Jimmie Lynn was raised in the Pineywoods of Tyler County, Texas; and her father, James Cole West, instilled in her an enduring love of the pine forested countryside of Southeast Texas and Southwestern Louisiana, which their family has called home since the 1830's when William West settled in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.  After many years of the city life, the opportunity finally came in the millennium year 2000 for Jimmie to once again return to the comforting green horizons and peacefulness of the woods of Southeast Texas. 

In 2001, after a year or so spent in deciding just what cattle to raise, the first British White cows arrived at the ranch.  The British White  breed was chosen as much for it's fascinating and storied history as for the gentle nature and ease of care-taking of this old and hardy breed that has been the beef of Kings and royalty  for hundreds of years in the United Kingdom.  Since those beginnings, J.West Cattle Company has established a highly regarded British White beef cattle ranch focused on producing  Feed Efficient registered seedstock beef cattle for the grassfed market. 

From the selection of the first herd bull, Doc,  and until now, the focus of our breeding program has been moderate framed cattle with great depth and breadth of body, easy-keeping abilities, as well as for intense and highly heritable docility.  Selection for these traits proved an excellent initial direction for the ranch.

Love of the British White breed and recognition of the need to strengthen and broaden it's place in the beef industry of the USA, resulted in Jimmie accepting a seat on the Board of Directors of the British White Cattle Association of America about 4 years ago.  Since that time we have been at the forefront of the new DNA testing for carcass Tenderness, Marbling, and Feed Efficiency that is provided by Bovigen, Inc  in Harahan, Louisiana.  

J.West Cattle Company's herd of British Whites is almost 100% parent tested for these cutting edge markers, and all breeding is directed toward intensifying these desirable traits.  The most recent addition to the line-up of Bovigen's DNA markers is Feed Efficiency.  Of the 35 anchor cows and bulls thus far tested for this trait, the average score is 6 of the 8 identified markers for Feed Efficiency, which is by all accounts an excellent result for both this herd and the British White breed. 

For both the traditional grain based feedlot producers and grassfed producers, Feed Efficiency has become of paramount importance in today's economic environment of rising grain and fuel costs.   Feed Efficient herd sires are highly sought after, and the British White breed is positioned to provide those feed efficient genetics, along with excellence in Tenderness and Marbling.

FORAGE BASED:

In 2004, the ranch transitioned from a traditional grain-supplemented operation to 100% grass and legumes and has never looked back.  The result has been a safer, healthier environment for all the animals that call the ranch home.  Alfalfa is the main source of supplementation in the winter months, and the alfalfa is  shipped from a farm in Nebraska where organic principles are followed. 

When the first British White cows arrived here, Jimmie was a novice at the business of cattle raising and spent a great deal of time researching just how best to raise and care-take a herd of cattle.  In those early days she found a lot of research in regard to the higher nutritional plane of grassfed beef, and that stayed with her.  When her new horse, Donny, turned out to have a history of laminitis, the whole ranch was on alert at all times to ensure Donny didn't find his way into the barn  where grain feed was stored, or into a cow pasture where the traditional range cubes were provided a few times a week.  This grew tiresome, and it was very hard on Donny --  the extreme isolation at certain times of the year. 

As well, the storage, handling, and feeding of 50 lb. bags of grain feed became ever more tiresome as the herd size increased.  In the dead of winter, it wasn't terribly fun to fumble with the string on the grain bag with cold, stiff fingers while a mob of hungry cows were standing around impatiently waiting.  There surely had to be a safer, and healthier, approach to raising cattle and caring for the other animals on the ranch, such as Donny -- and a grass and legume based operation is that safer and healthier approach. Whether it is Donny, the cows, or the llamas, they all can safely thrive on pastures and alfalfa supplementation in the winter, and life on the ranch is simpler and as close to what nature intended as we can manage.

ORGANIC PRINCIPLES:

The pastures are not certified organic, but have been free of pesticides and herbicides for over three years now.  It's been two years since traditional chemical fertilizers were minimally applied, so the pastures will be eligible for Organic Certification within the year.   Purchased alfalfa hay is grown under organic principles.  Local forage hay, such as coastal and bahia grasses, are not grown under organic principles, but every effort is made to find quality hay that's not been subject to excessive chemicals.

CATTLE HEALTH:

All calves are vaccinated at weaning.  Subsequent to that, wormers are only used on an as needed basis on calves, yearlings, and cows.  Typically, wormers are applied twice a year or more in most cattle operations in Southeast Texas.  Here, all the cattle are rotated to fresh pasture on a regular basis, which is by far the best preventative for internal parasites in a cattle herd.