As the baby boomers are hitting an age for retirement, small acreage hobby farms are growing in popularity. The availability for land in the states has declined, though the demand is increasing as the baby boomers are retiring. This is a reason why miniature cattle are growing in popularity. Today, the average cow weighs 1300 lbs at the time of slaughter, and 2 cattle require 5 acres of land. The mini cow cannot be taller than 42 inches and weighs 500-700 lbs when its 3 years old. They can be utilitized for the same uses as their full sized counterparts, while being higher income. Mini cows are more efficient because they consume 50% less food than normal cattle, produce high quality, tasteful and tender meat, have 45% less body fat and have better proportions of the best cuts of meat- the mini cow’s ribeye is 50% larger than a normal cows! Mini cows are easier to raise because they are gentle, and can easily be produced hormone-free. They are easier and more desirable for meat production, dairy production and breeding because of their size. Mini cows have a lower total maintenance cost and are overall higher income because of their efficiency, even though they start at a whopping $1000 as calves. They are becoming more and more desirable, and the demand is rising 20% a year. They are ideal for 3rd world countries and poverty stricken areas, and are also becoming pets for the rich. For another added bonus, they are absolutely adorable.
6 comments:
Why is this not more popular? This is the first time I am hearing about this. How has the word not spread?
I don’t understand how something that weighs almost 1000 lbs. less can produce the same amount of meat? It’s quite mind boggling that that is true, but considering it is, why are there even still larger cows being used for cattle? This is quite phenomenal and I'm very interested to see what happens with these creatures in the near future.
Although it is very productive in that mini cows are able to be a cheaper and healthier source of meat,it is unfortunate that this adorable mini cows are being produced only to be slaughtered. I think it is dangerous when labs mess with genetics and I think reproducing animals as well as controlling their production is a dangerous thing to do. At some point there should be a line not crossed by science and in my opinion this crosses the line.
As genetic engineering and technology has grown the past years, so has trying to breed animals more efficiently to make the most money- just like the production of any other "product" would be. But anyways, my dad saw this on tv and told me about it and I found it interesting. Like the article says, popularity is growing about 20% each year so Im sure once more people hear about it and farmers become introduced to the idea, it will become more common. I think its cool and all, but as far as consumption, it kind of sketches me out a little and sounds like a science project. But they're cute! They're doing this to most farm animals. My family used to have mini goats and mini chickens and mini roosters. Rob and Big had a mini horse. You'd just be surprised uncommon it has become.
They aren't being produced only to be slaughtered though! They are suppose to have a really sweet disposition and the article says that its not unusual for people to have them as pets
The only thing I could think about whilst reading this terrific blog post was Rob and Big's mini horse, like you said in a previous comment, Peyton! Fun fact for you; mini horses are starting to be used as guide "horses" for those visually disabled. Don't ask me why, but I have seen it before. It's just like having a little dog lead you around the city, except it's a tiny horse. So tangents lead to tangents, and it got me thinking that maybe one day these mini cows would start being used as guide "cows". This would increase their demand even more! I've never heard of a blind rancher, but I bet a guide cow would come in handy if there was ever a situation like that.
Post a Comment