“I’ve always been obsessed with cows,” Cody Burroughs said. He and his wife Laura have a small farm just outside of Greenleafton where they raise mini Highlands with their three children, Nora, Waylon and Stetson. They also have chickens, a dairy cow, a retired horse, and a sheep. Highland cattle which were originally from Scotland, are gaining popularity around the world. They have a distinct look with long horns and shaggy hair. Between their cuddly appearance and their gentle dispositions, some people refer to them as the “teddy bear of the farm.”
Cody and Laura have been raising Highlands since 2021. Before that, they raised a variety of Angus, Shorthorn, and Red Roan cattle, but raising conventionally sized cattle was a challenge for Laura as Cody was often away at work and she would have to handle them on her own if they got out. They started looking into other options and decided on Highlands. “My wife really wanted to have a Highland, and I wanted to see a smile on her face,” Cody said, chuckling.
“You couldn’t pay me enough to raise Angus again,” Cody said, explaining that Angus are generally bred for beef, not for their mentality. Highlands are know for their calm demeanor due to selective breeding, but Cody and Laura stressed that, because they have horns, Highlands need to be handled frequently to ensure that they’re gentle and easy to work with. Like all cattle, Highlands each have their own unique personality. “We raise them to be kind,” Laura said. At eight weeks, the calves are weaned and halter broken to get them ready to sell around 12 weeks of age.
“Highlands are easy to raise, nothing hurts them, they can drink rocks, eat air, and still gain weight,” Cody laughed. He may have been exaggerating a bit, but the truth is that they are easy to feed and care for. With just shy of seven acres, the Burroughs find mini Highlands to be a good fit for their property and they make every inch of ground work for them. Two minis eat about as much as one Angus so they’re a good fit for the small property. Their cattle are mainly grass fed year round, but the Burroughs don’t claim to be grass finished. “We prefer to call our strategy ‘natural.’” Cody explained. They feed a little corn and also make silage in the wintertime, but their silage is made from the grass clippings of their lawn. “So our yard feeds the cows,” Cody said. A handful of the first silage bag is tested each year and it generally comes out too hot and rich to feed to their sheep, but it perfect for the Highlands.
Cody and Laura appreciate the hardiness of the Highland breed, citing its long double coat of hair for its durability during the winter months. “When it’s 30 below, they just put their nose in the wind and stand there. They do not care,” he said. That fur also helps them get through the summer months as it deflects the sun and keeps them cooler. “In the winter and summer, when everything else is huddled up trying to stay warm or cool, they’re out grazing,” Cody said. Due to their thick hair, Highland cattle don’t typically have the layer of fat that most cattle have for insulation which makes their meat less fatty than typical beef. The Highland Cattle Society describes it as “slow maturing, lean, firm and very low in fat, but also rich in protein and iron. It is unsurpassed for flavor, tenderness and juiciness.” Cody and Laura agree, calling the meat phenomenal and some of the best they’ve ever had.
Highlands have a lifespan of up to 20 years and can breed for much of that. “It’s nothing to have a 16- to 18-year-old Highland breed out,” Cody explained. “Highland genetics are good.” They are also known for easy calving with small calves that are between 50-75 pounds when they’re born. Mini Highlands are even smaller at around 25-30 pounds at birth. “They’re small enough to fit in a pack n’ play,” Laura said. However, even minis grow to a decent size with bulls reaching 700-1,000 pounds and cows getting to 500-700.
The first Highland born on the Burroughs property was a bull calf aptly named Ferdinand. His mother was a “mutt” who the Burroughs had bred with registered Highland genetics. Ferdinand has since been butchered, but now the farm is home to Clover, who is part Highland and part Highpark, Greta and June who are Highland/Dexter crosses, and Johnny, a Highland/Dexter cross bull. Greta, Clover and June are all two years old and calving this year. Dexters are a small breed of cows originally from Ireland that are both beef and dairy. “It’s fun when people ask us what we do,” Cody said. “We milk miniature beef cows.” Due to some of their minis having Dexter genetics, the Burroughs test each of their calves for the chondro gene which can raise the price of a cow, but can also be a problem if it’s bred to another animal with the gene.
Over the years, the Burroughs have shifted through multiple cash flow opportunities at the farm, but the Highland minis have become the backbone of their operation. “They’re fuzzy and cute and now we’ll never go back,” Laura said.
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