OUR HIGHLAND CATTLE
Our breeding philosophy
It's hard not to fall in love with a Highland's beautiful coat and impressive horns, but our breeding decisions are about much more than appearance.
We place a strong emphasis on temperament, sound feet and structure, maternal ability, health and the characteristics that make the Scottish Highland such a wonderful breed.
Temperament is particularly important to us. We want to produce calm, confident cattle that are comfortable around people and enjoyable for their future owners to have on their property.
We're also deliberately building our breeding program over time. We pay close attention to each cow, the calves she produces and the traits we want to carry forward into future generations. We're not interested in producing large numbers of calves — our aim is to breed a small number of Highlands well.
How our cattle are raised
Our Highlands are raised on pasture at Edenvale Farm and live as part of a social, established fold.
From a young age, our calves become accustomed to regular, calm interaction with people. They're handled, brushed, hand-fed and taught to lead on a halter, with the aim of making routine handling and future management as low-stress as possible for both the animal and their owner.
We don't believe that well-handled means losing respect for an animal's size or nature. Highlands are cattle, and we treat them as such. Our approach is to build trust through quiet, consistent handling while allowing them to live naturally as cattle within their fold.
Their health and welfare always come first. We monitor our animals closely, manage their nutrition and parasite control according to their individual needs and our local conditions, and take the time to notice when something isn't quite right.
Because our fold is small, we have the privilege of knowing our cattle extremely well. That's something we intend to preserve as the fold grows.
Registration & pedigree
All Highland cattle at Edenvale Farm are registered, and the calves we breed — including our steers — are registered too.
Our current breeding fold predominantly consists of C Grade registered females, alongside a B Grade registered heifer. We believe in being completely transparent about the registration and pedigree of every animal we sell.
Individual cattle listings include their registration status, sire and dam information and other relevant pedigree details, so prospective owners know exactly what they're purchasing.
As our breeding program develops, we're carefully selecting matings and retaining animals that will help us continue to develop the quality, soundness and temperament of the fold.
Buying an Edenvale Farm Highland
Selling one of our cattle isn't simply a transaction.
We've raised these animals, know them individually and care very much about the life they'll have after leaving Edenvale Farm. For that reason, we're thoughtful about where our cattle are sold.
Highlands are herd animals and need bovine companionship. We won't sell our cattle to live on thier own.
If you already have cattle, we're happy to discuss whether one of our Highlands could be a suitable addition to your herd. If you're new to cattle and hoping to start your own small fold, we're also happy to discuss purchasing suitable companions together.
Before purchasing, we'll want to know a little about you, your property, experience, fencing, existing cattle and what you're looking for. This isn't intended to make buying difficult — it's simply part of our responsibility to the animals we've bred.
We'll always be open about an animal's temperament, registration, history and suitability for what you have in mind. And if we don't think one of our cattle is the right fit for a particular home, we'll say so.
Most importantly, we'd like the people who buy an Edenvale Farm Highland to feel that they can contact us afterwards. Whether it's a question about settling in, handling, feeding or simply an update and a photograph, we'll always love hearing how an Edenvale Farm animal is getting on.