The cow above has the distinctive Simmental ears and the gorgeous highland coat.

My father has been able to build a hardy herd of cattle on a budget: it is a motley mix of Highland, Hereford, Angus and Simmental. This goes against prevailing cattle culture where “holy grail” genetics are marketed and sold to cattle farmers. This is fine, and for many cattle farmers this is how they can make money, it is just not how we farm. We have been very lucky in that we have many beef farming neighbors who we have been able to buy heifers from and rent bulls. A former dairy farmer sold my father quite a few of his Herefords, which are magnificent grazing cattle. They almost look like hippopotamuses, and are low to the ground, round with large stomachs and are rolly polly fat all year long.

My father is passionate about breeding animals that are healthy, thrive on our land, gain steadily on our grasses,  have excellent calving and mothering ability and nice temperaments. He is a big believer in sourcing from local farmers because local cattle are always the safest bet with grass finishing.  When he bred a local Simmental bull into our herd a few years ago I was skeptical. They are large, impressive cattle that are highly muscled, and the prevailing wisdom is that large framed cattle do not finish well on grass. Also, I have always wanted my father to keep our genetics purer because it seemed like it made marketing sense(and would help with meat consistency), but pure genetics are expensive and in reality, might not be the answer for local grass based farms like ours who are committed to farming drug free.

Simmental cattle are known for their ability to muscle, finish well, and they have great udders. In fact, many Hereford breeders like to cross with Simmental to correct some of the Hereford’s eye and udder issues. For us, they have added bulk and muscle to our highland and Hereford genetics, which helps with profitability and carcass weight. Simmental cattle have distinctive ears that are exceptionally cute.

The more I delve and learn about my dad’s breeding philosophy, and the more time I spend with our cattle, I realize there is a method to the madness. My father is just as concerned with “genetics” he just wants to see the proven results himself, on his land with our grass.  Farming in a natural way is quite humbling, and many preconceived notions can be proven wrong, but it is the path of discovery that is fascinating and is what probably keeps my father so youthful and passionate about what he does. Many grass-fed beef producers swear by buying local cattle.  This makes sense because if a cattle has done well on your neighbor’s pasture, there is a much better chance they will excel on yours.

I chatted a bit with my father about his philosophy yesterday and he shared with me some of his thoughts. He wants his  herd to be influenced by the best mothers, not the best bulls, and because of this, our herd is highly influenced by highland cattle—they really are excellent mothers. However, they do pose some profitably issues because they can be “runty” and it takes a long while for them to finish and many are small. Yet, there are so many advantages: they can live for 19 years giving a healthy calf each year, they thrive on poor forage, gain steadily in the winter and their beef is excellent. They also are not as bothered by the flies in the summer because of their full head of hair.

Dad with a Hereford/Simmental Bull he used for breeding this year.

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