interested in starting small cow herd... what breed?

[farmerlor]

I like the Highland and Dexter cattle. Smaller but they supposedly have some good feed to meat ratio. Aren't the Highlands on the endangered list? And they're so cute.

 

[Jovid]

hello!
*i'm in ohio
*want a good meat breed
*wanting to be grass/hay diet
*would like a good-natured breed
*would like a medium size adult but good size steers for eating

what breed would you suggest?
i like the highland becuase the hide would be a nice blanket and they seem like a good size. also...
*how much land per cow? i read one acre per steer and 2 1/2 acre per cow with a calf.

any suggestions you have will be welcome.
thanks!

*** also what type of fence do you suggest? and how high?

Sounds like you are looking for Red Poll cattle

 

[SusyTX]

Dexters! Those are the ones we chose a few years ago, for several reasons: smaller natural size (not bred-down), good-natured, do very well on a grass-based diet, calve easily, and are just friendly. We've been breeding for a few years now, and we love ours. The amount of acreage needed is really determined by the quality of the pasture, climate, size of cattle, etc. Many factors come into play, and out here in Texas we tend to see quite a bit of overstocking, imho. It becomes pretty evident when droughts hit hard, as they have been the last few years here. We're running about 1 per acre (30 acres), but many of ours are young stock. Even still, we walk the pastures daily and watch the growth, grazing patterns, etc. to stay on top of forage needs. And pray for rain! We do supplement with hay as needed, and do use cubes as a treat. The hard part is sending someone off to the processor, but the Dexter beef we've had has been excellent.