Meat Fit for a Queen

Sometime this month, the Campbell families of Carthage will be dining on Scottish Highland beef, just like the Royal Family of England does. Queen Elizabeth and her family are said to favor Scottish Highland beef.

The Royal family raises its beef near Balmoral Castle in the highlands of Scotland.

The Campbell families raise Scottish Highland cattle on their farm south of Fidelity in southern Jasper County. Three steers are scheduled to be butchered on March 1. These will be the first of the Campbell Highland cattle to be made ready for the table.

Scottish Highland cattle are known for their long hair, long horns, and easy disposition. Richard Campbell, owner of Scottish Highland cattle, said, "They're kind of like puppies...When we first unloaded them, they came right over to us."

Campbell has had a small herd of these unusual-looking animals for about three years. But it was his sister and brother-in-law's visit to Scotland that first got him interested in owning and raising this unique breed.

"She brought back some pictures of the cattle," Campbell said. "I liked the looks of them."

Campbell researched Scottish Highland cattle on the internet and decided he would like to have some. Since Richard and his brother Scotty have cattle farms in the Carthage area, having a few more would not be a problem.

Richard Campbell's research revealed that Scottish Highland cattle have much less body fat than normal breeds of cattle. Experts say the Scottish cattle's double layer of hair protects them from extreme cold. The animals have a downy undercoat of hair with a longer outer coat. These layers provide barriers so they do not need a cushion of fat under the skin. In warmer climates, they shed much of the longer hair in the summers.

"They are supposed to have meat much like that of a buffalo," Campbell explained.

Experts claim the meat, like buffalo, is very lean and low in cholesterol.

After some time searching, Campbell found a small herd of Scottish Highlanders in southeast Missouri that was for sale. "They were owned by an older lady who thought she needed to get rid of them. I think some others in her family had them first. Anyway, I bought them all," he said.
Campbell bought a small herd and now has a breeding herd of seven cows and one bull.

These cattle are said to have other traits that ranchers like. They are able to graze on weeds and plants that other cattle will not eat. Richard Campbell laughed as he spoke of this. "We have discovered that they do like good pasture as much as the other cattle, though."

Scottish Highlanders are accustomed to a harsh environment without much extra care or shelter. Being raised in the Scottish Highlands has made this breed tough. Originally, they were kept by small farmers who used them to raise a calf and supply milk for the family.

Scottish Highlanders are known to produce more calves than most breeds. Most cows are able to reproduce for twenty years. They also are known to wean calves in six to eight months.

Scotty Campbell said taking care of the Scottish Highland cattle has been interesting. Besides the pure breed Highlanders, they now have two cross-bred calves with a Scottish Highland father. One of the calves was on purpose, while the second was not.

Scotty said one day the Scottish Highland bull got out of the pen. He was met by the Campbell's herd sire. At first the larger Santa Gertrudis got the best of the Scottish bull by getting under his chin, lifting, and pushing him back for fifty feet or so. As soon as the herd sire quit, the Scottish Highland bull rushed forward, much like a bulldog.

Then after a couple pushes, the Scottish Highland bull hooked one of his long horns in the ground as an anchor. When the Santa Gertrudis attempted to push him this time, the Highland bull wiggled his head and poked the herd sire several times with the other horn.

"I had to separate them and put the Santa Gertrudis away," Scotty said. That left the Scottish bull in among the regular herd so now the Campbells have a Charolais/Scottish Highland calf in their herd.

The Campbell families may not be royalty, but they will be eating like they are, maybe better. Like Queen Elizabeth and her family, they will be eating grass-fed, low-fat, antibiotic-free beef grown on their farm near Fidelity, MO, far from the rugged Scottish highlands.