At Highland Farms we have followed with interest and appreciation the efforts and results of the Rose Herd ‘grassfed’ project.
 
Highland Farms is fortunate -- we have adequate land, equipment, fencing, buildings, storage facilities, and manpower to grow, harvest, store, and process enough forage and grain crops to successfully maintain over 160 Belties, regardless of growing seasons or weather conditions. In good and average growing years or cutback-in-herd-size periods, surplus crops are sold. In poor years, all are used on our own herd.

In the late 1980s we became certified organic producers of forage, grains and beef (no herbicides, pesticides or commercial fertilizer for 3 years), and were able to grow acceptable forage crops but had no success at corn or small grain crops due to weeds growing better than grains, so by default we became a ‘grassfed’ Belted Galloway producer.

Our growing season in the mountains of western Pennsylvania is very short. It is not uncommon to have heavy frosts up to Memorial Day and shortly after Labor Day, consequently pasture regrowth is limited at best to five months a year. We could grow an adequate quantity of harvested and grazing crops but due to weather (too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry) had no control over quality, which resulted in our herd at times looking undernourished and taking entirely too long to reach breeding size for heifers, and in many cases twenty-four months for steers to reach a poorly conditioned, underweight butchering size.

Ten years ago we dropped our 100% organic growing efforts and certification and began using a minimal amount of herbicides, leading to grain crops that are now worth harvesting. We then started a feeding program that gives us much flexibility and has given us great results. We now have heifers calving at twenty-four months, cows producing a calf within every twelve-month period, and steers reaching 1,100 pounds at eighteen months.

Our feeding program, which can be adjusted as needed based on forage quality and our generally scheduled herd timetable, is as follows:

Breeding is done to have MOST CALVES BORN IN MARCH. Animals not meeting this time schedule (March birthing) are sold or culled, unless they are something really special.
 
APRIL-SEPTEMBER. Calves on mothers’ milk plus pasture, plus creep feed grain in September if pastures dry up. Brood cows on pasture only May through August, dry hay (free choice) plus 5# grain in April and September. Placed with bull of choice in June.
 
OCTOBER-MARCH. Calves weaned at 6 mos. are on pasture plus free choice hay-lage (2nd cutting alfalfa cut at early bloom stage, chopped fine), and up to 7# daily of milled ear corn and oats or spelts in a 50/50 mix. 

OCTOBER-DECEMBER. Brood cows on dry, good-quality hay, round bales free choice, plus what they can find in pasture. Pregnancy checks done early November.

JANUARY-MARCH. Brood cows receive free choice dry hay and haylage plus 5# milled ear corn and oats or spelts mix.    
 
APRIL-JUNE. Heifer calves (now one year old) get same as October-March. Breed A.I. in early June -- to pasture in mid-July with bull of choice for followup. Should calve during March of next year at age 24 months and produce a calf every twelve months thereafter for 15+ years. May require extra grain between 24 and 36 months if body condition shows need.
 
APRIL-SEPTEMBER. Steers fed same as October-March. Separated from heifers in late May to prime pasture, plus continuation of 7# of grain mix, increased to up to 15# through August and September. Butcher in October at 18 months of age weighing 1100# with a 59% yield.