Mini Cows: Its Importance in Sustainable Agriculture
Mini Cows: Its Importance in Sustainable Agriculture
Cattle raising has been evolving through the years. With the shift in the agriculture industry, more farmers are seeing the value of breeding mini cows as sustainable agricultural practices. With limited acreage and rising taxes, these tiny cows are helping farmers sustain their livelihood while reducing the negative impact of cattle production.
An Overview: Cattle Production in the US
Cattle production in the United States plays an integral role in the country’s economy. According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, the US remains to be the largest beef producer in the world. The report showed that in 2021, the cattle production sector accounted for 17% of the almost USD400 billion cash generated from agricultural goods. A year earlier, the US took the third position as the largest beef exporter around the world. The demand for beef worldwide is high but how does this impact our environment?
Detrimental Effects of Beef Production
Research has shown that beef production has a detrimental effect on our environment caused by greenhouse gas emissions in the forms of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and other harmful gasses. In addition, some studies have shown its harmful effects on both land and water sources. The report of J. Poore & T. Nemecek (2018) showed that high-impact beef producers contribute to higher environmental damage than low-impact producers. The former is producing carbon dioxide 12 times higher than the latter and uses 50 times more than low-impact beef producers.
What are Mini Cows?
Miniature cows are small in size and can also be considered pet cows as some of them are almost the same size as that of a dog. To be classified as full miniature, the cow needs to be 42 inches or less while midsize miniature is those ranging between 42 to 48 inches at the age of three years old. Miniature size cows are just ⅓ of the size of the regular ones.
Mini cows, given their size, are considered to be safer to be around humans, especially children. Teacup size cows and micromini cows are even considered pets.
Types of Mini Cows
There are several mini cow breeds that you can choose from. According to the International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society and Registry, there are about 26 breeds of miniature cattle. This includes the following: American Beltie (Mini-Cookie), Auburshire, Australian Kyrhet, Miniature Angus, Barbee, Belmont, Black Baldie, Burienshire, Covingtonshire, Dexter Miniature, Belted Milking Dexter, Durham/Shorthorn Miniature, Four Breed Grad-Wohl, Happy Mountain, Hereford Miniature, Highpark, Highland Miniature, Lessor Jersey, Belted Lessor Jersey, Kentshire, Red Kentshire, Kinghsire, Panda, White Dexter, Zebu Miniature and Texas Longhorn Miniature.
You may choose your type of breed depending on your requirement. There are breeds such as Dexter which are raised for their meat, and milk and to aid the farm workload. For great meat production, you can opt for Mini Hereford, Texas Longhorn, Lowline Angus, and Scottish Highland. Depending on the breed, in less than two years, your miniature cow will be ready for butchering. Some choose their miniature type depending on how fast they mature. If you are not after meat consumption, you might want to consider getting Holstein and Jersey for their milk.
Zebu Miniature, which is known to originate from the Southern part of Asia, is known to be strong and resistant to diseases. But since they are used to tropical climates, the shelter must be provided to protect them from cold weather. If you are after rare types of breeds, you can invest in Miniature Pandas, do note however that this type of breed is extremely expensive.
Why Choose Mini Cows
Given the detrimental effects of cattle production, farmers have now realized the value of miniature cow breeding. There are several reasons why opting for small cows is helping lean towards a more sustainable agriculture practice. First, is that mini cow breeds do not take up much space compared to the regular type of cows. You can still breed cattle despite the limited space you have. You can breed the micromini miniature cows which are around 96.5 cm in height or the teacup mini cup which is around 92 cm tall.
Mini Cows take up less space
In an interview given by Richard Gradwohl, a mini cow breeder, with The Guardian, he stated that raising mini cow breeds is not only sustainable but also economically practical. With his 5 acres of land, he was able to raise 10 tiny cows but could only cater up to 2 regular sized-cows before. He was able to produce more meat with the miniature cows with less feed needed. Looking at the environmental side of his farming practice, Gradwhol stated that the amount of methane gas produced by 1 full-sized cow is equivalent to the production of 10 mini cows. By steering away from raising regular size cattle, the amount of greenhouse gasses that he produces is lessened.
Miniature cows also do not require huge shelters to house them. You won’t be spending a lot on constructing shelters for them in preparation for weather changes.
Given that mini cows require less space, the lands can therefore be repurposed for other agricultural practices such as growing food for human consumption under the assumption that organic fertilizers are used. It can be used for growing grass for grazing tiny cows.
Mini Cows Produces Milk and More Flavorful Meat
A dwarf cow is still able to produce milk despite its size. Although milk production for mini cows is way smaller as compared to full-size ones, it is enough for personal consumption. A regular size cow can produce up to 10 gallons of milk while miniature cows can yield around 1.5 gallons of milk.
Reports are showing that miniature cows produce more flavor as compared to full-size ones. Small cows tend to have shorter cells making their beef more tender and rich in flavor. The demand for mini cow meat continues to grow. Its price may be higher compared to regular ones but social media is playing its part in introducing mini cow meat as a high-value commodity thus more restaurants are adding them to their menu.
Mini Cows are Economically Practical
Take Miniature Hereford as an example, according to Miniature Hereford Breeders Association, this breed consumes 30-40% less than their regular size counterparts. Mini cows for sale might be around $3,500 or higher depending on the breed and while the regular-size ones could cost around $2,000. You might be spending high initially as an investment but note that mini cows consume less water and food as compared to their regular counterparts. In the long run, you will not be spending a lot on their food. Miniature Hereford also has a high feed conversion ratio and can produce more ribeye as compared to the big battles.
And since these cute cows are tiny and consume less food and water, they do not produce large quantities of waste compared to the full-sized ones. This makes them easy to handle.
For beef producers around the world, it is a huge challenge to continuously embrace sustainable environmental practices while thinking of achieving optimal beef production. There will always be room for improvement, but it is worth noting that there are producers out there who are serious in their commitments to adopting environment-friendly practices with their miniature cow breeds.
