Apple Drop
Apple Drop. And Welcome Home.
Shat Acres Raisin Pie and her little cub Piper were Highland stars in McDonalds Farm at Champlain Valley Fair for ten days, garnering lots of attention. But they were not the only Shat Acres cattle to bring joy at the Fair. Over in the cattle barn, some Shat Acres gals were enchanting a large following, bringing moments of peace as well as peals of laughter.
The barn residents: Shat Acres Bunny, Marilyn, Demi Moo, and Crimson Caledonia allowed fair visitors to get up close and personal with these friendly and shaggy fairgoers. And up close and personal they got, petting, combing, and feeding apples to long tongues and eager mouths. Visitors were sometimes ten-deep waiting for their turn to engage with this year’s Highland cattle barn cohorts.
Sharing his Highlands is a labor of love for Ray. Growing up farming, fair time was the only break they got from daily chores on the farm. First showing his cattle in 4-H, later his Highlands at shows put on by the Fairs and Highland point shows, Ray loves interacting with fair guests and seeing them smile when they spot our Shat Acres Highlands.
This year, Ray decided to see if the yearling Highlands we brought might enjoy apples--and if fairgoers would enjoy feeding apples to those long haired, long horned Shat Acres girls.
Yes! And Yes!
Ray loves seeing young and old get excited and enchanted by the Highlands. He is definitely a fair-barker and a magnet for bringing people over to see the cattle. With over 100,000 people visiting the Champlain Valley Fair each year and over 55 years sharing Shat Acres Highlands at the Fair, that adds up to 5,500,000 people Ray has introduced Highland cattle to--just at that one Fair alone! It is hard to say who enjoys the interactions more--Ray or the guests communing with the Shat Acres cattle.
To Ray and I, this is what having Highlands is all about. Not winning blue ribbons and trophies--although Shat Acres has garnered a room full of those--but introducing this magnificent breed to the public, bringing smiles, laughter, and the peace heritage Highlands impart.
At the conclusion of "The Best Ten Days of Summer" Ray and I agreed that this year's fair visitors were the most enthusiastic, polite, and grateful for the opportunity to spend time with our cattle in many years. So many people thanked us for bringing our Highlands and giving them the opportunity to learn more about what we do. As the public moves farther and farther away from a farming culture, knowing less and less about where their food comes from, we find people are eager to connect with those who work the land to provide healthy, local food. With those who raise animals humanely and with care. And with those who practice sustainable agriculture to improve soils and water.
Shat Acres is the oldest registered fold of Highland cattle in the US. We are only one of two cattle farms left in our town in Vermont. We provide 100% Grass Fed and Finished Highland beef to local customers at the Farmers Market and at our Farm. We offer day Farm Tours and overnight stays at Highland House Farm Stay. We practice intensive regenerative cell grazing to provide the best quality feed for our cattle, and to make the land we steward better than when we found it.
We are honored to offer the opportunity for people to connect with what they might be missing in their busy lives, lives more and more distant from the farming world. For a few hours or a few days, they can relish in the peace and joy that the Fair and our Highlands bring.
We might not leap off a trailer like Marilyn, Caledonia. and Demi do, but just like our cattle at the conclusion of the Fair we are tired and glad to return home! Grateful. Thankful. Blessed.
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