Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle

by Heather Smith Thomas

Raising a cow for milk or beef can be a satisfying, rewarding, and even entertaining enterprise. Veteran rancher Heather Smith Thomas helps you develop your cattle-farming vision, providing expert advice on choosing the appropriate animal for your needs and budget. With detailed profiles of breed attributes and in-depth coverage of issues like conformation, disposition, and milk or meat yield, this guide will give even the newest farmer the knowledge and confidence to start a successful cattle-raising operation.

Genres: Animals

281 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Heather Smith Thomas grew up on a ranch near Salmon, Idaho. She is the author of 20 books and thousands of articles on animal health care. She began writing stories for children’s magazines while still in high school and wrote articles for horse and farm publications to help pay her way through college. She wrote her first book, "A Horse in Your Life: A Guide for the New Owner," during the summer between her sophomore and junior year of college. She and her husband Lynn Thomas have been raising beef cattle and a few horses on their ranch in central Idaho since 1967. Most of her books and articles deal with horse or cattle health care, breeding, or handling. Her goal has been to learn all she can about the care of horses and cattle, and to share this with her readers. One of her books, however, discusses an entirely different subject. "Beyond the Flames" tells about her daughter’s severe burn injury and how this changed their lives.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good book for an introduction to raising cattle. There were a few things that I would not agree with (coming from my Weston A. Price background, etc), however she tells both sides of the story. She even does mention the Weston A. Price Foundation at the end of her book!

[D Posey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my new venture and having no history with cattle this book was very informative. Here's hoping I don't screw it up.