The Highland cattle herd book was established in 1885, making Highland cattle the oldest registered breed in the world.

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The breed originates in Scotland. Historically, ‘Highlanders’ were kept as house cows for milk and meat; the milk has exceptionally high butterfat content, to help the small calves keep warm and grow quickly, and the meat is naturally marbelled and is lower in cholesterol than other beef. Their long double coats protect them against harsh winter weather and they have a superb ability to forage. This means they will eat a wider variety of plant species that many other cattle breeds and can thrive on poor quality pasture, ideal for our Northland farm.

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A herd of Highland cattle is called a ‘Fold’ after the open, walled shelters they were kept in during Winter.

Highland cows are very maternal and protective of their young. So when if comes time to move paddocks with babies in tow it can require a gentle but firm hand to get them moving in the right direction.

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Across the farm bridge and into the boulder paddocks, the Highland cows can stay in paddocks longer than the white faced steers, as they can make better use of rough grazing and are not afraid of eating rushes.

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Boulder Beef

Team Boulder like to eat well, and we are passionate about ‘terroir’. This is a French word, which means that the food you produce is specific to the place it came from, and tastes like it does because of the land, the soil and the air. When it comes to livestock, this means that an animal that has spent its entire life outdoors, eating grass, and other plants will taste different to an animal that has been fattened on supplement, or kept in a barn. Added to this, Highland cattle have very lean meat with natural marbling that is much lower in cholesterol than other beef breeds. Unless you buy your meat from a farmer’s market, it is hard to know where it came from, or what it was fed. This is why we want to produce our own high quality beef and give our visitors the chance to taste it too.

Our natural, chemical free, grass feed BOULDER BEEF is available for purchase from the Caretaker or the Caravan. Call us on 021 434669 or check our Facebook page for availability.