Old MacDonald Had a Minicow?

By Kalyn Belsha in News on May 24, 2009 4:15PM

The higher cost of feed and farmland is leading some Midwest farmers to raise cows half their normal counterpart’s size. Known as “minicows” they are increasingly popular with farmers trying to save on space and money in a downturned economy, according to the Tribune.

But don’t worry these cows aren’t genetically engineered to be smaller -- they are descendants from smaller cow breeds brought to the U.S. from Europe in the 1800s. Contrary to popular belief, big cows emerged as a high-demand product in the 1950s and ‘60s when farmers wanted as much meat as possible and feed and land were relatively cheap.

Cow breeders from Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska are now saying it makes sense to herd miniature Hereford and Angus cows. Mini Herefords weigh 500 to 700 pounds and consume about half that of a normal 1,300-or-more-pound Hereford. But mini Herefords still produce about 50 percent to 75 percent of the quality meat, such as fillets and rib eyes. Ranchers point out that smaller cows also do less damage to pasture lands.

According to the International Miniature Cattle Breeds Registry, there are now more than 20,000 minicows in the U.S. up from 5,000 just 10 years ago. That's only a small portion of the 94.5 million cattle herded this year, but still shows a growing trend. There are 300-plus mini-Hereford breeders in the U.S. today, up from about 20 a decade ago.

Another plus? Minicows allow farmers to run “ranchettes” -- or small farm operations. Which is good news considering a recent Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago survey found the price of Illinois farmland has fallen by 4 percent since January. [Trib, WBEZ]