Holy Cow! Alberta officially home to world’s tallest steer

Alberta is home to the tallest steer on the planet. 'Beef' from Vulcan is the new world record holder, according to Guinness.

Alberta is officially home to the tallest steer on the planet.

The Holstein from Vulcan is the new world record holder, according to Guinness World Records.

The behemoth bovine is named Beef, which most steers are raised to become.

That won’t be his fate, though.

Jasmine Entz, who owns Beef, chose him as a pet.

According to Guinness, Beef is 1.95-metres tall (6’5”), weighs 1,090 kilograms (2,400 lbs) and eats a minivan-sized salad of alfalfa each month weighing 1,130 kilograms (2,490 lbs).

“It’s a pretty surreal feeling to know my picture is in this book,” Entz said.

She never intended to go for a record but was a fan of the Guinness World Record books growing up and a few years ago wondered how her pet might stack up with the competition.

“When the record was measured in 2023, he stood 6’5”,” she said.

Entz works at a dairy and wanted a calf as a pet.

When she picked him at birth, he was regular-sized, but as a neutered male, he grew a lot in eight years.

Beef is currently the tallest living steer on the planet, but he’s still growing and is on track to potentially break another record.

“There was one in Italy that was 6’8” and so that’s the tallest ever recorded. Now, (Beef) is an inch and a half off of that,” Entz said.

Beef lives on a hobby farm with a Holstein cow and miniature goats.

“He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. He gets along with everything,” Entz said.

Entz was once able to ride him, but he’s grown too big for his saddle and too tall for his owner.

“I’m not brave enough to get up that high. I’m afraid of heights,” she said.

Beef can’t fit in a regular livestock trailer.

Entz bought a modified horse trailer that has seven-foot clearance.

Beef eats grass and alfalfa and loves pumpkins as a treat.

To feed the gentle giant, Entz has to fork out about $400 a month, but she says it’s worth it.

She hopes she and Beef can send a message about how much care goes into livestock — even the ones that aren’t pets.

“The love that I have for him is the same love that goes into all of our milk cows on the dairy,” she said.

“It’s a way of life, and it’s a very important way of life.”

The just-released 2026 Guinness World Records marks the 70th anniversary of the book.

The first edition was published on Aug. 27, 1955.