Proud Recipients of the 2025 FACT Grant: Enhancing Welfare for Highland Cattle

Shat Acres Highland Cattle and Greenfield Highland Beef are proud to announce we have been awarded a 2025 Fund-A-Farmer, Animal Welfare Improvement Grant from Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT). This grant will allow us to create a dry pack in front of the barn to keep cows and calves clean and out of the mud. Because Highlands are a hardy breed, most of our cattle never go into the barn, except to calve, if they need vet care, or to fence-line wean the calves when they are six-months old.

This makes the paddock in front of the barn important as a “maternity ward” for cows close to calving, for mothers and recently born calves to move out of the barn and fence train the calves, and for cows or calves that might have any issues that require them to be close to the barn. Keeping this area dry and free of mud is critical to animal welfare, preventing disease, and for foot heath.

As the oldest registered fold of Highland Cattle in the US–since 1966–we continually seek ways we can do better by our cattle and our customers. This grant will enable us to purchase a sand base for drainage and wood chips to put on top of the sand for comfort and sanitation. Our animals’ quality of life is paramount in all we do, and we are grateful to FACT’s Fund a Farmer Grant Program for helping us raise our cows and calves in the most healthy, humane way possible.