31/12/2022
Mini highlands are probably the most beloved cattle. But they are not a breed yet. They are far from it, and though their “numbers” have increased drastically over the last 6 years from about 200 in 2018 to many thousands now, this increase in number has not corresponded with a reduction in size nor a consistency in calf crop, rather the opposite is occurring. It’s literally worse than the Wild West out there with an “anything and everything goes mentality.
There are no short cuts in creating a new breed of cattle.
Shortcuts bring physical and genetic disease to the breed. Shortcuts bring large genetics into the small pool of truly miniature genetics and either kill or dilute the hard work originally invested.
There is no cheap way to create a new breed. You will either pay in time and in trial and significant errors or you will need to pay someone who has worked through the setbacks and has earned success.
I know several standard highland breeders who just added a chondro bull to the herd. This only produces standard genetic dwarfs. These animals will have standard sized bodies on tiny legs. They will break down. And it floods the breed with standard highland genetics. This further dilutes the true mini genetics. This takes the development of the mini highland as a breed back to step 1 or worse. By creating calves that are too large and heavy for tiny legs and joints, this ruins the reputation of both the mini highlands and of the chondro gene, which when bred responsibly, produces amazing quality cattle.
This beloved breed needs caretakers who will protect it against those who seek to exploit it by putting fast profit above the breed and customers and individual animals.
Sheril and I began our breeding program 20 years ago with the goal of producing a herd of waist high highland cows. We were breeding for our own pleasure, and as such, we did not cut corners. We kept our calves so we could determine what pairings were successful and which were not. We doubled down on successes and culled what did not work. Progress was slow for many years, but the longer we have stayed focused, the more and bigger our jumps in progress have become and the more consistency we have seen with our results.
At times we get discouraged and feel like just selling out and washing our hands of it all, rather than continue to fight the uphill battle to create a solid foundation for this breed, but we’ve met quite a few like minded people who appreciate our dedication.