Pint-sized cattle are a Cuban revolution

The Scotsman ^ | 14 Sep 2004 | ANDREA RODRIGUEZ

[sociotard]

I know the story is more than a month old, but I just found out about it, and thought it was worth posting. 4-5 quarts a day would have met my household needs perfectly growing up.It's too bad we have to embargo Fidel. Anyway, this is apparently loosely related to the old idea Castro had to make apartment cattle, where every familly could have one cow to get milk from.

[PeterFinn]

Sorry I don't think having a poop-machine in every house is a good idea. A better idea is for Cuba to become a republic with a market economy where dairy products would be produced and distributed safely and efficiently.

Kerry would oppose this idea, of course.

[sociotard]

Here's the MSNBC version:

New mini cows perfect for milk?
Cuban rancher breeds bovines no larger than dogs

SAN JUAN Y MARTINEZ, Cuba - Rancher Raul Hernandez’s cows look just like other breed — only they are no larger than big dogs. They’re a perfect source of milk for Cuban families, he says.

Standing about 23 to 28 inches tall, the mini cows can be kept in a small area and they feed on simple grasses and weeds, Hernandez says.

“They are patio cows, easy to work,” the 74-year-old says, smiling under the broad hat he wears to keep off the tropical sun.

“They give up less meat, but they can deliver four or five liters (quarts) of top quality milk to a family,” he says.

After retiring from a state ranch where he worked for more than 30 years, Hernandez decided he wanted to keep working to remain busy and useful.

He acquired the Santa Isabel Farm in the tobacco-growing region of western Pinar del Rio province, about 125 miles west of Havana. Amid the rolling hills surrounded by towering palm trees, Hernandez worked with local agriculture laborers to plant food crops, then he decided to try breeding miniature cows.

Hernandez started out with a tiny bull, which neighbors had ridiculed because of its small size, and began breeding it with the littlest cows he could find. Five years and several generations later, he had a herd of cows that reach no higher than his waist.

He says his success has ranchers throughout the area pursuing breeding experiments of their own to come up with their own tiny cows. And Hernandez is training local teenagers to help care for the little animals.

“Now the neighbors are excited by the idea,” he says.

[DannyTN]

Wheres the beef?

[Argus]

When El Maximo finally croaks, we can import all the tiny cattle and enjoy tiny little milkshakes toasting his demise.

[elli1]

Interesting article--glad you posted it. :-)

[FormerACLUmember]

When El Maximo finally croaks, we can import all the tiny cattle and enjoy tiny little milkshakes toasting his demise.

LOL.

Poor cows looked ill-fed and neglected.

[sociotard]

Originally posted by PeterFinn:
Sorry I don't think having a poop-machine in every house is a good idea.

I've wondered about that. These cows are the size of big dogs. Would they really poop that much more? After all, Dogs, cats and small children all fall under the catagory of "Poop machines people keep in the house."

And those poop machines don't excrete anything tasty or refreshing. Like milk. mmmmmm. pardon me, I'm thirsty now.

[Mark in the Old South]

You sir are obviously not a fan of gardening.

[Mr. Lucky]

This is only newsworthy in a country without a private market farming sector, without refrigeration, without transportation, without capital and without hope.

[blackdog]

uHM........What about goats? Our Nubian gives a gallon a day and eats brush and weeds. Why would you want small cows over a goat? A cow is a very inefficient animal in terms of pounds of feed converted to meat and milk. The only driver for dairying with cows is strictly volume and market acceptance.

[Mr. Lucky]

This is only newsworthy in a country without a private market farming sector, without refrigeration, without transportation, without capital and without hope.

[RobRoy]

I'll believe it when Art Bell says it's true!

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[daviddennis]

How would you feed them?

In a typical Cuban apartment, there is no vegetation or any outside area. Havana's pretty crammed together.

I have this vague recollection of Castro's doomed effort to create apartment cattle. The bull this guy found was probably a remmnant of this experiment, and the fact that it was ridiculed gives you a pretty good idea of how it came out, even if I don't remember the facts.

D

[DannyTN]

They look thin.

Could these cows simply be malnourished and this guy is trying to sell them for more than the $4 they are worth?

[curmudgeonII]

...a mini-cow about the size of an Alsatian dog

Alsatian dog = a term coined by the Brits in World War I to refer to German Shepherds.

[Moonman62]

I've wondered about that. These cows are the size of big dogs. Would they really poop that much more? After all, Dogs, cats and small children all fall under the catagory of "Poop machines people keep in the house."

They look quite a bit heavier than dogs to me, and don't they eat quite a bit more, too, considering that they have to give milk. And the Chinese live with their livestock, which is why they breed new strains of flu every year.

The bottom line is there is not enough food or much of anything else in Cuba because of communism.

[blackdog]

Not much of a bag on that animal huh? I don't even see one?