Agricultural
22 March, 2023
For the love of Highland cattle
Arguably the most photogenic of cattle, the shaggy Highland breed has legions of new fans across Australia but one Pittsworth breeder was early to fall for their charms.
Highland cattle have been enjoying their moment in the sun here in Australia over recent years.
Their distinctive shaggy coats and curving horns seem to feature on everything from art prints to drink coasters, and they feature in their thousands on social media.
It wasn’t always this way, in fact Pittsworth’s Leesa Fairnington recalls being quite surprised to even find some in Australia when she set out to look 25 years ago.
“There just weren’t a lot of Highlands around back then,” she said.
“We had kennels at Roma and wanted something for people to look at when they came out to collect their dogs.”
The cow, bull and calf they bought that year would set them up for a long love affair with the breed.
“I’ve been on the land all my life and had lots of different breeds but the Highlanders are definitely my favourite,” Leesa said.
“They’re gentle natured, they handle all weather and they eat anything,” she said.
“The calves are born small so there are few calving problems, but they grow fast, and the meat has lower cholesterol than others.”
She said Highland cattle were the oldest registered breed of cattle and have been grazing the Scottish countryside since the sixth century.
The first to arrive in Australia were aboard the ship The Sovereign in 1829, imported by Lieutenant Surgeon Thomas Braidwood Wilson.
The Fairningtons’ Cheviot Fold will expand in coming weeks with four calves due, sired by a new acquisition - Gryphon of Glenstrae which won the 2022 National Supreme Champion Exhibit at the 20th Australian Highland Cattle Society National Show in Mt Gambier, in South Australia.
“We are very proud and humbled to be given the opportunity to purchase this outstanding bull from Erica Smith, Glenstrae Highland Fold in Victoria,” Leesa said.
The society was formed in 1990 and today there are more than 250 members across Australia.
Nearly 10,000 animals have been registered in the Herdbook since 1975.
New cattle registrations average 190 annually, with more than 88 per cent of new registrations being classified as Purebred or Fully Imported Bloodlines.
