I know of more than one person killed by a Holstein bull. They are not to be messed with! Never underestimate a Holstein!
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I don’t think the OP is looking at Holsteins, but a smaller kind of meat breed, old type preferred.
The belted Galloways she mentioned that we had around here were not very small, if not very large, definitively not little.
The old type shorthorns around here were very nice cattle to handle and had very little health problems, sturdy and good mothers.
They are also kind of bigger, but a good older breed, practically as good for meat as Angus, plus some lines can be used for milk.
The roans are very pretty, is what many around here were.
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That is so true! It’s funny how sweet the cows are and how nasty the bull can be. Most dairies use AI, thank goodness.
My Godmother loves Shorthorns. They are a neat breed. I know the beef type is pretty common, but the dairy type is more rare.
Still have our hearts set on Galloways, but we’ll probably wait until another round of weanlings. All they have now are yearlings and they’re harder to halter train. Plus, not feeding through winter is always a plus.
The Galloway cross (white) Shorthorn is called a Northumberland Blue Grey and is a lovely animal that is hardy enough to graze really rough moorland in the English/Scottush boarders and also winter out. They used to be really common in Northumberland until the introduction of big commercial breeds but there is now renewed interest because they are excellent for conservation grazing, require minimal inputs and produce top notch beef.
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Thank you for the info on the Northumberland Blue Grey!
We had two Dexter’s once upon a time - still working our way through the beef which is hands down the best beef we’ve ever had (and we’ve been buying direct from small producers for years. Everything from Texas Longhorn to black angus). So, so good. They lived with the horses and ate the horse hay. Nothing else. I’m dying to figure out a way to do it again (small farm, not much space).
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You can buy two small cows and AI them. Beef the calves. Dexter beef is quite good, but the steaks are small. Also, do your research on chondrodysplasia and PHA in Dexters. These smaller breeds are really important genetic pools, but many breeds have genetic issues to watch for, especially if the breeding pool was reduced too far.
I’d buy Corrientes and throw a Charolais bull on them.
Corrientes are a very hardy bred, disease resistant and can live off weeds.
Being ranch raised I have ate a lot of ranch raised beef and out of range raised and especially if brought down to finish on Clover in the late summer/fall, Corrientes and Holsteins have been the best.
The Charolais will give your calves more a beef breed look, finish and gain you’re looking for to be marketable, in my opinion and in my area.
Not sure where you are located. I’d suggest researching rather than buying a novelty breed which may not appeal to your local market.
Novelty breeds are a niche market where I’m at. While cute to look at driving by, can be a hard sell for meat. Especially where commercial beef, sport cattle and dairy breeds like Holsteins are easy to come by.
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Interesting thoughts, Aces N Eights.
I’m not very articulate…
So my point is, pick a breed that works with the country you’re running your cattle on and is marketable for your area.
I can come by Corrientes easily, (sport cattle like them can actually gain while being used for cutting or roping depending on how fed =additional income if decide to lease out sport cattle) they are eye catching when driving by, they gain well on the ground/grass I have available and a cross on a breed like Charalois crosses well or even an Angus.
But if you’re in an area not familiar with the breed it might be a hard sell out of your place rather than crossing them and selling your calves at the sale barn. How you are marketing may be a consideration.
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All very good points, Aces. We’ve been to the cattle auction several times to see what sells well. We also have our own preferences. For example, I don’t want to deal with horns anymore (no one seems to, judging from the auctions), hence looking for a polled breed this time. It is hard to sell a horned cow around here. Even my trained horned heifers were difficult. Dehorning calves is a pain in the butt, and if you’re a bit late, it’s even worse to deal with. Our herd sire always had horns, but since we’re going with AI, nothing will
I have a question. Why not Wagyu? They don’t look like big cows and it appears they command a premium for their beef. Just like when you go into the grocery store and “Angus Beef” has been marketed as a brand that conveys higher quality than regular beef. I don’t know if it really tastes better but the brand is a pretty strong one. And Wagyu has a brand that it is premium beef too but I don’t know if that brand really translates into higher prices. I am just curious why more people do not go the Wagyu route.
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That’s a good question. For people with a lot of land, there are many good choices. Angus and Brangus (for our region) are good sellers at auction.
However, those of us with less pasture and an interest in developing seedstock (breeding animals) we can’t compete. Personally, I have an interest in preserving heritage breeds of cattle for their genetics. I made a small difference with the last breed I raised, but that was more dairy than beef, so I’m picking a beef heritage breed this time.
Making money with cattle is very difficult for small producers (or anyone, really). The best I can hope for is to fill our freezer and have buyers for our registered heifers.
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Your requirement of being polled while skimming through the comments got lost before I responded. Apologies!
Best of luck to you. Small number production can be tough, not a whole lot of room for absorption as you know from your previous experience. I hope you find that niche and continue to grow!
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A friend has a small herd of Wagyu cattle and the steaks I’ve bought from her have been superb!
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Thanks for all the ideas. The breeder of the Galloway cattle I was looking at is ill at the moment, so we’ll be waiting until spring before purchasing any heifers. Meanwhile, our freezer is still full with some very tasty grass fed beef we raised.
Holstein steers are raised as beef quite commonly. There are classes at fairs for market dairy steers. They tend to be leaner, obviously, but you also get what you feed for.
I have no real advice to give, but feel the need to participate in any cattle thread. I am jealous, OP. My dream is to do conservation grazing with some heritage breed. I fully admit I would probably make my first choices on which ones I thought were cutest, so you can see how successful I might become.
We had a very small herd of Angus, then Herefords, growing up. We moved away from the Angus b/c my dad decided he was tired of their temperament.
My dad’s hypothesis (old school farmer, ag teacher) - any cattle breed from Scotland is nuts. He grew up with Ayrshires. This has held up through my informal survey of Galloways, Highland.
My ag teacher’s (same demographic as my own dad) response to the European breeds as they became more popular - “You can’t eat bone.” Also, many were so tall/big I would joke that they don’t fit in New England fields.
OP, you don’t say where you live, but Extension would have good advice for what does well in your area.
and thus ends my non contribution. But I enjoyed myself.
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re: “you can’t eat bone”. My Livestock Repro professor in college was a large animal vet that thought horses were useless hay burners and often made a point of poking fun at the equine majors in his lecture halls. He was a super weird (he once told us he had wanted to name his daughter Margo Plicatus, which for those who aren’t anatomy nerds is the demarcation line between the glandular and non-glandular stomach lining in the equine stomach) albeit likeable guy. But he had a similar opinion of the big European breeds and often compared them to halter-bred QHs.
