Yes. They graze the pasture you walk through, and most mornings they will come to the fence on their own.
We are a mostly off-grid, grassfed Scottish Highland beef ranch. That is the first thing to say, because it changes what a stay here is. The cattle are not scenery we put out for guests. They are the reason the pasture is fenced the way it is, and they were here before the guest rooms were.
What they are actually like
Highlands are long-haired and long-horned and they look far more serious than they are. Ours are used to people. They will lift their heads when you come down the hill, and if you stand at the fence a while, curiosity usually wins.
You can feed them. We supply alfalfa cubes as part of your stay. We just ask that you keep children on your side of the electrified fence. Those horns are not aggressive, but they are wide, and a cow turning her head does not know where your shoulder is.
When to come if the cattle are the point
Morning and the hour before dark are when they move. Middle of a hot afternoon they will be in the shade at the treeline and you may not see much of them at all.
Winter is the surprise. The coat they grow is the whole reason the breed exists, and a Highland standing in snow is something most people have only seen in a photograph.
The rest of the thirty acres
There are ponds stocked with bluegill, crappie and bass, a bonfire pit ringed with rustic limestone boulders next to the water, an eight-person hot tub on the covered patio, and a Traeger pellet grill and smoker. Guests share the full kitchen and the sun room that looks down over the ponds.
Rooms run $125 to $175 a night, or $375 for all three. We are about 45 minutes north of Kansas City and 15 minutes from St. Joseph.
It truly is a wonderful place to be.