The AP ran a story about miniature cattle that was picked up by papers all around the world. I love this idea! As we create more successful small farms, miniature- but familiar - livestock strikes me as an idea whose time has come. It looks to me like all the pieces are in place:
- A growing number of small acreage farms with limited pasture sizes
- A "native" species that looks familiar and is docile.
- An enormous cuteness factor [Note - this link to the NY Times requires registration. It's free, they don't spam me, and nothing bad has happened in three years since I registered, so judge for yourself]- this is a real and important market quality, folks.
- An infrastructure already in place to feed, house, treat, and research these livestock
In fact, I going to go out on limb and predict this idea will be a huge success for breeders of tiny cows. Ditto local processors who can slaughter and package them. Also, stop and think how much easier 4-H projects would be for 8 year-old cowpersons. Laugh if you want, then look at the numbers for miniature dog breeds.
[Re-post from 2006]
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