Highland Cattle Processing

[Crickhollow Farms]

Hello,

Wondering if anyone out there that has Highland Cattle can tell me an estimated processing age? I'm planning on grass feeding them. I know it varies considerably by forage fed, location, animal, etc etc. But I'm looking into buying some steers soon as a first-timer and would like to know when to expect that they need to be butchered. Thanks!

 

[Baymule]

2 years old, minimum. Up to 36 months but not over that or no backbone cuts like T-bone steaks. So I’d say between 24 months to 35 months. I had one butchered at 18 months, meat was good but could have used a little more finish. I grain fed him, he wasn’t only on grass. Free feed round bale of horse quality hay.

Grass fed meat can be tough, stringy and chewy. It takes better than good grass to produce good grass fed meat. Read up on Greg Judy. He has some excellent books and lots of YouTube videos. Educate yourself and it will pay off.

Greg Judy is a big advocate of rotational grazing and moves cattle daily. You may not have the land to do that. How many acres do you have? Winter is coming and grass won’t be growing. Do you live in the north wher it snows and stays for months?

Even in the south, frost kills the grass, usually October and doesn’t produce enough for feeding cattle until mid March. What are you going to feed them all winter? @farmerjan what say you?

 

[farmerjan]

As @Baymule said alot will depend on where you are for starters.

30 months is the federal limit for any cuts with the backbone... due to the mad cow disease ... No T-bones or backbone cuts... nothing that is part of the spinal cord area.
I try to kill in the 27-28 month range... The animals need to be in a constant "gaining state" in order to make good beef. Good grass fed is very difficult to do unless you have exceptional grass in constant vegetative state.
If you are real interested in growing grass, then try reading the monthly "Stockman Grass Farmer"... they are one of the best sources for growing optimal pastures in order to have good grazing for animals.
Highland cattle will not put on the backfat like english or continental breeds (angus, hereford, simmental etc).... BECAUSE of the double hair coat. They do not need the backfat in order to keep up their body heat as much in the colder winter. Highlands are known for their hardiness in cold DAMP conditions.

Please tell us a little more information... area of the country, winter versus summer # of months... amount of pasture available... things like that.

 

[Crickhollow Farms]

@Baymule @farmerjan

Thanks for the input! I'm located in the very damp PNW which is what attracted me to the Highland breed, I don't want to feel like I need to bring them into the barn. I've got about 6 acres of good pasture for them, which I know is not very much for cattle, I'm planning on doing intensive rotational grazing (seems similar to Greg Judy- thanks for the recommendation, I'm going to watch more of his videos!) with daily moves. I'm only planning on getting two, mostly so they're not lonely, so I'm hoping our pastures can support that. I'm not opposed to finishing with grain or supplemental forage for better meat quality, but I'd like to buy as little hay as I can, which is also what drew me to the Highland breed. Their forage conversion rate seems to be very high.

I've got a high water table so we pretty much have green pastures all year. Maybe get snow for a week, and barely have a hard frost. I'm planning on either supplementing in the winter with round bales if I can find them or some local hay.

Really appreciate the advice!

 

[Baymule]

Try the Highlands and make a thread for them. I made a thread for the steer I raised, I make threads for feeder pigs. It is fun to go back and read what I did.

Here is my steer thread. Since you like the Highlands, title the thread Highland steers or something similar. Search engines can pick it up for someone looking for information on Highlands.

Our Steer is Here!

Our steer was delivered today. He was born last October, 2019. He has a slaughter date in March 2021. He is half Charolais and half Hereford. We named him Goldie.

www.backyardherds.com

 

[Finnie]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I see you’ve been around a few weeks.

 

[Crickhollow Farms]

Yes, I just found this awesome online community! But I’ve been raising various kinds of livestock for several years.