minicows

[SoloRiver]

Farms downsize with miniature cows

LA Times, May 2009

 

The Petersens once raised normal-sized bovines on this stretch of Nebraska's rolling eastern grasslands, but with skyrocketing feed costs, the couple decided to downsize.

[juliepoudrier]

That's a great article. I've been reading about the trend going to smaller cattle (and sheep) for some time now, though often more along the lines of using smaller breeds like Dexter cattle. It really makes sense, and I think the number of farms raising smaller breeds will continue to rise. I know I'd much rather work with smaller cattle....

 

J.

[desertranger]

Does that mean it'll be easier to get mini-sirloin burgers?

[Bill Fosher]

It's a market response to the popularity of "sliders." We'll be seeing White Castles popping up on every corner.

[nancy in AZ]

I've seen miniature Zebu advertised for sale. I don't get it. They're cute, but what's the point?

 

http://www.americanminiaturezebuassociatio...results2009.htm

[sea4th]

The part about the "back 4 instead of the back 40" is the way I'd describe my situation and I'd been thinking about mini cattle for a while. I'm wondering if there might any health issues that go hand in hand with miniaturization. Other than that, I've really been intrigued with the idea of bringing home a couple of Dexters.

[juliepoudrier]

I don't think Dexters have been "miniaturized." They were developed in Ireland and supposedly ran in the unsheltered mountainous regions and so probably we just naturally smaller because of the harsh environment (sort of like everything Shetland).

 

J.

[SoloRiver]

It sounds like the "miniature cows" are not really miniature. They are more like heritage breeds, or relicts of the original populations modern breeds descended from, that were never upsized in the first place. I was under the impression that modern cattle were already about as inbred as you can get, so I don't see how these guys could be any worse on that scale either. I want me some mini Jerseys. Talk about Bambi-like.

[IronHorse]

IMO a typical novelty livestock that will be appealing to a niche market but really no impact upon the industry as a whole.

Might be perfect for the small farmettes that are popping up and perhaps even profitable to the point of self sustaining.

Of course those who are raising breeding stock are all in favor of promoting the concept, after all they stand to profit on the high end of the trend.

 

Personally I see the trend towards american bison production as a much more viable trend to better utilize resources when crunching the numbers of production per acre.

Bison are the indigenous bovine of north america and even though the bulk of the herd are not genetically pure I believe they are the bovine of the future that will impact the industry as a whole.

[ImWithAlice]

I actually have two (resulting from a friend losing her job and moving cross country to a new job). They're fairly tame, easy keepers, pretty easy on the dog and TINY. The not quite two year old heifer is around 3' at the shoulder. From what I've read there is at least one miniaturization issue. When the "short legged" type is bred to another of the same "short legged" type they tend to have hyper dwarf-ish calves that are usually stillborn/aborted. I suppose the point is they fit into small freezers better and they appeal to people who want to produce milk for a small family and don't like goat's milk? Dunno, they say dexter beef is as some of the best there is, however. I haven't tried it. Yet.

[toney]

Actually, the cattle that are typically raised for meat production are not inbred much at all. Understand I'm not talking about purebred beef producers, because their cattle rarely go to market for meat. They raise their animals for bull production and other purebred breeders, who offer their cattle to small farms and as show catle for FFA and 4-H projects. They are the prima donna of the cattle world and bought at high dollar per head, not per pound, like slaughter cattle are.

 

Cattlemen who raise beef strictly for meat production usually have "mutt" cattle- any number of cows with any number of different crossbreeds making up a herd. The cattleman often puts a purebred bull on these crossbred cows- maybe an Angus or Hereford, because they fatten and grade better, or a Continental breed to increase size and frame, it's market dependent. When the replacement heifers off their herd bull reach maturity, the bull is shipped down the road, traded with another cattleman, etc. and a new bull is brought in. The regular cattleman is only concerned with the bottom line, not pedigree- he wants fast weaning, heavy calves, which is directly correlated to the amount of milk their mother's supply them until weaning, so inbreeding isn't a big concern.

 

While true "heritage" cattle tend to be smaller than other breeds, many mini cattle are dwarfs or bred down to their tiny sizes. There is a "herd" of mini Zebu (Brahman) down the raod. They don't top three and a half feet at the withers. A nice little pet, but useless otherwise.

 

Incidentally, just this week I was approached by a five star restaurant about using "heritage" cattle- (he thought it would be a great selling tool for his clientele)- better known as Crackers or Piney woods cattle around here. I told him where to get a couple and to slaugher and have them graded before he went any farther. His clientele expect a high choice to low prime cut of beef- many heritage breeds can't grade above a low choice or select, partly because they take longer to mature and put on fat, making them too old to grade any better than that, even if they have the inner tissue marbling.

 

The restaurant owner gave up on the idea, even the two young "heritages" didn't grade above select. Don't get me wrong, they were healthy and young, but not suitable for an upscale restaurant clientele. He did say they would do for hamburger and ground chuck, which is what they are mostly used for anyway. It's just like why the Longhorns almost went extinct- the Herefords and Angus could put on more fat, leading to a juicier, more tender product than Longhorn beef, so Longhorns were allowed to die off so the rangelands could be populated with other types of cattle more suited to the demands the American consumer made on the meat industry. The Longhorns today have been bred to be a little thicker and heavier and carry a bit more finish because that's what the American public, as a whole, has decided (or been taught) they want.

[juliepoudrier]

There are some of us hoping to teach the American consumer otherwise, and I think the slow food movement is helping with that. When I first moved in with my housemate, he thought we needed to take lambs and fatten them on corn like you would a steer before slaughtering them. I have gained a partiality for grass-fed leaner beef, probably because I also eat a lot of grass-fed lamb and venison.... Eventually I'd like to try pasture-raised pork as well.

 

While I don't think miniaturization is necessarily the answer, I think heritage and smaller breeds like the Dexter can fill a niche, at least in areas where the buying public wants naturally raised, locally grown, minimally chemicalized (hormones, antibiotics, etc.) meat. Not to mention there's something to be said for simply preserving breeds like Pineywoods, Cracker, and Randall Lineback cattle.

 

J.

[Sasha's Mom]

DH has decided that some "minicows" would be neat. We shall see. I don't have tough enough fencing or enough space for regular cattle, although my neighbors (who I believe also have 5 acres) have a whole herd of huge black cattle that roam their front yard. I don't know a darn thing about cows. Of course, I didn't know anything about chickens now, and I have quite the flock... and turkeys too.

 

If we were going to do it. (And that's a huge IF), I'd look into dexters. The Zebu are popular here, but my policy is that all new animals must be dual-purpose, and I don't know that the Zebus are much for meat or milk.

 

Or I could get Babydoll sheep. They're little. It's all about small stuff. But not so small that they'll get eaten by dogs. Unlike a certain not-so-bright rooster who's almost out of lucky breaks.