The History of Cappadona Beefmasters

In 1970, Castellano Ranch was purchased in Linn San-Manuel by J.M. & Josefa Castellano. Back then, the cowboys said you could ride all day long and never see a fence line. It was at this time that J.M. Castellano began building interior fences on the land for pasture rotation. Castellano Ranch also began to run commercial cattle, trying many different types of breeds such as Brahma, Hereford, and Shorthorn.

J.M. Castellano built up his herd to 200+ mama cows.

J.M. noticed Beefmaster bulls performed better in this desert-like region. So, in 1980, he decided to upgrade to a registered Beefmasters herd. After consulting with the Beefmasters Breeders United, he elected to use his commercial herd as a foundation stock to begin his upgrading process. Beefmaster cattle come from crossing a mixture of different breeds. The B.B.U. Inspector qualified 105 base cows and Castellano bought registered Beefmaster bulls to begin the process.

The first heifers from the original base cows were branded “1C” and the following generation branded “2C”. The 3rd generation, once inspected and qualified, were classified purebred registered Beefmaster bulls and heifers. This process took 8-9 years to complete and J.M. Castellano ran a very successful operation.

In 2008, J.M. Castellano had approximately 280 registered mama cows. He was ready to pass his cattle business on and decided to sell some of his herd to his sons-in-law, one being, Fred J. Cappadona, Jr.

Castellano kept the remaining herd. Today he runs them as commercial cows and continues the integrity of Beefmaster genetics.

Jumping now to Cappadona Beefmasters. After his tour in Vietnam, Fred J. Cappadona, Jr., moved to Linn San-Manuel with his wife Josie Castellano Cappadona. There, he became an insurance agent and helped his father-in-law, J.M. Castellano, with the Beefmasters in his spare time. He became a cowboy, learned how to manage cattle, and soon had his own herd of commercial Beefmasters. In 2008, when J.M. Castellano offered his registered herd, Cappadona jumped at the opportunity. He knew how valuable this herd had grown to become. Cappadona Beefmasters continues the legacy of Castellano Beefmasters.

Cappadona Beefmasters have been recognized with several awards including: E-6 Sale in 2016, High Performance, 2nd on Open Heifers, and 3rd on Pen of 3 Open Heifers, where they look for uniformity, composition, and disposition of the heifers. Cappadona Beefmasters have also been recognized at the Rio Grande Valley Beef Improvement Association Beef Development Program from 2015-2016, the Late Senior Bull Calf Champion Beefmaster, and 2017-2018 Senior Bulls Champion Beefmaster. This was part of a bull gain test and heifer development program, showing the fastest gaining “a pound per day”.

Cappadona Beefmasters is one of the biggest breeders in the Rio Grande Valley. Cappadona Beefmasters did not change the status of the breed and have not mixed their Beefmasters with other breeds that could change the overall composition of the cattle. The herd today at Cappadona Ranch are direct descendants of the Castellano Beefmasters.

For more information on Cappadona Beefmasters cattle contact Justin M. Cappadona at 956-240-4324

Cappadona Beefmasters Mission:

To produce quality registered and commercial Beefmasters cattle for resale, and for youth to show.

Left: Mr. & Mrs. J.M Castellano - Castellano Beefmasters Right: Mr. & Mrs. Fred J. Cappadona, Jr. - Cappadona Beefmasters