As the interest in small-scale and hobby farming grows, demand for miniaturised livestock is leaving some breeders running off their feet.
Denise Warner struggles to breed her miniature Herefords fast enough to keep up with demand as people seek smaller livestock.
She is extremely passionate about her stock and single-handedly runs her 32-acre farm in Waroona, 110 kilometres south of Perth.
While the mini Herefords feature the same red and white coats as the full-size Herefords, they are about two-thirds their height.
On average, they are 1 metre tall and weigh 300–400 kilograms.
Mrs Warner says the breed's popularity comes from people not wanting big animals on their properties.
"I actually cannot breed enough of them," she said.
"So many larger properties have been broken down into smaller properties, and people just want to have smaller animals.
"They're lighter on the soil, they're easier on fences and, being Hereford, they are so placid."
Cute animals educate city folk
A regular attendee at the Perth Royal Show and other exhibition events, Mrs Warner travels around the state towing her mini Herefords in a custom-built, extended horse float.
She says her animals help educate people not exposed to much agriculture.
"There is a huge number of people in the cities that never get to touch or have anything to do with cattle," Mrs Warner said.
"That's why I do the shows and small farm field days.
"I don't need to do these shows to sell my animals, but I'm passionate about people being able to interact with cattle to help break down a little bit of that barrier between the city and the country."
Mrs Warner has operated as Paragon Stud for about 16 years and shares the breeding name with her sister, who has a property in New South Wales.
She has a dozen calves on the ground, another dozen still to calve this year and seven working bulls.
Each animal is given a name, and Mrs Warner says it can be very difficult to send them away to new homes.
"I won't let an animal leave the property unless it has been halter broken, so obviously, I spent a lot of time with them," she said.
"The Hereford breed has always been renowned for being calm and friendly, although, I will say, small-man syndrome does come into play.
"You'll see them pushing the big ones around the hay ring, which also shows how placid even the big ones are."
The new therapy animal?
While full-size Herefords are bred for their meat, most mini Herefords born at Paragon Stud are sold as hobby farm additions.
They have even been purchased as therapy animals.
"I've known of one animal that was in a place where children went when they were having school problems," Mrs Warner said.
"And I was told their demeanour changed completely when they got to work with the animal.
"That to me is fantastic — that having that relationship with an animal can bring satisfaction for somebody that was obviously troubled in other ways in their lives."
