Does anyone have Scottish Highlands?

[S.R.R.]

somn did it take time for you to turn into an ignorant ---hole or were you born this way?

The cattle industry has many sides to it not just the sale barn and feed lot. If you have had cattle for any number of years you would know this. The way you talk makes me think you are either a newbie or an arm chair cattlemen.

No I was born this way name calling shows your intelect. You can call me a newbie and armchair cattleman or an ignorant ass hole you can call me anything you want Your welcome to swing by and have a look at what I do. I just love name callers who hide behind usernames do you raise your skirt to pee.

I see you dish it out much better then you can take it! ;-)
Talk to me agian when you have learned a bit more about the cattle industry as a whole not JUST the feed lot aspect.

Maybe you could tell me all about the cattle industry after reading your posts it seems your knowledge of the industry has come along way in the last 2 years. My personal favorite question that you asked was this one.

http://cattletoday.com/forum/post-11337 ... ht=#113372

You can learn alot from the internet.

Yes you can and that is just why I asked that question. I know how I have always told when a steer is ready but if you or some one else knows of a better way I would be happy to learn!

 

[KMacGinley]

SRR: Somn seems so normal and well adjusted. Resistance to his charming responses and Warm personality is futile.

 

[BIZIN]

Well my dad and I have our own feedlot and we have also fed pretty well every breed you can think of. We also feed a few thousand head in Nebraska and Iowa. I have to agree that Highlands are a waist of space, and dont feed too well or finish out too well from the experience I have had, but to be fair we have not fed every strain of highland out there. Our neighbours are Scotsman who came over a few years ago and I have had long conversations about cattle from back in Scotland with them. As with every breed that was brought over to the west there are more then one strain. He has told me that there is a strain of Highlands back in Scotland that are tall, good cattle. That do still take awhile to finish, but its not hard for a steer to finish out very well and grade well as well. He has also said that other then welsh blacks some of the best cattle to cross angus and hereford with were Highland cattle. You might have had a bad experience with highlands, as my dad and I have also had, and i would never feed one again, but at the same time you have to remember that even if you have fed every breed of cattle, you havent fed every strain or every bloodline. Thats my two cents.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Was there really name calling? I thought someone was just stating a fact. Perhaps the truth hurts again.

 

[goodbeeftoday]

Hi,
I am new to the board. I was just wondering if anyone has Scottish Highlands. I have 5 cows, 1 bull calf and 1 adult bull, and just love them. Is there a market out there for them? Thanks for your time!!

"Way of the Cross Farm" Did you ever get your answer? I really only wanted to respond to your perfectly valid question. Unfortunately, the answer is not easy but if you get a steer butchered (make sure he is adequately finished) and try the meat yourselves and let some of your freinds and neighbors try it. In our case it sold itself, but it did take some trial and tribulation in trying the resteraunt market. But if you only have a few head per year, then I do not think you will have too much of a problem. We sell the beef for a small premium over conventional beef prices but I know of other Highland breeders in other parts of the country and charge quite a substantial premium and they can't get enough Highland steers to support thier market. We have sold some of our steers to them but the price to transport cattle over long distances these days makes that uneconomic.

Regarding bulliten boards like this, we watch another board called Listserv specifically for Highland cattle. There is always one that only makes for entertaining reading (until you get sick of it) but are of absolutely no educational value. There we had a guy giving ridiculous greif to people who fed grain and to the "commercial" cattle industry that fed hormones and stuck them in a crowded feed lot. I think it was after the Canada BSE crisis. Somehow they found a way to "delete" him from the list.

Another suggestion. Get onto the American Highland Cattle Association Website and go to the members list area. You might find other members in your area to communicate with or link up with. I doubt there are many in your part of the country but it only takes one. A very large percentage of Highland cattle are located in the Northern tier of states for obvious reasons. Although it gets pretty hot in Nebraska and they do just fine - though I think they do prefer the winters.

Good luck and if you are interested in any more info, let me know. Highland breeders are a helpful bunch to commercial and non-commercial breeders alike. This board is probably not your best bet. I only got onto this board looking for some info on scours and saw the Highland thread. I should have stayed out and spent more useful time on the farm. I hope I and the few other rational responders were some small help.

 

[grassfarmer]

Bizin, I think your neighbours were telling you some strange things. As a Scot myself I can tell you there are virtually no Highland cattle in Scotland that aren't bred to a Highland bull nowadays. I have never seen one with a welsh black or hereford calf although there may be someone, somewhere using this cross. I once saw a 10 cow herd with angus calves. Shorthorn always was the no1 cross with highlands and some herds still do that. Most Highlands in Scotland today are hobby cows kept for their looks. Saying that the Highlands are remarkable cattle with useful characteristics and a valuable gene pool. Largest rib eye of any breed measured, third highest marbling breed in the world are two of the facts to stick to the guys that run them down through ignorance. I would argue that the most successful use of the highland has been in the creation of the Luing breed. This was created from a 75% Shorthorn, 25%Highland base back in the late 1940s - a time when you could still find great examples of both breeds. Big enough but still very commercial in their traits - before the showring era of the 50s-70s (or 2000s?)when so many breeds were ruined. The Annual Luing cattle sale this spring in Scotland set the highest average for any bull sale, ever in the UK. These are a maternal cattle breed selected for functional efficiency.

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

Hi,
I am new to the board. I was just wondering if anyone has Scottish Highlands. I have 5 cows, 1 bull calf and 1 adult bull, and just love them. Is there a market out there for them? Thanks for your time!!

I started out at the new farm thinking that I was going to go into the grass fed beef market. I had some Scottish Highlands, some Galloways, some Texas Longhorns and a few Angus just to fill in the gaps. The beef from the Highlands was very good. Very fine grained and lean. The issue that I had with the whole thing is that I didn't really have time to market the beef properly and so I ended up sending those grass genetics to the sale barn where I took some pretty big hits. So, now I just run Angus cows and I let the Angus people do the marketing for me. At least when I send my calves to the sale barn, I get a good dollar for them. Anyway, best of luck to you. They are a very nice animal temperament wise and for beef for your freezer.