Raising miniature Jerseys in Saskatchewan
By Joan Janzen
The catchy slogan "If it isn't a Jersey, it's just a cow" printed on a truck window caught my attention, so I gave the owner, Tracy Howe, a call. She and her husband live on an acreage northeast of Eston and raise miniature Jersey cows.
They're one of 150 breeders in Canada. "It's a very limited gene pool," Tracy observed. "My husband and I work for my cousin and her mom, and the Jerseys are at their farm near Harris."
Small cow, big personality. Tracy Howe and her husband live near Eston and raise miniature Jersey cows at her cousin's farm near Harris. An adult miniature Jersey stands 40 to 44 inches tall at the top of the hip bone. PHOTO SUBMITTED
Tracy started the business by raising regular Jersey cows in 2010, and in 2018 they found a purebred miniature Jersey bull and continued breeding. Mature miniature Jersey cows are typically 40 to 44 inches tall at the top of the hip bone. Tracy knows each of their 19 cows and two bulls by name.
"They all have personalities and that's how I know them. We've also got four little baby girls and we're waiting on the final baby to arrive in the next three weeks," she explained.
The Jerseys look after any orphan calves, rejected twins or calves born to cows that are getting culled. "Between the 19 girls, they have raised 31 calves that were not theirs," she said. The miniature Jerseys earn their keep on her cousin's farm.
Tracy grew up on a mixed farm. After spending 25 years as a long-haul trucker, she came back home to the family farm and started building her own herd. The miniature cows are sold within Canada.
"I just had a bull leave here two weeks ago that went to southeastern Ontario," she said. The animals are often welcome additions to people living on acreages, who are excited about being able to make their own butter and cheese. Their compact size makes them easier on infrastructure, and they have fewer instances of metabolic disorders than standard-sized Jerseys. She's also compiled a shopping list for those new to homestead cattle purchasing to use as a reference while shopping for their very first little cow.
Tracy calls her growing enterprise Mother Howe's Little Cows, where they're building up the herd of smaller females and raising the male calves for beef. The smaller animal produces about 200 pounds of beef that has a sweeter flavour, finer grain and different marbling than traditional beef.
"I spend an average of 50 hours a week at the farm taking care of the cattle," she said. And she's happy to do it because she loves her miniature Jerseys, where she can go small and have it all.