Marissa Brassfield
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It’s a tough market for farmers, and some are channeling their corporate brethren by doing some downsizing of their own by switching to miniature Hereford cows. Unlike big cows, which can weigh over 1,300 pounds, miniature Hereford cows only weigh 500-700 pounds. Since they’re smaller and naturally eat less, they can survive on grass rather than grass and feed. And according to a Hereford cow farmer profiled in the Los Angeles Times, each mini cow will still produce 2-3 gallons of milk daily. Will more farmers turn to miniature Hereford cows to survive in this tough economy? It’s sure possible. The Los Angeles Times says that there are now more than 300 miniature Hereford breeders in the U.S. now—far more than the two dozen that existed in 2000.  Minicows are not genetically engineered to be tiny, and they're not dwarfs. They are drawn from original breeds brought to the U.S. from Europe in the 1800s that were smaller than today's bovine giants, said Ron Lemenager, professor of animal science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
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