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CNN Live At Daybreak

Iowa Farm Raises Miniature Cattle

Aired June 19, 2002 - 06:58   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Call them cute, strange or petite, but don't call them meat. Oh, no. That's because one man calls his unique breed of miniature cattle pets.

Chris Nagus of our Des Moines, Iowa affiliate KCCI has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DUSTIN PILLARD, MINIATURE CATTLE BREEDER: Driving by, people just think they're calves that we got feed out like all the other ones.

CHRIS NAGUS, KCCI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But take a closer look at what Dustin Pillard is raising on his farm.

PILLARD: He was 20 pounds and 20 inches tall when he was born.

NAGUS: His cattle are a miniature breed and he treats them like pets.

PILLARD: This one's Scarlet. This one, her name is Pooh Two (ph). Her mother was Pooh Bear.

NAGUS (on camera): Dustin has raised these animals for years. It took his family a while to adjust to the abnormal looking cows.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To tell you the truth, I was very mad. I didn't want him to start it. I didn't want him to spend the money on it. And then once they got out here, I fell in love with them.

NAGUS (voice-over): As you can probably guess, these guys aren't whoppers or even quarter pounders. Dustin raises these animals just for fun, and it's a hobby that's starting to catch the attention of people all over the country.

PILLARD: Yes, we had a call this morning from a radio station in Anchorage, Alaska and we were on an L.A. radio station this morning and he asked if I had thought about raising giant Chihuahuas.

NAGUS: The answer is no. His big interest will continue to be his small cattle.

PILLARD: My family laughed at me every time I'd get one and the guys I work with give me a hard time about them. NAGUS: That's OK with Dustin, because he knows they are laughing with him, as his miniature bulls and cows allow his farm to stand apart from the rest of rural Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: There you have it. Maybe they'll get them down to the size of a pot-bellied pig some day and you can keep them in your house.

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