Highlanders

We had our first Scottish Highlander calf late Saturday night.
Mamma and the calf are doing well and bonding nicely.
Looks like a new bull/steer that will fill the freezer in time.... that is the plan.

 

Watch out for Mom now that there is a little one to protect. Nice to see the herd growing!!

 

Ours have a really good temperament. Not halter broke, but easy to handle....on most days

 

All very true!!!
We practice this daily.

 

The Scottish Highlander is a rustic cow that is not widely raised across the country (they also have cool horns).

Highland cows are raised primarily for their meat, which is lower in cholesterol than other forms of beef. Their beef is in pretty high demand in most parts of the country. These cattle are a hardy breed, designed to withstand the conditions in the PNW (rain and muck).

The value for a registered weanling calf runs around $3K here to $7K on the East coast. We created a business out of this activity, which should allow us to offset some investment in property improvements via our taxes.

One thought is they will be a good second income when we move into retirement at some point... and allow us to utilize our land for revenue vs non-productive land. Second, we are creating our self sufficiency for us, family and friends. Until our freezers are full routinely, I probably won't be selling any beef to anybody outside of our circle. Currently, we have a steer going to butcher in mid-March.

They are also much like giant goats, which helps us maintain the land.
What brush and such they don't eat, they trample, which opens up overgrown wooded areas.
We have blackberries and such which are invasive... the highlanders keep them in check.
Finally, they are a bit more easy to handle then a lot of breeds.

 

Cost per pound on the cow has not been calculated to date...... We started 1.5 years ago... and just trying to grow our herd, as I expanded fencing. Ultimately, we are growing beef that is not juiced with steroids, GMO feed or any other crazy stuff.... we will have a good product to eat. If things go SHTF style, we will have food reserves and a sustainable food source... at least while we can protect them and get them to the table.

On a separate note, our chickens are much the same... a food source that is continually producing. Our young 8 hens are currently kicking out 6 eggs daily... that is a lot of protein for our diet if we had to rely on it for survival.

Finally, our garden produces enough for us and will carry us a long ways.... still need to build the greenhouse.

When it comes to food, we need to think big picture... if things go SHTF or food prices are so high due to inflation, you have to plan and work to minimize those disruptions!!
YMMV