Over 250 years ago near Hereford in England the development of a breed of cattle bagan that could efficiently convert grass to beef.  Benjamin Thomkins is credited with being the primary founder, and the Hereford breed officially began in 1756 when the first herd was closed.  The breed was prized for its hardiness, efficiency in feed conversion, early maturity, disposition and foraging ability.   Herefords began to appear in the United States in the 1800's with one bull in particular, Anxiety IV, being credited as the father of the American Hereford breed.   The present day Miniature Herefords are descended from Anxiety IV.

    From the turn of the century till the 1960's; continued careful breeding resulted in a small highly efficient beef animal. At one point about 70% of the registered cattle in America were Herefords.  In the 1960's beef producers started looking for larger and larger animals. Herefords became bigger and leggier and also fell out of favor as the industry moved toward other larger breeds.  The determination of a few Hereford breeders, most notably the Largent family, kept the smaller Herefords type alive and are the foundation of what today we call the Miniature Hereford.  The development of Polled Miniature Herefords began when we started our breeding program in 1993.

    As the taste of the American public and the focus of the beef industry shift back toward animals that have a higher percentage of the carcass weight in the premium cuts interest in miniature Herefords is increasing.  With more and more people raising a few animals the need for small, docile, efficient grazers is also increasing. Our Miniature Polled Herefords fit the bill perfectly.