Miniature Herefords Seek Acceptance in League of Beef Cattle Breeds

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

In 1991, Unity, Saskatchewan’s Jerome and Sharon Kratchmer decided to acquire some miniature Herefords. They run a mixed farm with commercial cows and grain. They also sell hay. According to Jerome, the animals seemed the right fit for their agricultural operation.

“We wanted miniatures to have them on the farm because the other cows are gone all summer, but we still wanted some cattle around," he explains. "We didn’t get them as a moneymaking venture. They are small, but they have the same problems as the big cows. You can have C-sections. It is like any breed. You try to breed out the problems.”

In 1742, the Tomkins family in Herefordshire, England, set out to develop a breed of high-yielding beef cattle that could survive and grow in all kinds of environments, and which was endowed with early maturity and high rates of reproduction. The first breeding herds of Herefords were brought to Canada in 1831 and into the United States in 1840. These original Herefords were much smaller than today’s animals, ranging from 45 to 50 inches in height.

In the mid-1960s, a Texan rancher noted that buyers of his farm-gate beef showed a preference for smaller cuts. While his neighbours selected their Herefords to breed larger animals, he started to breed for smaller animals

“Ours were the first ones brought into Canada, in March 1991, from Fort Davis, Texas,” Kratchmer explains. “I have two dozen now.” Kratchmer knows of a number of miniature Hereford owners who are not regular cattlemen.

“If you only have five acres on your acreage, you can keep them," he says. "A fellow who bought two heifers from me is going to slaughter them as he needs them for food. That is where his regular meat comes from."

In a way, the miniature Herefords are a match made in heaven for today’s world, explains Kratchmer.

“It is not as physically demanding to move them around. In terms of portion size, people are eating less meat now. A steak from a miniature Hereford is similar to a pork chop in size, or a little bigger. So you are not getting a big frying pan full of just one steak,” he says.

But the miniatures still face significant hurdles on their way to the beef market.

“It is the same problem as with bison," he explains. "People raised a whole bunch of bison but they didn’t have a market for the meat. That is what you have to look into. The problem with miniature Herefords is that we don’t have enough animals around to create a meat market yet. They don’t sell for as much as the big cattle because they don’t fit in.

“This is a niche market that won’t take anything from the beef industry. I haven’t shown them locally. They get attention. Most people simply ask: do you still have them?”

In Kratchmer's mind, every passerby who comes to his yard to admire the miniature Herefords represents an opportunity to make headway for the little breed that turns out the perfect steak.

For more information, contact:

Jerome Kratchmer
Unity, Saskatchewan
(306) 228-3156