Fanning, Saturday, Dacambar 4,1993
Shaggy, Docile Highlands Provide Excellent Beef
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.)
Someday, if you’re near the Mount
Zion area, turn right onto Union
Road from Freeport Within a
mile, look up the gently sloping
hill to the left and you might notice
some of the most unique and
attractive beef animals to be found
the Scotch Highland
The cattles’ telltale long horns,
shaggy coat long lashes and fore
locks, and overall weather-rugged
appearance make them stand out.
But look beneath all this, into some
of the breed characteristics that
cattle farmers enjoy, and you may
be in for a treat.
“They’re such beautiful ani
mals,’’ said Larry Wyles. Together
with his wife Phyllis, they manage
a small but successful herd of
Scotch Highland cattle on Wind
ing Creeks Farm. * ‘They’re easy to
handle, they resist diseases, they
calve easily, they need no shelter. I
never put them in a bam.’’
Wyles has raised a wide array of
beef animals, but has studied the
Highland breed intensely. Since
1986, he has bred the cattle with
many others including Angus,
Hereford, Santa Gertrudis, and
Charolais and admits that the
crosses “grow fantastically.”
According to the American
Highland Cattle Association (for
merly the American Scotch High
land Cattle Association), the ani
mals lived for centures in the
rugged remote Scottish Highlands.
The extremely harsh conditions
created a process of natural selec
tion, with two distinct classes: the
Highland cattle “calve easily,” said Wyles. “The calves
have a small head and small shoulders when they’re born.
Even the young heifers have absolutely no problems as far
as calving.”
“They’re such beautiful animals,” said Larry Wyles. Together with his wife Phyllis,
they manage a small but successful herd of the Highlands on their Winding Creeks
Farm.
slightly smaller and usually black
Kyloe, whose primary domain was
the islands off the west coast of
northern Scotland, and the larger,
reddish animal, home in the
remote Highlands of Scotland. The
Scotch Highland are the oldest
registered breed of cattle, accord
ing to the Association, with the
first herdbook established in 1884.
The “weather hardiness” of the
cattle allow them to be kept in all
sorts of extremes, including snow
or cold weather. They have been
raised in Alaska and Scandinavian
countries, according to the Associ
ation. And the cattle can roam on
less than ideal pasture and thrive.
Scotch Highland beef is lean,
well-marbled, and flavorful, with
little outside waste fat (the High
land is insulated by long hair rather
than a thick layer of fat). In the
British Isles, according to the
Association, Scotch Highland beef
is recognized as the finest avail
able and fetches premium prices.
The British royal family keeps a
large herd of the cattle at Balmoral
Castle, near Braemar, Scotland,
and considers them their beef ani
mal of choice.
Interest in the breed is escalating
(the recent Keystone International
Livestock Expo in Harrisburg fea
tured a successful show and sale of
Highland cattle).
But what’s more important to
•Wyles are the “mothering traits”
of the Highland cattle that will
mean effective cost savings in
terms of survivability and hardi
ness. These traits carry over into
the finished cattle, and could ring
up feed savings since all the High-
The Wylee alto raise other animals on Winding Creeks Farm, Including llamas,
miniature donkeys, and miniature horses. Here, Phyllis Wyles shows off the miniature
horse, “Sundance.”
lands eat is hay and open pasture.
(Weaned calves are fed a mineral/
vitamin mix.)
Although the cattle will take
additional time to reach the market
(about two years), they’ll finish
inexpensively and will provide
lean carcass quality.
One of the characteristics breed
ers have had in years back is the
slow growth of the animals. But
the pace has been picked up, and
now they finish a lot sooner than
they used to through selection.
For the cow/calf producer, other
important considerations are the
calving ability.
“They calve easily,” said
Wylcs. “The calves have a small
head and small shoulders when
they’re bom. Even the young heif
ers have absolutely no problems as
far as calving.”
When finished, the carcass
yields a lean meat. Although they
have a heavy sheath, the carcass
itself “is real good,” said Wyles.
“I’ve eaten it, certainly, and it’s
excellent meat. It’ll get the marbel
ing without the fatness on it.”
In the past, many producers
have shied away from bringing the
breed in to the calving operation or
have kept from using them as fin
ished cattle because of the long
hair, which tends to be deceptive to
some, and the horns, according to
Wyles. But the cattle can easily be
dehorned, and the additional hair
does not affect overall meat
quality.
Wyles has sold Scotch Highland
Larry Wyles takas the 5-year-old Highland bull,
“Goliath," by the home. “They’re a real gentle animal," said
Wyles. “They’re very docile. They’re easy to be around.
They have sort of a scary look to them, but they’re really just
the opposite of that.”
cattle in the past for 4-H projects,
because they “can be trained easi
ly, and lead easily,” said Wyles.
“They’re a real gentle animal.
They’re very docile. They’re easy
to be around. They have sort of a
scary look to them, but they’re
really justthe opposite of that. And
they come in all colors.”
Wyles said he has worked with a
great deal of different types of
cattle on the farm, including Hols
tein, Angus, Charolais, Herefords,
Brahmans, and others in the past
20 years, since moving to the farm
in 1972. Wyles, who works as a
guidance counselor at the Elco
Seedsmen Annual Meeting Set
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Members of the Pennsylvania
Seedsmen’s Association will meet
on Thursday, December 16, here
at the Eden Resort Inn.
Guest speaker is Greg Wick
ham, director of business redesign
for Agway., Inc. Wickham is
directing a major effort to moder
nize the agriculture division of
Agway's business. He will speak
about the changing agriculture in
the Northeast and the effect of
these changes on crop need
suppliers.
Middle School, and who farmed as
a child in Saxton, Beford County,
said he enjoys working with the
unusual cattle.
The Wyles also raise other ani
mals on Winding Creeks Farm,
including llamas, miniature donk
eys, and miniature horses.
“Hike the unusual,” hesaid. “I
just really got tired of raising the
regular-type beef animal. I wanted
something that, when I looked out
the window and when I walked
into the field, they would
just... well, for me, be gorgeous
to look at. They’re fantastic
cattle.”
Another guest speaker is Wil
liam Brubaker, executive secret
ary, Pennsylvania Agronomic
Products Association. Brubaker is
going to bring members up to date
on the progress of the certified
crop advisor program and updates
to the nutrient management
program.
Reservations are ($20.00 per
person) and must be mailed by
December 10, to; Fred Mohr,
Seedway Inc.,-980 Loucks Mill
Rd.. York, PA 17402.