I am thinking of getting a couple of highland cattle, if I can find anybody that has them in my area. just wondering if there is a market for them and if it would be a wise choice of beef cattle.

-- tim olstad gleason wi (bjanay@centurytel.net), January 14, 2002

Answers

Where are you? My neighbor will have some for sale in the spring here in Delaware County , New York.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), January 15, 2002.

Hi Tim! I'm up in Ashland area. I don't know much about cattle but I'll keep my eyes and ears open. My hubby would like to try Belted Galloways someday. There is a farm up here that raises them.

-- Jean in No. WI (jat@ncis.net), January 15, 2002.

Galloway cattle are very closely related to Highlands. Galloways are polled (hornless), & grow slightly faster then Highlands. Both breeds are well known for very good tasting beef, but both are slow growing compared to other breeds. Highlands (from what I've heard) don't sell too good at sale barns, you'd be better off trying to sell them privately for beef or breeding (this latter idea will bring more money). Galloways are little better at sale barns (unless you have the black, & even they are little better). But then again, every area of the country is different, so sales will be too. To find a breeder in your area, I'd suggest you contact the breed registry of the breed of your choice & ask for a breeders list.

Good luck

animalfarms

-- animalfarms (jawjlewis@netzero.net), January 15, 2002.

Tim, I don't know that much about cattle markets, but those highland cows are really neat critters. Some homesteaders up here on the north coast of B.C. chose highlanders because they tolerate boggy, swampy conditions better than other cows. On Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) there was a number of homesteaders that raised highlanders, and then the men went off to fight in WWI to never return. After years of futility, the womenfolk abandoned the homesteads to head back to their home areas, usually in Eastern Canada, or Southern B.C.. The reason I bring this up is that descendants of those cows still roam the wild, and reclaimed area that was once the farmland. Their long horns of the older beasts are twisted, and some of the bulls are huge like something out of an old European Myth, much of their long hair is matted, and dreadlocked, from the bogging, and the salt air, and water of the coast. It is now a part of a provincial park. There are also two herds, both larger than the highlanders of beef cows, but I don't know their breeds, roaming the park. Hunting the cows is prohibited, but I don't know about maybe rangling one, or two. There would probably be the best breeding stock in N. America, but, alas, likely untouchable in any legal sense. I had the amazingly good fortune of tasting wild cow while living on the Islands. there was a man who bought land, and on his deed was such and such head of cows, and their progeny, I can't remember if it was a reddish brown, and white, or black and white, but it wasn't a highlander. I've never seen a highlander from the wild herds, their pretty elusive. This man shot one of the cows in front of his cabin, had it butchered at his family farm in town, and brought out the steaks to the homestead where a friend of mine was living. I'd been a vegetarian for a while, and had been weening myself onto wild deer meat, and seafood-I hadn't had beef for years. Well I tell ya, it was the best red meat I ever did eat, something like top sirloin beef, buffalo, and deer, all rolled into one. I hope you don't mind the story, but I think the highlanders are probably pretty good to eat too.

-- roberto pokachinni (pokachinni@yahoo.com), January 15, 2002.

The cattle are Highlands. Highlanders are the men who raised them. That last description of them on the Queen Charlottes would definetely fit the men too.

-- scotsman (scot@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

Someone had three near Morgantown, WV that he advertised locally for about a year. I don't know if he ever sold them. I did hear of a woman who sold the meat directly to restaurants.

If you're looking to make money with them, I'd be careful. Although they have qualities that may make them better than other breeds in some aspects, it still comes down to how do you make money with them unless that's not an issue in your case.

If you live near a city or can butcher and package the beef to sell direct to take advantage of the better flavor, I'm not sure they're worth your while.

-- Darren (df1@infi.net), January 15, 2002.

The only market for them is to other people wanting to raise them. You will get next to nothing for them at auction. If you want to raise them for yourself for meat it is a lot more expensive as you will have to pay more for a calf. If you want to sell direct to others for beef you had better have your buyer commited beforehand or you may not find a buyer. They are fun to raise, smart (too smart) and they will eat just about anything but you had better have a market before you get into it.

-- Barb (MBRanch@POP.ctctel.com), January 15, 2002.

There are quite a few people raising them in central TN and one of them, at least, participates in the Highland Meat Program and gets well over the market price for the meat selling it to wealthy people in Nashville. The hides are beautiful and are said to be worth alot as well as the horns. They're supposes to cross very well with British breeds such as Angus, creating a polled cross that grows faster than Highland, utilizes forage extremely well and yields tasty lean meat. We just bought 3 unregistered pregnant cows for $500 a piece. They seem extremely calm and adjusted to their new pasture immediately. We only feed them hay. We feed our Angus hay and some concentrate for the winter. As others have pointed out, they'll just scare people at a sale barn. Most owners market them directly which is what we do. Good Luck!

-- Georg in TN (dgkotarski@aol.com), January 15, 2002.