Herd numbers 48 and 49 make Briggs Ranches one of the oldest established Santa Gertrudis operations in the country.

R.W. Briggs Sr., the founder of Briggs Ranches, purchased his first Santa Gertrudis bulls in 1942 from the King Ranch. In 1943, the first herd of 150 females was purchased from Dr. J.K. Northway.

The upgrading program began in 1946 when R.W. Briggs Sr. selected 400 Hereford cows and divided them into four herds of 100 cows each. Heifers from each cross were bred back to Santa Gertrudis Bulls. Through this upgrading program, Briggs Ranches reached purebred status in 1955.

Today, Briggs Ranches maintains between 600 and 800 head of purebred Santa Gertrudis cows and 50 head of purebred Angus cows. The number of cows can vary due to range conditions. Along with the purebred cattle, they also maintain a herd of commercial cattle which will vary between 1000 and 1500 head.

In addition to the cattle operations, a small group of Quarter Horse broodmares make up the operation. These horses are used to maintain the ranches and to produce performance horses for sale.

Wildlife has always been a very important part of the ranching operation. The ranch is fortunate to have an abundance of whitetail deer, quail, dove, javalina and feral hogs.