Purpose Of Raising Yaks

Purpose Of Raising Yaks

For a long time I thought the purpose of raising yaks was so you could have yak cheese. But yak cheese is not a thing. So instead it's to raise yaks, I guess.

I learned about this from a friend who used to raise yaks in Montana. He told me that people would sometimes ask him why he raised yaks, and he would say, "Because I can't afford cattle."

This is funny because cattle are cheap - you can get them for as little as $50 at auction, while yaks cost several thousand dollars each. But the joke has another level. Yaks are more like goats than cows. They're smaller, they jump around more, they don't produce nearly as much meat or milk per pound of yak. They are also more maintenance-intensive: they need to graze on higher ground than cattle do; if you leave them down in the pasture with the cows they'll eat poisonous plants that kill them; and when it snows you have to spend hours digging them out or risk losing your herd.

So why would anyone go to all this trouble? Because everyone else raises cattle! You can't make money raising cattle because there's too much competition. But nobody else raises yaks, so you have

The purpose of raising yaks is to use them for their milk, meat and fiber. Yaks can also be used for transportation. These large animals are native to the Himalayan region, where they are often used for their meat and milk production. Yaks have been domesticated for thousands of years and continue to be a valuable resource for many people.