Full miniature's must be 42" or under in height at 3 years. Mid-size miniature's are over 42" and up to 48" at 3 years.

There are currently twenty-one miniature cattle breeds registered with the International Miniature Cattle Breeds Registry. The majority have a combination of three foundation breeds Dexters, Mini-Herefords, and Lowline Angus.

Other small to mid-size foundation breeds include Belted Galloway, Brahma, BueLingo, Durham, Dutch Belt, Highland, Lessor Jersey, Texas Longhorn, and Zebu.

Why miniature cattle?

There are several reasons let's start with an obvious one.
Farm Size: It has become fashionable, popular, or what ever your reason, to move to suburbia, buy some acreage, and revisit the roots from which most of us came. For others, too try and introduce our children to values lost in the modern day hustle and bustle. "Fresh air, (not) Time Square, is the life for me." We love those Greenacres of fresh spring grass. Many small farms are 5 to 20 acres and are looking to be as self reliant as possible. Yet most owners have employment outside the farm and need their small farm to be as efficient as possible. They just do not have the time for full scale farming or ranching.
Time and Labor Efficiency: Miniature cattle are easier on the land, equipment, facilities, and most importantly "Us". Cattle being herd animals are much more content being raised in groups. Two or more will be much happier than one. They're docile, hearty, and easy calvers. Miniature cattle are low maintenance animals.

Feed Efficiency: Miniature cattle consume 1/3 the feed of full size cattle and attain finish weight in 2/3 the time. Thrive & maintain excellent body condition on low quality roughage (grass).

Beef quality and production: Excellent texture, succulent flavor, superior tenderness (smaller cell size), perfect proportion sizes, and 10-30% larger ribeye per hundred weight. This equates to a 10-30% greater retail product yield per hundred carcass weight. Produce up to 40% more beef per year on the same pasture. They mature early (time is money) and breed back consistently.

Generally speaking:
When the time comes to put the beast (as some folks call them) into the freezer, it should all fit, saving the inconvenience of finding a buyer for the other half. And the naturally smaller cuts fit in perfectly with today's smaller family size. Small breeds have just the traits us *weekend farmers* like.