Miniature Herefords

About Miniature Hereford Cattle

• The Miniature Hereford has been developed since the early 1970s by selective breeding of stock that was originally imported to the US from England in the early 19th century. The miniature Hereford breeding program was initially started by the Largent family in 1974, whose ranch is located in the Davis Mountains of Texas.

Rust Largent initially concentrated on breeding the most efficient cattle suited to the local conditions of his ranch.

After working on size reduction for several years with efficiency in mind, a bull was used at the ranch that enabled a reduction in frame size to be achieved at an increased rate.

This bull’s name was Laser. Since Laser there has been a succession of small animals. The herd has been systematically culled and improved continuously to produce the base herd.

• All Miniature Herefords are able to be registered with the American Hereford Society, hence they are checked free of the dwarfism gene.

The first Miniature Herefords were sold on the open market in 1991.

Miniature Herefords are now available in many states of the US and Canada.

A small number of breeders in Australia, including Australian Miniature Herefords are developing the breed in this country.

• In general terms, a Miniature Hereford should show a body profile in proportion to a full sized Hereford. That is, if you look at a photograph of a miniature, without a size reference in the photo (say a person standing next to it) then the structure and conformation should be almost indiscernible from a full size.
• Regular size Herefords can reach 165cm (65 inches) tall, whereas Miniature Hereford are a lot smaller, averaging around 107cm (42 inches), Miniature Hereford cattle are measured at the hip using a frame score. Generally, the lower the frame score, the more the cattle are worth – provided other characteristic are correct.

About Hereford Cattle

• Hereford cattle are a widely used breed in temperate areas, mainly for beef production.
• Originally from Herefordshire, England, they are found in the temperate parts of Australia as well as in the centre and east of Argentina, in Uruguay, and New Zealand, where they make up the largest percentage of registered cows. They have also found great popularity among ranchers of the American Southwest, testament to the hardiness of the breed; while originating in cool, moist Britain, they have proven to thrive in much harsher climates on nearly every continent.
• Hornless variants with the polled gene are known as the Polled Herefords. Breeding horned and hornless together functions as a genetic dehorner. This is often used as an alternative to a dehorning process, which causes stress and often weight loss.
• The breed is known for its high-quality meat and its excellent maternal qualities.
• The World Hereford Council is based in the United Kingdom; the Secretary General, Mrs. Jan Wills, is from New Zealand. There are currently 19 member countries with 20 Hereford societies and 7 non-member countries with a total of eight societies.
• The Hereford breed originated in Great Britain perhaps as early as the 17th century and is still to be seen in the Herefordshire countryside today and feature very prominently at agricultural shows. It was first raised in the United States by politician Henry Clay.

Polled Hereford

• The Polled Hereford is a hornlesss direct relative of the Hereford, a natural genetic mutation that evolved into its own breed.
• Iowa cattle rancher Warren Gammon capitalized on the idea of breeding Polled Hereford and started the Polled Hereford registry with eleven naturally hornless cattle. Today, the Polled Hereford and Hereford breed has been combined under the same American Hereford Association name.
• The Polled Hereford breed is bred for its deep fore-quarters, depth and muscling, docile temperament, fast growing calves, and good quality of beef.