About our Animals

A group of Highland cattle with long, shaggy reddish-brown hair and curved horns, some eating hay in a fenced outdoor pen.

Two Highland cattle grazing outdoors, one facing forward with long horns and shaggy fur, the other facing sideways, in a field with trees and mountains in the background.

The Highland Fold

Gondola and Ganache

Pastured with Love! Our stock spend their days outdoors free ranging on varied pastures of grasses, forbs, herbs and medicinal berries.

Below are some of our young Highland cow girls showing off their noses at winter hay time. We just love the Highland cow’s delicate and exquisite nose. Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get! That’s half the fun at calving time. Highland nose colours can range from delicate pink to solid black and they are often the same colour as the hooves.

All these gals are purebred Scottish Highland Cattle, registered with the Canadian Highland Cattle Society. Our fold carries genetics from some of the oldest Scottish folds including Balmoral Castle, Benmore, Achnaloich, Torloisk, Mingary, Cladich, Douneside, Glengorm, Orsary, Leys Castle and Scone Palace. The breed has a long and distinguished history. The term “fold” comes from the ancestral practice of “enfolding” Highland cattle in stone walled enclosures.

Our cows are strictly pasture raised, outdoors in the sun and on a mixed grassland pasture of grass, forbs and brush. That means the cow’s gut micro biome and rumen stays healthy. This produces a healthier cow.

We breed and sell Canadian Highland Cattle Society registered heifers and a limited number of breeding bulls on a yearly basis. Please check in with us for stock that may be for sale.

A Highland cow with long horns eating grass in a rural landscape.

Grass Fed Beef
Direct to Customer

A herd of Highland cattle grazing on grass in a field with distant snow-capped mountains and forested hills under a clear blue sky.

Pastured with Love!

River Valley Ranch keeps a closed herd of registered purebred Highland cattle. The calves are born and raised to maturity right here on our farm. Our Highland beef is a cut above.

Highlands grow slower and here they are raised on a free range grass fed regime that gives you the ultimate in taste and health profile in your beef. The Highland’s double coat helps insulate and keep them warm in our Rocky Mountain winters. With their special coat they develop intramuscular tenderizing fat instead of excess back fat. What you get is tender, high protein and flavourful beef for your table.

Independent testing has shown that Highland beef is significantly lower in fat and cholesterol and higher in protein, iron and the good omega-3 fatty acids than commercial beef. Being Certified Organic means no antibiotics, urea proteins, lick tubs, hormones or Ractopamine are fed to our animals. Attention to detail is important to us in raising food for you. Commercial salt licks with non-organic additives are not used – the Highland’s get free choice premium Sea 90 mineral salt and custom made free choice organic loose minerals. The animals are out year round and forage most of the year on our own pastures (which are rich in native grasses, herbs and forbs) and in the winter the standing pasture forage is supplement with Certified Organic Hay. Our regime means the cows are not getting laden with glyphosate, adjuvants, pesticides, Grazon or other herbicides.

You (our valued customers), your family, your children and grandchildren deserve a premium quality food source that incorporates a high level of respect for animal and human health, welfare and the environment.