Faster Pastures: registered Scottish Highland cattle in Watertown, Tennessee
Registered Scottish Highland cattle · Watertown, Tennessee
We’re Rhett and Sarah Fast.
Since 2018 we’ve raised registered Scottish Highland cattle on our farm in Wilson County, Tennessee, with our six-year-old and three-year-old helping. We want to raise the best cattle we can, give them the best life we can, and do it in a way that brings joy to people and glorifies God every step of the way.
- Since 2018First-generation farmers
- AHCA registeredAmerican Highland Cattle Association
- SHCA membersSouthern Highland Cattle Association
- Wilson County TN State FairHelped start its Highland show in 2026
It didn’t start with cows for us.
Sarah came into our marriage years ago with a thoroughbred. That meant making sure our first house had a few acres. We got two Nigerian Dwarf goats to keep her company. We were mowing the grass a lot, and Rhett had always wanted cattle. And we loved those fluffy ones.
On October 20, 2018, we bought our first cow-calf pair: a majestic, large, stocky red Highland named Brianna and her calf, Brenda, from Shadow Mountain Farm in Cleveland, Tennessee. They were an anniversary gift to each other.
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So why Highlands?
- We only had limited land, and we wanted compact yet productive animals. Highlands are smaller than Black Angus.
- Highlands are even-tempered, disease resistant and easy calvers.
- They’re a heritage breed that eats just about anything, foraging in the woods and the pastures.
- They’re really good beef (yes, it’s a beef cow).
- And they’re cute.
Why we’re called Faster Pastures.
Our first house had two acres split into three small pastures. It wasn’t a farm, and it definitely wasn’t a ranch. Faster Pastures rolled off the tongue nicely.
Fast-forward to today, and we’ve been blessed to move to a larger farm, which lets us fully expand and grow into a proper cattle breeding operation. But we haven’t outgrown the joy we feel from our name.
Meet our fold.
Here are a few of the rockstars from our group.
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Brianna Our first cow, and still the queen. She’ll adopt any other calf as her own and gladly nurses more than one.
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Brenda Brianna’s calf and the epitome of “chonk.” She dons a fly mask most of the year because of her fashion choices.
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Nancy The tiny boss: a full-size cow on short legs. She’s also had twins.
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Butter She first sold to a dear friend in East Tennessee and had a wild stint in agritourism before coming back to our farm.
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Dunedin Our OG show girl, expecting her first calf in the spring!
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Little Mama Our shaggiest and cutest. She can’t see past her hair, so she bumps into the tractor tire when we bring out hay bales.
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Vie Edelweiss. White as the snow in the Alps, and smartly appointed.
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Buns Not a Highland. Our only Hereford, bought for beef (hence the name). Her first calf was a heifer, though, so we named her Biscuit.
Our two helpers.
Our six-year-old and three-year-old help with the chores: feeding, watering, moving chickens, fixing fence and rolling wire. They’ve watched the vet work and calves being born, and now they’re learning to halter and show. They ask a lot of questions, like how do you even know she’s pregnant?
Our three-year-old will lead a cow fifty times her size, and she bosses it around just fine.
How we split the workWhy we show.
We’re not show people. We go so other breeders can put their hands on our cattle and tell us honestly what we need to improve.
At our first show, in Gray, Tennessee, in October 2024, we pulled in after dark with none of the right gear, and families we’d never met unloaded our trailer for us. The Minnears of Weeping Willow, the Burtons, and Darrin and Lydia Ingram of Noble Bear have been friends and mentors ever since.
In 2026 we helped organize the first Scottish Highland show at the Tennessee State Fair. It was the most attended livestock show of the entire fair.
What we breed for.
We like our Highlands big, thick and shaggy. We’re not breeding miniature cattle.
- Temperament
- Calm, and good mothers. Nobody aggressive.
- Hair
- Shaggy, quality hair to the Scottish standard.
- Heat
- Able to thrive in crazy Tennessee weather.
- Feet
- Sound feet. We’re always working on it.
- Udders
- Built to last a lifetime of calving.
- Growth
- Fast enough that you’re not waiting years to breed.
- Build
- Broad and stocky, with a straight, flat back.
- Longevity
- Cows that keep calving for years.
Buying a Highland from us.
Our ideal buyer is teachable: someone adding to a Highland herd, or a new breeder who wants to start off on a good foot. Do some research, or be willing to, and we’re happy to help along your journey.
We don’t sell bottle calves, or a single cow to live alone. We stay in touch with everyone who buys from us, and we’re always delighted to keep getting pictures of their calves years later.
Have a question? Ask us.
We don’t know everything, but we’re surrounded by a tremendous community filled with Highland wisdom.