Although Cornerstone Ranch was formally organized and named in 2000, that was not the beginning of the cattle herds. LaMoyne Peters came from a long line of cattle ranchers. His great grandmother and his grandmother both raised cattle in Lincoln County. When LaMoyne’s father was orphaned at 13, he lost control of these cattle but maintained the Bar E X brand assigned to his grandmother around 1887.

Seed stock for the present commercial Hereford herd was bought in 1924 by LaMoyne and Gilbert Peters. In 1934 the first registered Hereford bull was bought. It was the Grand Champion bull at the Eastern New Mexico State Fair Open Livestock Show shown by Shaddock’s of Carlsbad, NM. The price of this bull was equal to approximately the price of 12 calves. This was the beginning of selling bulls. Bull calves were sold from this bull locally for several years. Our standards for selecting herd sires have not changed. With the concept that you didn’t want your brand around locally, a second brand of L P Slash was acquired around 1940 so bulls could be sold locally.

In 1941 LaMoyne married Opal Jones whose father owned an adjoining ranch. They received a few cows from Opal’s father as a wedding gift. By investing a large portion of the money made from the cattle more land has been acquired over the years. In 1976 the first irrigated farm was purchased in DeBaca County. In 1979 another larger irrigated farm was purchased. Alfalfa hay could now be raised for the Lincoln County cattle.

In 1978 Lamoyne’s daughter Glenda and her husband became actively involved in the farming and ranching operation.   At this time a third brand of L C Bar was acquired to use on the registered cattle. In 1978 a registered Hereford heifer was bought from ZR Herefords from Santa Rosa, NM. In 1979 more registered Hereford heifers were bought from Harvey Herefords of Cloudcroft, NM. The registered Hereford herd was slowly being established with constant vigilance for quality. By 1981 registered Hereford bulls were being sold. More irrigated farms were added to the operation and alfalfa hay was also being marketed.

In 1999 the first ranch in DeBaca County was bought with money from land sales in Lincoln County. In 2000, Glenda’s oldest daughter moved back to DeBaca County with her husband Kevin Grant and two children, Kyra & Rhett. Renee’s dream was in direct line with her grandfather LaMoyne’s – a prestigious herd of Hereford cattle. In 2003, Tanya moved back to Fort Sumner. She has two girls, Kenzie & Kagan and currently teaches 3rd grade at Fort Sumner Elementary. Lynden continues to contribute to the operation from Washington, D.C.

Registered Angus Cattle were added in 2003. The same careful consideration to genetics, actual do-ability, and disposition as was used to build the commercial and registered Hereford herds is being used for the Angus cattle. 175 registered Hereford mother cows and 60 registered Angus cows provide the base for the select 40 bulls that are being sold annually.

In 2004 another ranch was added allowing a sizable herd of commercial Hereford, Angus, and black baldie cows to be established.

In 2014, Kyra graduated from New Mexico State University with B.S. in Animal Science and Agricultural Communications and a M.A. in Agricultural and Extension Education in 2015. Kyra and her husband, Justin Monzingo, moved to the ranch after finishing college and currently manage the commercial herd. Rhett received his degree in Agricultural Business from NMSU. Rhett and his wife, Makayla, live in Amarillo, TX. Makayla is attending Vet School at Texas Tech. Rhett is working for Bruckner Trucking as a Sales Specialist.

The average cow on the ranch weighs about 1200 lbs. The two registered herds provide the bulls for the commercial herd. Great bloodlines such as: Grand Slam, JC MO LE, L1 Pacesetter, SC Classic, L1 Image, HH Home Builder, LH Summit, Sensation & Durango, as well as several Upstream Herefords and Churchill Cattle bulls have been used to build the Hereford cow genetics. Churchill Wildcat 754E and NJW 76S 27A MOREBODY 182D have made their mark on our program. Wildcat progeny has led the Tucumcari Feed Efficiency Test for several years in terms of gains and efficiency. His progeny are extremely feed efficient. 182D had made phenomenal daughters that are extremely maternal with gorgeous udders. Churchill Broadway 034H has been used on heifers and we are extremely pleased with his sons and daughters.  

Conneally Freightliner, PAR Benchmark, TC Freedom, HC Faxline RightTime, QLC Structure, Lazy JB Watchout, Lazy JB O’Reilly have contributed to the development of the Angus cow herd. We are extremely pleased! FAR Appearance 31E, FAR Opportunity 286F, and FAR Seedstock 332F have had a tremendous impact on our program. We have brought in several new Angus sires in the yearlings and look forward to the growth and functionality that they have packed into an attractive and sound animal.

A deep body, thick, large boned, well uddered cow is our goal. In our Hereford herd pigment around the eyes and on the scrotum are a must. Cattle must be able to perform well in our desert climate. Docility is extremely important to us and we strive to produce cattle that balance phenotypic traits and EPDs to meet the needs of the everyday cattleman. We realize the importance of feed efficiency and strive to produce cattle that can thrive on limited resources. We feel our prefix for our cattle TRL portrays our goals – TOP RANGE LAND Cattle.