Homestead Cattle Association (HCA)

a homestead cattle registry

a miniature cattle registry

a community

What are Homestead Cattle?

Homestead cattle are friendly, gentle, hardy, efficient cattle with grassfed genetics. Homestead cattle work well for families with children, for new cattle owners starting out on small acreages, and for people who want to raise healthier beef. Due to their quieter nature and smaller size, they are easier on the land. Miniature breeds may eat only about half as much as standard breeds of cattle. Most require simpler facilities and equipment, and less expensive fencing. Homestead cattle are often dual purpose, providing both beef and dairy for a family. Cattle with grass fed genetics tend to be smaller, with shorter legs, well-sprung ribs and great depth of body. Cattle with grass fed genetics are typically from old breeds or bloodlines, descended from centuries of selection to fatten on grass & hay alone, without grain. (Feeding grain to cattle didn't become popular until around the 1950s.) Some homestead breeds of cattle (called browsers) can help clear scrub land, much like goats do. Today however, many homestead and miniature cattle are crossbred, so they can range all the way from old heritage breeds to newly developing composites. Most homestead cattle are midsize. Miniature cattle range in height from frame score 1 down to -6. They are healthy little cattle, that typically live longer than modern breeds, producing for many years. They are bred for optimum family production, not for maximum commercial production. Compared to more common commercial breeds of cattle, Homestead & Miniature cattle can produce more pounds of healthier food per dollar of input per acre, for more years.

Homestead Cattle Association (HCA) Community:

The HCA general herd book is open to register any cattle that need their pedigree recorded.

Hardship, mis-marked, off-colored, composite or crossbred breeds. Use to register cattle that do not have a herd book.

Miniature Cattle registration - all breeds

The HCA general herd book is open to register any cattle that need their pedigree recorded.

Check out the HCA

Irish Jersey &

Belfair Cattle Registry

See BREEDS page for list of

all Homestead & Miniature

registry herd books in the HCA.

Heritage Certification: available on registration papers for qualifying (100% pure) cattle

The HCA general herd book is open to register any cattle that need their pedigree recorded.

Heritage Certification: available on registration papers for qualifying (100% pure) cattle

PROMOTION: Unrecognized Heritage cattle exist in several popular breeds. Without awareness, these rare heritage Angus, Ayrshire, Guernsey, Hereford, Jersey, etc., are becoming endangered. To help preserve the irreplaceable genetics in these now hard-to-find cattle, HCA maintains a free Heritage Cattle Breeder Directory at (heritage-cattle.com).

The Homestead & Miniature Cattle Resource Directory

The HCA general herd book is open to register any cattle that need their pedigree recorded.

Heritage Certification: available on registration papers for qualifying (100% pure) cattle

COMMUNITY: A free public service website since 2014. Breeder Directory

Sire Directory

World-quoted articles, reports, charts & graphs. An educational resource with something for everyone; for owners of any breed of homestead or miniature cattle, with any level of experience, at

(miniature-cattle.com).

Homestead & Miniature Cattle

Homestead Cattle Association (HCA)

What are Homestead Cattle?