Scottish Highland cattle, or the “fluffy cows” as most people like to refer to them; They’re the ones you see with the long wavy, woolly coats and long wide horns. Most of them are reddish brown, but the color can range from yellow to black and even brindle. The unusual long hair is actually a double coat. On the outside is the oily outer hair and it is covering a downy undercoat. This is what makes them well suited for cold weather, rain and even strong winds like we see so often. With 7 to 8 months between fall and spring, it makes sense to have a winter hardy animal.

They are not the biggest cattle around with mature bulls weighing in at approx. 1800 lbs while only standing about 4 feet in height. Highlanders also have a longer lifespan than most other breed, up to 20 years. It usually takes around 2 to 3 years for the breed to reach a good market weight of approximately 900lbs.

The slaughter timeframe is around 25 to 36 months of age, and while this isn’t a precise science, they are usually sent to slaughter when they have reached a desired body condition. Once processed, you can expect to yield about 55% to 65% of the live weight as the carcass weight. For example, an 800 lb Highland Steer may yield approximately 440 to 520 lbs of “hot" carcass weight. After further processing into normal retail cuts, the finished cut and wrapped product will reduce that amount further by 40-50%. This will result in around 176 to 260 lbs of meat given our example. Please familiarize yourself further with the “Hot carcass” concept, as water weight loss alone can be 2-5% of the weight, alongside the removal of fat and bone.

What made us decide on highland cattle? Well, they can cope well with low the temperatures in our area. Not so great with the heat, but the other characteristics make up for the short hot summers. Due to the social structure of a group (or fold) of highlanders, it reduces their aggression, making them easy keepers and to handle overall. The meat is tender and tends to be leaner than most beef because of the insulated shaggy coat; this reduces the need for a layer of fat. They also can make gains on poor pasture and though we practice regenerative agricultural, that doesn't mean our pastures are flush, so the highlanders are actually making gains while helping us fix our ground.

When it comes to calves, they do grow faster during their early months. At birth, the calves typically weigh between 50 to 75 lbs, which is similar to many other cattle breeds. One of the reasons calves of this breed can grow faster in the early stages is the milk from their mothers has a higher fat content than that of other cattle breeds. However, after this early growth spurt, their overall growth slows down as they mature. The mature weight of Highlanders is 1,500 to 2,000lbs for males and 900 to 1,200 lbs for females, so they are smaller than other local cattle. These weights can also depend on factors like diet, care, and environmental conditions, but these are the general ranges for each sex.