Check out April 2018 TLBAA Trails Magazine for the article below
Steve & Dionne Swink
SDS Ranch | Shelbyville, TN
How did you get started in the Texas Longhorn business?
We are Steve and Dionne Swink. We live about 40 miles from Nashville, TN. A few years ago we decided to move out to the country. I wanted to get a couple of Longhorns just for lawn art, as some people call it. After doing so, I caught a contagious bug called longhornitis. My family has been raising beef cattle for well over 100 years in Texas. I always thought that Longhorns were gorgeous animals, but trying to talk my family into getting one you could already hear them say "You can't make any money off a Longhorn, they're nothing but a bag of horns and bones." If my granddad were to hear that someone paid $380,000 for one he would have flipped out!
What are a few highlights of your current Texas Longhorn program?
We started out with 1 bull and 3 bred heifers. We now have 1 bull, 3 cows, and 3 heifer calves. One calf is from Broken Plow's herd bull "Thunder Chief" which placed 1st in the Horn Showcase this past October in total horn and composite. 1 calf is from an awesome bull; another of Broken Plow's bulls, "Guns of Texan"; our 3rd calf is from our own bull.
What are your future goals for your Texas Longhorn program?
We are considering entering 2 calves in the "Southeastern Futurity" this spring. All of our kids are grown and several have expressed interest in raising Longhorns as well. I can see this thing turning into a family affair.