose to identify their animals. And I think we all need to learn to respect that only the breeder should be using whatever that prefix or suffix is, and I don't mean just for myself, but whatever the initials are, whatever the name of their ranch is, just because you have an animal that has those names in its pedigree, it is not good etiquette. I don't think it's against the rules, but it is confusing. You don't use another breeder's name or suffix when you name your animals. Only the breeder gets to do that. And when you breed your animals, you use your suffix for your ranch or whatever you've chosen. And I see that all the time, especially just because my name happens to be the same word as a color. And anytime I see done, I'm like, oh, and I'm looking and I'm like, oh, I didn't raise that animal, but it's got my name in it. So just a helpful hint. A lot of breeders don't realize that, you know, and they don't mean any disrespect. They're just using that name because it's on the pedigree.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

And and that isn't well, your name, your last name, you can also use it as a fun play-on words as well. Done, meaning D-O-N-E, and how you spell your name D-U-N-N. So we know that you've had some memorable cattle names over the year, and that rolling D has its stamp on the breed, right? So we thought we'd play a little game with you called Is It Done, D-U-N.

SPEAKER_02 32:22

D-U-N or D-U-N-N.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Hold up. Oh, hold up. Sorry. So here's how it works. So here's how it works. Well, say a name that includes the word done, D-U-N-N, or D-O-N-E. And you tell us whether you've ever actually used it for a longhorn or if it's something we made up.

SPEAKER_02 32:41

Or could I use it in the future if you give me a good idea? Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

All right, so here it goes. The first one is done deal.

SPEAKER_02 32:48

I believe I have had a done deal and also a done redeal.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Okay. Um the second one is done in the oven.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

I've never done that. No.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

How about over and done with?

SPEAKER_02 33:04

Nope. Something said.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

Um done wrong.

SPEAKER_02 33:08

No, I've never done it wrong.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Pretty much pretty much done. Nope. Nope. Totally done for.

SPEAKER_02 33:18

I don't like to use the preposition last.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Okay. All right. Proper grammar. I like it. I like it. Um done dirty.

SPEAKER_02 33:26

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 33:27

Done good. No.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

Get her done. I haven't used that, but I think someone else did. How about all done? No, but I want to write that down. Because I'd like to use it. There you go. So the next one, how about one and done? I don't think so because I don't ever want it to be one and done. And that sort of sounds like the end.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

Um, done did it?

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Yep. Brooks and done. Brooks and done? That's probably copyrighted or something. No, I haven't used that. How about done right? Nope. And last one is never done.

SPEAKER_02 34:08

No, because I'm never done. Oh. Never done.

SPEAKER_01 34:11

Well, that shows how much personality you put into naming your cattle. So let's get back to talking about some of the animals that you've bred and that really have left their mark. We'll talk about faturities. Something folks may not know is that for years you never entered a faturity, even though everyone told you your cattle could win. Why did you wait so long?

SPEAKER_02 34:31

I don't know. Public humiliation. I don't know. I just, I know what I like, but I guess it's just making that big step. But I participated for a long time before I ever won a faturity. And I remember vividly where that was and how it went down. And and so I was always uh the bridesmaid and never the bride. I was second forever, forever and ever and ever. And it was actually, actually Lucky Dice that was my first um winner in the fraturity. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

In the at the Faturity of the North?

SPEAKER_02 35:13

Yes. That was her. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:14

Oh wow. I didn't realize or I didn't remember that that was her.

SPEAKER_02 35:17

Yes, it was her.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 35:19

And I didn't think she had won. And you know, they start with whatever the last place is that they're paying, and they got all the way to first place. And I didn't think she had placed at all. And they called my name out. And I I was more shocked than anything I've ever been surprised about in my entire life. And it it really caught me off guard. And oh uh how you had to come up to the front, and it there was another presentation that had to be made there in honor of a person that was a breeder that had passed away. And I got that award, and and I cried like a baby. I mean, and I can't tell you how many people have told me, oh, we were just boohoo, and everybody there was crying. And people to this day tell me, oh, we remember the very first time you ever won. We were all crying. I said, I was crying too, and I was so embarrassed later that I did that. I'm like, how unprofessional. You know, I win my first class, and I'm just I can't even talk. I'm so overcome.

SPEAKER_01 36:26

Before the crying started, there was lots of jumping up and down. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

Yes. Oh, I was so excited. I just was wild. I will never forget that. It was just um it was unreal. Yeah. Because I just didn't think I ever would win a fraturity. But I didn't quit trying. I kept going, I kept taking heifers, and they would place, they placed, but that I just could never win a class. But once I ever started winning, then it it you know, it continued.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

Do you remember the first thoughts that went through your head after they said your name?

