13/09/2026
When Rhan’z Barn & Thistle Doon Highlands take on Scotland… this is the kind of day we came for! 🐮🏴🇦🇺
Today Grant and I, along with our besties and fellow Highland breeders Kristi and Mike from Thistle Doon Highland Cattle, travelled four hours to visit Iain and Sheena at Killochries Fold — and WOW, what an experience!
Considering we contacted them on such short notice, we honestly cannot thank them enough for opening their farm to us and giving us so much of their time. ❤️
Coffee first (obviously 😂) while we talked all things Highland genetics, semen, embryos and the red tape regarding getting embryos into Australia… then Iain took us out around the farm.
And when I say Highlands… SO. MANY. HIGHLANDS. 😂
Around 150 beautiful hairy coos spread across the paddocks, including the very impressive Calum and Lord Ranald, plus some of the young bulls Iain is preparing to send to auction.
Mike even got to give Lord Ranald a scratch… until Lord Ranald decided Iain’s Land Rover looked like a much better scratching post. 😂😂
But one of the biggest things we took away from today wasn’t just the cattle — it was Iain’s passion and knowledge around regenerative farming.
Seeing the difference between grazed and rested pasture and hearing how he manages his land, soil and pasture absolutely blew our minds. We spent hours driving around with him asking a million questions, and we’ve come away absolutely buzzing about what we could potentially adapt and try back home in Western Australia. 🌱
Then, just when we thought they couldn’t possibly be any more welcoming, we got back to the house and Sheena had made us homemade pumpkin soup for lunch. 🥹❤️
We went there hoping to meet another Highland breeder, see some beautiful cattle and hopefully learn a thing or two…
We left five hours later with our heads full of ideas and feeling like we’d made two wonderful new friends.
Iain & Sheena, thank you so much for your time, knowledge and incredible hospitality. This will definitely be one of the highlights of our Scotland trip. ❤️
Now to work out how the hell we grow grass like that in Western Australia.