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ASHEBORO Like everyone else, Zach Moffitt was attracted to Texas longhorn cattle because of, well, their long horns.
When he visited a Chatham County breeder to get an up-close look at his first longhorn a few years back, Moffitt asked, as many do, about their temperament, seeing as they carry those potentially dangerous weapons upon their heads.
The man picked up some feed and his longhorns ate from his hand.
Since that moment, Moffitt has been hooked on the gentle, easygoing cattle. When he talks about the breed that's often seen as a symbol of the Old West, Moffitt sounds like a hired hand for the Texas Longhorn Cattle Breeders Association of America.
First, of course, he notes that longhorns are pleasing to the eye, because of those exceptional horns. He touts their historic hardiness; he extols the ease with which the cows calve; he praises the beef as lean and tasty. Lastly, he explains that people will even pay good money for a longhorn skull.
His longhorn interest may be hobby, but it is intense.
Moffitt likes working with longhorns so much that he'd probably punch cattle full time if it would pay the bills. But he earns his living as a Chatham County firefighter and by running a fence-building business on his days off.
Tending his herd of longhorns, which is about 20 strong, falls into the category of hobby farming, he said.
Moffitt grew up following his grandfather, Russell Carte, around on his place in northwestern Randolph County. Carte was not a full-time farmer, but always kept cows and had a big garden.
“They tell stories about me pitching a fit, wanting to ride the tractor with him and would fall asleep doing it,” Moffitt said.
After Carte died in 1999, and there were no longer cows around to forage, Moffitt's grandmother, Mary, had to find someone to keep the property mowed. So, Moffitt said, they fixed the fence and put some cattle out to pasture. A couple of years later, he bought his first pair of longhorns.
He gained some valuable experience helping a Franklinville-area fellow named Wilbert Hancock with his cows.
“When I started, Wilbert told me, You're going to think I'm crazy. I'm going to talk to my cows when I feed them. But one day you're going to understand.'”
Moffitt understands.
“You don't have to whoop and holler and swing a stick at a cow,” he said, “to get 'em to do what you want 'em to do.”
There are more than 50 registered longhorn cattle breeders in North Carolina, but few people know much about the animals, Moffitt said.
“Most folks in this part of the country don't want anything to do with horns,” he said, “They see it as danger.”
But thinking about working on a longhorn ranch makes Moffitt smile.
