Page &—Farm and Home Section, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 18, 2000
Miniature Cows
Attract Attention
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
GORDONVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) The cute little cattle
grazing in the meadows of
Aaron J. Fisher, Intercourse,
and at his brother-in-law Amos
Esch’s Rocky Ridge Miniature
Farm in Gap catch the attention
of passers-by.
But the Amish relatives aren’t
raising miniature Kentshires
and Covingtonshires for people
Five-year-old Keith Beiler finds these miniature breeds
just the right size for a pet. Keith is a neighbor of the
Fishers.
Fisher said the primary reason for developing the miniature breeds is in response to
beef industry needs for a smaller, more tender steak. But he and his brother-in-law are
raising Kentshire and Covingtonshire for breeding stock. Fisher said the miniature ani
mals appeal to people who have only an acre or two of land and want to raise them for
pets, for family milk supply, or for beef. Smaller breeds are easier on land, equipment,
and facilities.
merely to admire their “cute
ness.” Instead, they believe that
the miniature breeds will
become more and more in
demand as the answer for more
efficient natural resource usage.
“People want them for pets,
show, breeding, beef, and milk
ing,” Fisher said. “They’re easy
to handle, don’t require much
space and feed, and are some
thing new and cute.”
About two years ago, Fisher,
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Convingtonshire is a breed engineered from a triple cross combination, which were
developed from breeding miniature Angus to miniature Kentshires. The Kentshires are
miniature Herefords bred with Miniature Irish Dexter. Full-grown miniature cattle mea
sure between 42 and 45 inches and weigh between 800-900 pounds.
his dad, and Esch saw an ad
vertisement about miniature
Kentshires being raised in
Washington state. After check
ing it out, they became so ex*
cited about the miniature breeds
potential that they each pur
chased two. The prospect of
being the first in the area is also
exciting to Fisher.
He said that Washington state
is where “things get started.” He
believes that when two separate
and distinct purebreeds are
crossed, the results are an
animal with hybrid vigor out-
standing to either of the parent
breeds.
From the Kentshire stock,
Rocky Ridge got the idea to
genetically engineer a composite
breed.
“Now we have four little Co
vingtonshires,” Esch said of the
breed that ranges from total
black color to black with a white
face.
The idea for the Coving
tonshire breed materialized
when Esch was talking with a
member of the International
Miniature Cattle Breeders Soci
ety. The name Covingtonshire
was already in the registry, but
they needed someone to blaze
the trail and to use a triple cross
combination in breeding. Esch
was advised that since he had
some of the nicest Kentshires, all
he needed to do was have them
bred to a miniature lowline
Angus bull.
According to Fisher, full
grown miniature cattle weight
800-900-pounds and are be
tween 42 and 45 inches in
height. If they grow to be 48-
inches or more, they are no
longer considered miniatures.
They must exhibit desirable
breed characteristics and not
dwarf defects.
A primary reason for develop
ing the breed is in response to
beef industry changes. Few con
sumers want 8-12 ounce steaks.
A 4-6 ounce steak, low in choles
terol, lean, yet tender is wanted.
Certified Covingtonshire beef
will be available from the small
carcass animals.
The secret is in the small
muscle cell structure. Fisher ex
plained that larger animals have
striated muscle cell structure,
which needs lots of fat or mar
belizing to tenderize the steak.
Minature breeds mature at
13-16 months of age compared
to standard-size breeds that re
quire 18-24 months. The early
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' >
maturing combined with the
shorter cellular structure con
tribute to a more naturally
tender product.
According to Fisher, there'are
17 miniature breeds out of the
more than 250 breeds of cattle in
the world. He’s convinced the
interest -in miniature cattle will
continue to increase.
Miniature cattle appear a bit
fatter and wider than that of a
partially grown breed of com
parative height.
Although the sales hype is to
promote a beefy breed, the
Amish brothers admit they
haven’t tasted the meat.
“We are raising them to sell
as breeding stock,” Fisher said.
“I think the breed will appeal to
people who don’t have much
land. All you need is one acre for
two.”
In the winter, the miniature
breeds are fed only hay.
Fisher’s miniatures graze in
the meadow with his horse and
pygmy goats, which are used to
keep the grass down in the
meadow.
Fisher foresees that people
who could not otherwise raise
livestock because of limited
acreage will want to buy a mini
ature breed as a pet or for a
family milk cow and good
tasting beef calves. At this point,
the animals sell between $3,000
and $5,000 each, which is
cheaper than Angus miniatures,
which sell between $B,OOO and
$lO,OOO each.
Fisher said that he is not
aware of any susceptible health
problems with the miniature
breeds.
Small cattle breeds are easier
on the land, equipment, and fa
cilities.
Large cattle requires almost
constant attention to fencing
and bam repairs. Miniature
cattle weigh less and their
hooves are smaller, so they can’t
do much damage even if they
tried to escape.
“We’re just feeling our way
through,” Fjsher said> Some
embryo work is tentatively
planned. Semen is imported
from the Angus Association in
Washington state because only a
few select bulls are acceptable
for breed registration.
For literature and more infor
mation, write to Rocky Ridge
Miniature Farm, 109 Cambridge
Rd.,Gap, PA 17527.