SPEAKER_02 37:01

Oh, I didn't believe it. Yeah. I did I just didn't believe it. Um if I remember correctly, the heifer that I thought um had won the class was a partnership between um Bill Hudson and Jimmy Jones. And I thought she had won the class. And rightfully so, I I felt like she deserved to win. So I mean, when I say I was surprised, I was I was totally, I wasn't just saying that. I mean, I really didn't believe it. And they called my name and I'm like, what? And yes, there was some jumping up and down, and there was some screaming, and then they're like, you gotta come up here in front of these people, and then I'm crying, and then they're presenting me with the rifle, and they're crying, presenting it to me, and I'm crying, receiving it, and the whole audience is crying. I'm like, man, we had a moment today. It wasn't that funny that you would remember that. Yeah, it was I get that way. If I ever win another one, I'll probably feel the same way.

SPEAKER_01 38:09

Okay, so now let's talk about your life on the ranch. What happens when people come to your ranch for the first time and see your herd?

SPEAKER_02 38:16

Well, the first thing is they better plan for to not see it all in one day because I have six different pastures, and I've let my herd probably get a little larger than it should be, and um, takes a while to see them all. I think people are kind of overwhelmed at first. They don't realize that I have the number of cattle, and I'm not saying out loud how many that is, but it's too many. Um, but you know, we ride around, I have a Polaris, and we can ride around that there, and then some we have to go in a truck and look at. But it's uh it takes a couple of days to see them, although you don't have to see them all if you don't want to, but I have cattle scattered all over. And I I think people are surprised at the number of cattle I have, and I'm not gonna say they question the quality, but I think when they get there and they see the consistency, you can tell what kind of cattle I like. Because I get to raise what kind I like. And I tell other people the same. Raise what you like, you know? And I think you can see the consistency in my herd as to what I like. And I get to pay their feed bills, so I get to choose that. And you know.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

So how often do you have visitors?

SPEAKER_02 39:31

Pretty often, actually. I mean, certain times of the m the year more than others, just because our weather, our heat and humidity in the summertime is just almost oppressive, you know, so you have to be careful to not get overheated. But I I have visitors pretty often, really, and and it's sort of a chore to get there because it's not really on the way. One thing is I would encourage people, and and when I go visit ranches, I try to do the same thing, you know, try to map out if there are other places in close proximity. And if somebody wants to come and see my cattle, I will tell them, you know, the other ranches that are nearby, and there are several. And I say if you're coming especially a long distance, you need to incorporate visiting as many people as you can. We have great cattle in the Southeast. We really, really do. And we have some really, really great breeders, some new, some that are pioneers and have been in the business for a really long time. We've mentioned some of those names. I mean, Jimmy Jones, Terry King, Neil Merriman is uh he and Stan don't live far from me. Uh read Nashley Toler. I mean, I don't want to mention everybody, you know, Terry and Tammy King live just right over the Florida line. Um, we've got folks to the north of us in Tennessee, um, Mike and Mary Blundell, James Julie Guthrie, I mean, just all around us. And you can make a trip and you can see as many outstanding cattle as you could probably stand. Uh, you will be cow drunk when you're through. Seriously. We talked about being cow drunk earlier today, but you truly can. But we just have so many breeders in our area, and if you're gonna come make a visit, I say not because I don't want people to come see me, I do. But why miss that opportunity to see as many cattle in that geographical area that you can? And I always tell people that. I mention the names, I tell them how far the other breeders are away from me. I just think that it's important that people see as many cattle as they can to try to help them evaluate their own program, see where you want to go, and maybe see what you don't want to do. Not that I'm saying that's the case with the other breeders, but it does help you learn differences in cattle. And the more cattle I think you can see, the better you will be at selecting cattle that best meets your needs. And we're just fortunate in our area that we have a lot of exemplary breeders. I mean, really, I'm proud to know them and proud to be friends with them, and you know, they've helped me, you know, over the years, and they're just, you know, they're like family and and longhorn breeders, I think, on the whole, are we feel like we're family and we're always looking to add people to the family. You know. So I I feel that is something I'm passionate about as well as the cattle. And I missed that probably more than anything when I was out of commission. Um, I was so accustomed to being around that family, and all of a sudden I wasn't able to go to events, and you know, I just it was a huge void, you know. And I'll I'll tell you, laying in a bed and staring at the ceiling for two years and not being able to take care of your cattle or be outside, I'm not an indoor person, you know. Just um not being able to participate, not only in my day-to-day care of the cattle, but not seeing the friends that I have that I would come in contact with at the different event. And I missed that terribly. I really did. That was a that was a hard thing, and and it really helped me put my life in perspective. And, you know, family is number one above all else. And, you know, if it weren't for the power of prayer, I could tell you I would not be here today. And that is the truth. You can believe it or not, but it was that bad. But, you know, man, I miss the people so much. So I'm so happy now to be out and, you know, get to visit again. And and so many new people. That's the great part. You know, the business is just booming, booming, and I'm so happy to see that for everybody, you know. New breeders are a benefit to the whole entire industry. I mean, it helps helps everybody.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

