Shetlands will not suit everyone.  If you are an intensive beef farmer, relying heavily on concentrates, they are not for you.  But if you want a resilient easy care animal, perfectly adapted to a grass based system, we believe they offer a unique combination of attributes:

• Hardy

• Self sufficient

• Readily out-winter

• Thrive on poor grazing

• Good browsers

• Little or no need for concentrates

• Long lived

• Small/medium size

• Dual purpose breed

• Milky

• High quality beef

• Calm, easy to handle

• High fertility

• Easy calving

• Can be crossed to both native and the largest continental breeds

• Good mothers

• Finish off grass within 30 months

• Aesthetically attractive

More detail on these attributes can be found by clicking on the following links:

The Smallholder’s Cow

The Shetland Cow in Conservation Grazing

The Shetland Cow in Commercial Beef Farming