HCF - Grant Making Policy

Highland Cattle Foundation Grant-Making Policy
Approved: December 1, 2021


The Highland Cattle Foundation (HCF) is a grant-making foundation. As such, HCF will evaluate requests for grants from organizations with the capability to contribute to the fulfillment of the HCF’s goals of promoting the Highland cattle breed through research and education. Because HCF is not an operating foundation, HCF will not propose, develop, or conduct research programs directly, nor will it develop or conduct education programs. HCF will seek to make grants to organizations where HCF funds can be “levered” by adding the Highland cattle breed to existing animal study groups in programs with research or educational goals similar to HCF.

The Highland Cattle Foundation Board of Directors will consider requests for grants each year in January and June. Grant requests must be received by November 1 or April 1 to be considered in the January or June reviews, respectively. Requests for grants must be in writing and will include a description of:

·         Goals or objectives of the research

·         Outline or summary of research or educational methodology

·         Key participants and their qualifications

·         Existing program to be augmented by the grant and examples of its results

·         Specific deliverables or products

·         Timing of research, schedule of grant payment(s) and end product

·         Ownership of research product or plan

 

Grants will be awarded by a majority vote of the HCF Board of Directors. A summary of grants awarded will be reported annually to the American Highland Cattle Association Board of Directors. A summary of grants awarded will also be published annually in The Bagpipe.

The Highland Cattle Foundation is particularly interested in developing and communicating a deeper understanding of the characteristics that differentiate Highland cattle from other cattle breeds. Areas of interest could include but are not limited to:

  • Performance of Highland cattle as foragers in grass-based or legume-based feeding and finishing programs.
  • Use of Highland cattle as browsers to enhance pastures and/or control woody weeds or plants.
  • Performance of Highland bulls as sires for first-calf heifers in terms of birth weight, successful weaning percentage and calf weight gain.
  • Attributes of purebred Highland and crossbred Highland beef in terms of taste, flavor and palatability compared to other beef.
  • Sources of difference in taste, flavor and palatability in Highland and crossbred Highland beef in terms of genetics, diet and/or age of animal at slaughter.
  • Nutritional attributes of Highland and crossbred Highland beef compared to other beef breeds and/or to other meats on dimensions such as cholesterol, fat, omega-3, CLA and beta carotene.
  • Specific genetic markers occurring in purebred Highland cattle related to beef attributes (e.g., taste, flavor, palatability) or to animal attributes (e.g., temperament, birth weight, back fat, weight gain, range mobility, longevity).
  • Performance of Highland cattle in “fall finished” programs which utilize mature forage together with new growth.