So if somebody does want to come visit you, what's the best way to get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_02 44:05

Um, you can call me, you can text me. I mean, I have a I have a website, so you can, you know, go through the website. The website's not updated, I might add. Um it needs to be. The phone number's good. The website needs to be updated. That is the one thing I've so busy, I'm having a hard time getting it updated. And I apologize for that. I hope at some point it will be back updated. But yeah, I mean there's a lot of ways to contact me. I mean, just you know, phone, email, whatever. So and I love having company. I love having people there, and um we try to make it fun and you know, just look at a lot of cattle and talk, and you know, it's it's fun.

SPEAKER_01 44:49

So you once told your husband if I have to explain it to you, there's no way you're going to understand it.

SPEAKER_02 44:56

The passion of cattle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:58

Can you can you share that?

SPEAKER_02 45:00

Well you obviously remember it better than I do. I say it all the time, but I've said it so many times I'm not sure um I know exactly which time you're referring to. All right, okay. But I do say that all the time, you know. It's a passion, and you either feel it or you don't. And and oh, I know, I do know, I do know, I believe this is what you're referring to. Before I retired, when I would come home in the afternoon, I would go directly to the pasture and just sit with my cattle and just look at them. I had a fairly stressful job. When you work with the public and you work with money, it's always stressful. The two together, even worse. But I would come home and I would immediately, before I did anything else, before I even went to my house, I would just go sit in the pasture with the cattle and just sit in the middle of them and just do nothing. Look at them, look, just enjoy, kind of just relax. And one day he said, What in the world are you doing? Every day you go out there and you just sit and you just look at those cattle. What on earth are you doing? You just looked at them yesterday. And I believe my comment was, you know, if I have to explain that to you, you just wouldn't understand because it is just a feeling of contentment and joy and pride and optimism. You're always planning for that next great calf crop and what bull is going to take you there. And, you know, so you have to be just optimistic, and that brings joy, but it also brings peace to you and pride in what you've accomplished. I mean, just so many things. It's it's hard to put it into words. But people that have cattle and have longhorns more specifically, I think they would understand to get it. They would get it. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 46:54

So a few years ago, you received the Dave Evans Breeder of the Year Award. What did that recognition mean to you?

SPEAKER_02 47:00

It was very, very meaningful to me. Very much so, maybe more than people even realized. Um, you know, it takes a nomination and then it's a peer um award. And so when your peers recognize that you've done something and they want you to receive a public acknowledgement of that, um, that means more than I can even express, you know. And because I've primarily done it alone, you know, it's been my operation and I've made the decisions and I've done the work. And and when I say done the work, I mean I'm the one doing the feeding and doing the vaccinating and doing the pre-checking and uh, you know, moving the cattle and pinning, I mean, doing the physical work, you know, in addition to making the choices. And so to have it be something that I personally did. I'm not the manager my name's not just on the top of the stationary. I mean, I'm the one making those decisions, but I'm also the one doing the physical labor. And that means a lot when people acknowledge that, you know, they feel like I've had some success, you know. And and it hasn't been easy. And the older I get, the harder it gets. But I'm not ready. I'm not ready to. You're not done yet. I'm not done yet. There you go. Good one. I'm not done yet. Not done yet. I have some really great young cattle, and um I'm excited for the future. I really am.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

Well, it's been a privilege to talk to you today, Nancy. Oh, thank you, Jamie. Your story is proof that raising Texas Longhorns isn't just about producing great cattle. It's about the heritage family and carving your own path in the breed. From the Carter family plantation to your own Rolling D program, you have shown what's possible when you stay committed to quality and passion, no matter where you're located. We're grateful that you shared not just your cattle success with us, but also the personal history behind them. That's it. Thanks. That's a wrap.