All of our farms are active members of various Highland cattle associations. We raise our cattle according to the breed standards set forth by the organization. All of our beef is from pure Scottish Highland cattle.

Scottish Highlands evolved in the mountains of Scotland and became a hardy breed due to the harsh climate. They developed their thick coat for the rain and temperatures and their horns to dig through the snow. They became quite adept at foraging on the vegetation on the native vegetation on the mountainsides. Due to the way they evolved, Highlands do well on many types of vegetation, have less body fat, and produce tender and lean meat. They do well in Iowa's climate. They prefer shade and lots of water in the summers while in the temperamental Iowa winters they don't skip a beat.

By taking a step back and letting this breed of cattle grow on their own without pushing them and eating the same things they always have, we are able to provide you a premium and healthy beef product.

Scottish Highlands are known to be the oldest cattle breed in the world appearing in the 6th century in the Outer Hebrides. They are one of the few cattle breeds in the world that are largely left untouched by human hands. We can preserve the tradition of the past through the heritage breed and the practices we use such as rotational grazing and not utilizing feedlots in our operations.

We protect the future of the breed by maintaining the breed standard and respecting the cattle breed without altering their genetics. We also protect the future of the land we utilize for raising cattle by keeping it in perennial pastures and rotational grazing on them. This keeps the precious topsoil in place by having deep roots hold the soil in place. It also generates a natural biological life cycle where insects and other animals can thrive.

Our calves are born on our pastures and are raised on their mother's milk and grass until they are weaned from their mom around 6-8 months of age. Once weaned, a calf will continue to be on pasture during the growing seasons or fed grass hay in the winter months. Being weaned from their calves allows her body to rest before she has her next calf.

They continue to be raised on pasture grass and grass hay until they have reached their optimal beef weight around 30 months of age.

Scottish Highlands evolved in the mountains of Scotland browsing on the vegetation that was present on the mountainsides - there was never grain available then and our cattle never receive grain as part of their diet now.

We raise all of our cattle naturally. Our cows never have and never will receive growth hormones to make them mature faster.

Any beef you purchase from Heritage Highland Farms comes directly from one of our three family farms. We are not owned by any higher organization so all of your money goes to support our families, our kids, and our animals.

We take great pride in our animal husbandry practices that ensures a stress free life for our cows. When it is time for harvest, we take our animals to a family owned USDA certified processor with an inspector on staff to ensure the beef is of high quality and safe for consumption.

“Despite all our accomplishments, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains.” - Paul Harvey

We take our role as stewards of the land seriously. We do our best to conserve what land we do have. We graze on perennial pastures whose deep roots help keep that 6 inches of topsoil in place. We also rotationally graze allowing the land to rest and recover.