Miniature Cows See Small Boom

Farmers on a budget have been buying minicows that stand at just half the size of their bigger brethren, but can efficiently produce both milk and meat while consuming far less feed. 

Miniature Hereford cows need just half of what full-size cows eat, and can still produce 50 to 75 percent of the rib-eyes and fillets. Tiny Jersey cows can also provide two or three gallons of milk a day. 

These minicows don't represent some freak dwarf species. Instead, they reflect the original size of cows brought over to the United States from Europe in the 1800s, researchers say. Farmers steadily bred bigger and bigger cows in the 1950s and 1960s to feed a growing appetite for beef, leading to the bovine giants that people see today. 

The trend fits a more budget-conscious mentality that favors efficiency over sheer size, and it's not half bad for the environment. The minicows tear up less pasture and fences while grazing on less land. And besides, smaller cows mean less methane gas emissions that contribute to global warming — but researchers may still want to consider dosing cows with fish oil to cut down on their flatulence. 

If you still want to name that minicow Daisy, or perhaps Minnie, that's fine too. She might just produce more milk.