![]() ![]() Studies in Canada and the UK, where naturally aged Highland beef is more common, report it registers higher on the tenderness scale than anything in the feedlot. We have all been conditioned to think that's the case, but it's not true." Fatty cuts of meat don't necessarily mean tender. The meat isn't as marbled as what a lot of people are used to seeing, but it's incredibly lean and really tender. You finish them at an older age, around 2 years, when they'll average about 1,100 pounds on the hoof. Their rate of gain is probably half of Angus. "Compared to your Angus, Highland cattle are much slower maturing. "It's all about how the Highland grow," said Nelson. Those genetics are one of the big advantages of this breed. With Highland beef, Nelson said one of the first things new buyers mention after trying it is how tender and lean it is compared to supermarket beef. On Nelson's central Iowa operation, Cardinal Creek Farm, these cattle provide a consumer-direct revenue stream the fifth-generation farm family intends to keep building on. But there's a lot more to the breed than meets the eye. ![]() Josh Nelson refers affectionately to his Highland cattle as "long-haired hippie cows." They are definitely head-turners. ![]() (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Matthew Wilde) Such Highland owners then become little more than animal collectors, rather than conservators of a unique and rare breed.Good temperaments and tender beef have made Highland cattle a favorite among some producers. Its lineage is lost, its link to the past is lost and in most cases, cannot be reestablished. If the animals are not registered, and those papers are not transferred to a new owner, that animal is effectively lost to the breed gene pool it is no more than a grade or commercial beef animal. We are certainly in this as a business, and we do profit from the sale of our cattle, but paramount to the operation is the “careful selection of breeding stock” and subsequent registration of those animals with the American Highland Cattle Association (or other Highland breed registry). This might be as a farmer or a hobbyist, and can be practiced on a large or small scale, for food, fun, or profit.” This is where LEA-White Farms differs from many keepers and sellers of Highland cattle. The definition of “breeder” is paramount, and Wikipedia summed it up this way “ a breeder is a person who practices the vocation of mating carefully selected specimens of the same breed to reproduce specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. We both do everything in our power to educate buyers about necessary care for the cattle, and the farming techniques to aid in that goal. With that kind of history, we are pretty good library of information on farming and husbandry of Highland cattle. We are also members of the Canadian Highland Cattle Society and participate in as many of their activities as our schedule allows, which means we might get to the AGM every other year or so. Joseph County Grange Fair about 1987 or 1988. We have been members of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy since about the same time, (we joined when it was called The American Minor Breeds Conservancy) and we (or should I say, one of our animals) participated in the first Rare Breed displays hosted by The ALBC at the St. Pat and Larry have both served as members of the Board of Directors, and Pat writes articles for the quarterly magazine, The Bagpipe, virtually every issue usually related to Highland cattle health, but occasionally opinion pieces as well. We joined the American Highland Cattle Association when we bought our first 2 heifers in 1983, and have been active members ever since. 29 years of experience raising cattle is a good start, but we have 29 years of experience raising registered Highland cattle.
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