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December 28, 2002 10:32 AM

Betting on Mini-Cows "ROCKWELL, Iowa -- Dustin Pillard is betting his farm on compact cows...Pillard has 50 tiny cows on his northern Iowa farm" MEANWHILE..."In a May dispatch from Cuba, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fidel Castro proposed in 1987 to alleviate a chronic milk shortage by trying to get his scientists to clone the most productive cows, shrunk to the size of dogs so that each family could keep one inside it's apartment. The cows would feed on grass grown inside under fluorescent lights." Now I'd like a mini-polar bear, please, and a mini-elephant, while you're at it...
posted by troutfishing (18 comments total)

I was going to call bullshit, but there is a Dustin Pillard in Rockwell, Iowa. I'm going to call him and order one.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:34 AM on December 28, 2002

In fact, you can go to his website and see them for yourself.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:35 AM on December 28, 2002

This guy lives about half an hour from where I live.

I'm going to to go to his house and ask him.
posted by angry modem at 10:47 AM on December 28, 2002

This takes veal to a whole new level.
posted by fatbobsmith at 11:14 AM on December 28, 2002

>Now I'd like a mini-polar bear, please, and a mini-elephant, while you're at it...

Dude, they're called pot-bellied elephants now!
posted by shepd at 11:16 AM on December 28, 2002

Somebody was listening to Wait, wait. Don't Tell Me. this morning.

These things have been around for quite a while. I'm creative director at a small farm magazine, and there are constanly ads for mini cattle. Between these and alpacas, I think standard livestock are losing favor with real farmers (i.e. non-corporate, non-GMO, non-anything-under-the-sun-to-make-a-greasy-buck-and-screw-the-environment-and-public-health farmers).

Why do I have to respect other people's opinions? -Me
posted by mortimer at 12:11 PM on December 28, 2002

A cow inside a Cuban home? beastiality begins with early morning milking.
posted by Postroad at 1:29 PM on December 28, 2002

Put me down for one mini-pachy.
posted by rushmc at 1:31 PM on December 28, 2002

I always thought that breeding mini bears as guard bears would be a great market. Kind of the SUV of dogs, you know?
posted by ph00dz at 1:33 PM on December 28, 2002

You know, Castro, there are other ways around that chronic milk shortage.
posted by the fire you left me at 2:43 PM on December 28, 2002

mortimer, signature lines are frowned on at MeFi, no matter how welcome they may be elsewhere. I'd mail you but you gave no address.

trout, if you're going to grace the front page with six-month-old oddball news items, the least you can do is find better versions and resources.
posted by dhartung at 3:51 PM on December 28, 2002

I want him to breed me three mini-hippos so I can play a backyard version of this...
posted by jonmc at 4:01 PM on December 28, 2002

>Dude, they're called pot-bellied elephants now!

Dude, don't you remember...pig and elephant DNA just won't splice.

Well, I for one welcome our new mini-cow overlords.
(had to be said)
posted by lasthrsman at 5:20 PM on December 28, 2002

I have always loved "miniature" things (insert your own joke here), collectibles stuff...a teeny-tiny coffee cup that my wife gave me, very small Cow Parade figures for my office, etc. These mini-cows are the next logical step...although it may interfere with my plans to breed and sell squirrels as the perfect pet.
posted by davidmsc at 6:13 PM on December 28, 2002

...and don't forget OREO ANIMALS, too! Now if we just make MINI-OREO COWS, we'd be all set.
posted by davidmsc at 6:15 PM on December 28, 2002

Dhartung - but aren't about 50% of Mefi posts 'oddball items'? I was simply trying to keep a balanced citizen's profile. Besides, I thought the story of Castro's 'apartment minicow' was prime Mefi material. although I notice from the links you kindly provided that the powerfull gravitational attraction of the minicows pulled you, also, into their orbit...
posted by troutfishing at 8:16 PM on December 28, 2002

im ok with mini-cows as long as some people give up on the quest to produce/clone a red cow/calf.
posted by specialk420 at 10:51 PM on December 28, 2002

I swear, I had this idea (while drunk, probably) years ago! I'm going to sue!

If anyone steals my idea for Spackle-Wiz, I'm really going to be pissed.
posted by JoanArkham at 6:10 AM on December 30, 2002