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Minature Belted Panda Catle
The growing list of miniature cattle breeds got a new member earlier this year with the birth of what breeder Dick Gradwohl hopes will be the profitable foundation of a breed he is calling Miniature Belted Panda Cattle.
"Precious" is a belted calf with red to black eye patches on a white face. Gradwohl, a found
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Minature Belted Panda Catle LIVESTOCK Beef 24-5-23 The growing list of miniature cattle breeds got a new member earlier this year with the birth of what breeder Dick Gradwohl hopes will be the profitable foundation of a breed he is calling Miniature Belted Panda Cattle.
"Precious" is a belted calf with red to black eye patches on a white face. Gradwohl, a founding director of the International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society, hopes to eventually have lots of Panda cattle registered.
While miniature cattle appear as a novelty to most farmers, Gradwohl is serious about the business he is in. "There are 21 breeds in the registry, some with a considerable number in the breed," says Gradwohl. "As the numbers go up, prices come down. Miniature Herefords that used to bring $5,000-$12,000 now bring from $500 to $2,500 depending on size and conformation. Their price is getting to where the market shifts from breeding stock to meat sales."
For the moment, "Precious" is priceless, says her breeder. Until he is able to show her color and conformation breed true, he has no plans to sell her.
Precious is a result of crossing a miniature Dutch Belted and Irish Belted cross bull with miniature Herefords. To qualify as a true miniature, animals must be 42 in. or less in height at three years of age. Gradwohl has started other miniature breeds through cross breeding programs and markets several self-named breeds, including the Kingshire and Happy Mountain breeds.
In addition to his breeding efforts, Gradwohl is also doing economic and nutrition studies on miniature cattle. A Texas A&M research project reported that miniature Herefords are 25 percent more feed efficient than full-sized animals. Gradwohl claims results as high as 33 to 34 percent in his trials.
"Miniature cattle are especially suited to the small scale organic market," he says.
"They are bred to be efficient on grass alone and produce smaller cuts of meat more in line with today's market."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Gradwohl, 25204 156th Ave. S.E., Covington, Wash. 98042 (ph 253 631-1911; E-mail: info@minicattle.com; Web site: www.minicattle.com).
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