I started with dairy cross cattle. In my area they are easy and cheap to come by, easy to do anything (etc animal husbandry, drenching) with, because they have been near you since the first week of life. The cattle role on the farm is not only meat, but starting to branch out into hand milking my main cow after her calve is weaned, as well as vegetation control. To clean paddock I send the cattle in first to eat the bulk of the vegetation before the other livestock.