Highland cattle have benefitted from generations of natural selection amongst the harsh conditions of the remote Scottish highlands and islands.

Today many of the Hebridean islands contain large folds of the animals living virtually wild on the sparse grazing offered by that windswept climate.

Contained by the sea or not, animals would be swum across narrow parts of sea lochs to reach fresh pasture or for transport to market. The practice may well have died out by now, save for the narrowest of passages, but was certainly common until recently.

The centuries of selection that have gone into the Highland cow have resulted in a very tough, resilient animal. Where lesser breeds would not survive, the Highland will thrive. Snow, ice, blizzards, the worst of grazing, and they will still fatten well.

They have built a long immunity to most bovine diseases, and are reckoned to be resistant to many more common ailments. Although here in NZ, Highland owners are far from adverse to pampering their animals, in the more commercially driven markets of North America their big attraction is the absence of the need to feed grain or expensive supplements.

In fact some believe they will eat what other cattle will pass on.

The long horns and rather aggressive mien of the Highland actually masks a very stoic and placid animal, reputed to have ‘superior intelligence’. They don’t become easily stressed and as demonstrated at many A&P shows throughout the country they are very happy to be trained to a halter.

Despite their obvious affinity for cold, damp and windy conditions, Highland cattle have proved to be very adaptable over the last 150 years. American cattlemen quickly recognised the qualities that would improve their bloodlines, as a result of which they made a major contribution to that industry.

Today Highlanders are found all over the world. They’ve been raised as far north as Scandinavia and Alaska, but have adapted to the completely opposite conditions in cattle-raising states such as Texas, and obviously the equally hot conditions of Australia.

On the Isle of Wight, just south of England, an interesting and successful experiment has been taking place for several years using Highland Cattle as a conservation tool.

Initially a few animals were brought in to ‘scrub bash’ on an area very badly damaged by a huge storm. As a supplement to the machinery they helped to clear the leftovers and secondary growth. With their long powerful horns, they fearlessly bash and clear their way through the thickest of scrub and undergrowth, eating much as they go.

They trample down bracken and brambles. Where they clear, grass naturally regenerates. In spring they eat the succulent shoots of weeds we would otherwise have to control.

Gourmets wax lyrical about the qualities of Highland beef, and for both flavour and quality it has much going for it. The demands of health and market mean that there is a need for leaner animals with meat lower in cholesterol, and this the Highland is well able to produce.

There is very little spare fat on a Highland carcass because the animal is so well insulated by its long hair. The meat that comes off is lean, well-marbled, and possibly because of its much wider diet than more conventionally fed beasts, full of flavour.

For a small block-holder the Highland is a great dual purpose animal. It should produce a fine cut of beef with the minimum of effort and expense, and it should require the minimum of maintenance while keeping your rougher patches in good order.