For some time my sister, Wendy Barnes and I had been discussing unusual varieties of cattle to add to her well established herd near Davenport, Iowa.  As she transitions her large and impressive herd toward a goal of all purebred Black Angus, she wanted something that would really stand out in the pasture, something a little different.  Since I hadn’t ever had the privilege of having my own cow, we agreed that we would each get something a little different and I  would have one of my own and keep it with her herd.  Her husband Mike didn’t care what we added as long as it didn’t have horns.  Watusi cattle were automatically out. 

We went through several breeds that we thought were interesting, but settled on Belted Galloways.  This ancient breed originated in Scotland and is very closely related to the ancestral Angus stocks, so they seemed to be a good fit for the Barnes’ herd.  They are very hardy, often staying outside in blizzards when the rest of the cattle are tucked warmly in the barn.  Although they are somewhat smaller than the modern Angus that Mike and Wendy have, they calved easily on their own and are great mothers.   

Belties come in black, red and dun and generally have a neat, wide belt of white that gives them their striking appearance.  After a long and difficult search we found our black belted girls in eastern Iowa in a small hobby herd and decided we couldn’t live without them. 

Wendy and Mike went and picked out two heifers, one for each of us, and they were delivered to their new home at Barnes’ Angus as weanlings in October of 2003 while I was off running around in Africa.  They were a “little” wild (an understatement) to start with, but have calmed down considerably and have now given birth to their first calves. 

 Eden, Wendy’s beltie, has a very nice heifer calf with a perfect belt.  Wendy named her Nede (Eden backwards) and she will be shown this fall at the county fair by my nephew and “farmer to the core”, Justin Barnes. 

 My heifer, Miss Flora Schultz (named after the president of the Scottish Belted Galloway Association) also had a heifer calf this spring.   Florette’s belt isn’t as perfect as Nede’s, but it goes all the way around, and she couldn’t be any more cute than she is.  She is very tame and easily handled.  Hopefully, as she grows, she will get the same “shaggy” look that her mom has.  How can you not love the furry ears and forehead?

We will keep the photos updated as these beauties grow.  Both of these calves are half Black Angus (their father is registered) and we are expecting these calves to have many of the qualities of the modern Angus breed. 

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