Big praise for small cows

Still, the barns are unoccupied.

Out in the field a group of woolly black and white cows are huddled together.

They somewhat resemble a group of bison or even muskoxen, staring into the wind with beatific calm.

Some cows have a face full of snow and are almost camouflaged in all white.

Talk about cold cuts!

Amstutz has been raising Belted Galloways since 1993 and said the breed is surprising in many ways.

He said he’s often amazed at how the diminutive cows prefer staying outside, even in the coldest of winter.

The Galloways even stay outdoors to give birth, and will often drop their calves right into a snowbank.

Amstutz said the calves, fresh out of the womb, often produce visible heat as they take their first breath and struggle to stand on the ice.

“The cows prefer to give birth outside, and it seems to be less stress for them,” said Amstutz.

“We bring the calves inside and dry them with a hair dryer, but then we let them outside again. They can handle the weather from day one.”

Amstutz said he didn’t know about Belted Galloways before he started his farm.

He got into the Galloway business by chance after finding an irresistible deal.

Today he has 110 animals which graze on 135 acres of pasture land.

The animals eat exclusively grass and hay, and don’t require any store-bought feed.

“It was purely a fluke and 15 years ago nobody was talking about Galloways. Other farmers were laughing at our cows,” he remembers.

Today Amstutz sells his meat at the Vankleek Hill Farmers’ Market, and also has customers visit his farm for hay rides.

At the Vankleek Hill Farmers’ Market he keeps a book of photographs to introduce the herd to buyers and show their daily routine.

“Quite frankly I have a hard time keeping up with demand. In the summertime I slaughter about an animal a week or every two weeks,” he said.

When asked why Galloways are a good investment, Amstutz said they serve the changing tastes of consumers.
In today’s world – after the fallout of Mad Cow disease and with the growing popularity of organics – Amstutz said consumers are looking for naturally-raised beef, produced without growth hormones or chemicals.

Thus, he says, the niche market of the Galloways is growing and more farmers are starting to raise this once-rare breed of cow.

“When you cook the meat, there is no shrinkage because there’s less fat,” he said.

Of course, raising beef cattle without grain or hormones takes patience; Amstutz said it can take almost four years for a steer to reach market size.

Interestingly enough, he said he is not certified as an organic producer, despite never using chemicals or pesticides.

He has made the decision to keep his antibiotics in case something goes wrong, which is forbidden by organic certification boards.

“I would say in the last two years I have used antibiotics on two or three animals, mostly for hoof rot. In those cases, I would not sell the meat but would sell those animals as livestock,” he said. “If you have animals, it would really be unfair it not to treat it when they need it.”

While it came by surprise 15 years ago, Amstutz said it’s been an interesting journey to become, in many ways, an ambassador for this little-known Scottish breed.

He hopes more producers will join him in abandoning industrial farming techniques such as growth hormones, and focusing on small client bases, small farms and  - in this case – small cows.

“To make an animal grow into a 1,500 pound beef cow after two years, it’s not natural,” he said.