Scottish Highland and Belted Galloway -anyone milk these?

My oldest jersey is about 6oo# smaller in hieght and wieght than most dexters and highlanders,my biggest purebred is8-900 and about a foot taller.

jerseys are popular because they produce the most on the least ammount of food. they are also well known scrub eaters, but of course do well on top feeds too, just also have the ability to utilize less than perfect pastures( and get fat doing it!) we no longer have any underbrush and the darn things love hedge apples.

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Belted Galloways are the best cows out there. We have a herd of around 20 Belted Galloway cows and 2 bulls. We are also crossing Angus with the Belted Bulls. Most of our cows would have enough milk to be milked. They are a smaller breed with a great disposition. We will be milking one of our Angus/Belted cross caves in a few years (she is a calf now). If you have the chance at a Belted Galloway cow, go for it.

Carisa
Lyceum Dairy Goat
Engel Farms Belted Galloway Cattle

I would really like to hear from Highland folks who are selecting for dual-purpose. Also, in all your esteemed opinions, would Red Polls, Milking Shorthorns, or Milking Devons cross best with Highlands?

We may work towards that in a few years, right now we're just raising smaller more traditional size Highlands. I haven't run across anyone that is raising for dual purpose but there's probably someone out there who is. They wouldn't be a first choice for most for milk just because of the hair factor.
Just curious what traits are you looking for in crossing them?

Patt, mine won't go over 1100 lb. fat. I'm getting decent milk from the oldest, should have all 3 in milk this time next year. I'd like to keep the color, but mainly increase milk w/o losing any beef. If I just wanted more meat, I'd use Red Angus or Galloway.

mpillow, I have a friend that has 3 jerseys that will calf around may, I believe. He may be willing to part with one or more. If you are interested, PM me.

One would suspect that there were a great many Islanders and Highlanders milking their becarpeted cattle; if one wants milk, one milks the cow one has. Most of the modern "beef" breeds were at one time dual or triple purpose.

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Ark,

If you want a smaller breed cow to milk, then look into a Dexter cow. Their gentleness makes them a good choice. if you want a lot of milk, then make sure you get a heavy milking line. Not all are equal in milk production. A really good Dexter can give 3 gallons, but most give 1.5 to 2 gallons. Sharing with a calf cuts the amount you'll get.

If you need more milk, then look for a small Jersey. They're kind of pricey. If you can find one, a Dexter/Jersey cross will be less expensive than a Jersey. That cross makes a very good cow.

Genebo
Paradise Farm
Church Road, VA