16 Common Cattle Breeds

  • 250 Recognized Breeds

    There are more than than 250 recognized breeds of cattle throughout the world, with more than 80 readily available to producers in the United States.
    When you accept crossbred cattle into consideration, the possibilities are endless. Crossbreeding is an efficient fashion to build a herd, but those purebred lines are still important. Quality purebreds brand quality crossbreds.

  • ane. Angus

    Black Angus cattle, besides called Aberdeen Angus, are the near popular breed in the U.S., and thank you to some excellent marketing, their meat is in demand, which means these cattle -- and crossbreds with mostly black markings -- oft bring a premium at the sale barn. This breed comes from northeastern Scotland and was kickoff brought to the U.S. by a Kansas rancher in 1873. When crossed with Texas longhorn cows, the hornless black calves brought winter hardiness to the mix. Angus are naturally polled (hornless), and have black skin and hair. They are moderately sized, by and large good mothers, and are known for early development, ease of fleshing, skilful milk supply, and excellent marbling.

  • 2. Belted Galloway

    Usually called "Oreo cattle" because of their black colour (possibly brownish or ruby) with a white stripe through their middles, this brood started in Scotland as a solid-color cow, but got their belts through the introduction of Dutch Belted blood. They were get-go imported to the U.South. in 1950. Although Belted Galloways are often purchased for their ornamental qualities, they exercise produce lean, quality beef. They're a medium-sized breed, but their carcass dressed weights can exceed 60% of their live weight. Belties take a double coat of hair, which allows them to keep warm in the winter without developing a layer of backfat like some other breeds.

  • 3. Brahman

    Brahman cattle come from India, and are the about mutual cattle breed in the world. Over the centuries, Brahmans have adult resistance to pests, parasites, and diseases, and the ability to survive inadequate food and harsh weather. They have a large hump over their shoulder and cervix, upward-curving horns, big ears, and excess skin under their necks and chests, which helps keep them cool. They besides are able to sweat improve than about cattle, and secrete an oil which helps repel insects.

  • 4. Charolais

    The low-cal-colored Charolais originated in France, where it was used for meat, milk, and drafting. The animals' large size and sturdy frame gave them the power to work in fields and pull wagons. The first Charolais came into the U.S. by mode of Mexico in the 1930s. Considering of a disease outbreak in Mexico, the brood was not allowed to be imported to Due north America until 1965. Therefore, many of today'southward American Charolais accept other breeds in their lineage as well. Charolais practice well under a diverseness of environmental conditions. They graze aggressively in warm weather condition, withstand the cold, and have heavy calves. For this reason, adding a Charolais bull to a herd can improve the size and ruggedness of calves.

  • 5. Dexter

    Dexter cattle originated in southern Ireland, and came to the U.South. in the early on 1900s. They are one of the smallest breeds of cattle, with full-grown bulls measuring 38 to 44 inches at the shoulder and weighing less than 1,000 pounds. Some have long legs and some brusque. Because of their size, they require less pasture and feed than larger breeds. They thrive in hot and cold climates, and are known for being gentle and like shooting fish in a barrel to handle. Dexters take a loftier rate of fertility and are piece of cake calvers. They can be raised for both milk and meat. They can produce more milk for their weight than any other brood, and their milk yields upwards to a quart of foam per gallon. Their beef is slightly darker ruby than other breeds, and the small cuts are lean and graded pick.

  • 6. Gelbvieh

    This breed originated in Baravia, in southern Federal republic of germany, and was originally developed for meat, milk, and work. It was introduced to the U.S. in 1971, through an bogus insemination plan. Females are registered as purebred at 7/8 Gelbvieh, and bulls at 15/16. Bulls in Frg must undergo extensive tests to become A.I. sires. Gelbviehs are cerise, with pigmented skin, and were originally horned. Due to breeding with polled foundation females in the U.S., though, many today are naturally polled. They are known for high fertility, ease of calving, being good mothers, and having quick-growing calves.

  • seven. Hereford

    The Hereford brood was adult in England in the 1700s to fulfill the expanding food market created by the industrial revolution. The original Herefords were bred for a high yield of beef and efficient product, and those characteristics are still of import in the brood today. They were brought to the U.South. in 1817 and were useful for improving herds in the Southwest. Because of their early maturity and fattening power, Herefords became very popular in the U.S. As tastes changed in the 1950s, Herefords were bred to be leaner, with less fatty and more than reddish meat. Both horned and polled Herefords remain common in the U.S. They are known for their longevity, and for being docile, piece of cake calvers, good milkers, and good mothers.

  • 8. Holstein

    Holsteins are best known as dairy cows, but those animals not used for breeding stock or milk production are raised for their value every bit beefiness cattle. Holsteins originated in Holland more than than 2,000 years ago, and were brought to America in the 1850s as demand for milk grew in this country. The black and white cattle are known for outstanding milk product, just their normal productive life bridge is but about six years. Good for you calves weigh 90 pounds or more than, and mature cows attain 1,500 pounds.

  • ix. Limousin

    Limousin cattle may be as erstwhile as Europe itself; cattle in 20,000-twelvemonth-erstwhile cave paintings in French republic are strikingly similar in appearance to today's breed. The aureate-red cattle are native to France, and were used equally draft animals to help plough rugged, rocky soil into fields for crops. Limousins weren't imported into the U.Southward. until 1971, by fashion of Canada. Today, there are more than than a million registered caput here. In 2002, Lim-Flex, a pedigreed Limousin-Angus hybrid, was recognized.

  • 10. Piedmontese

    This Italian breed is a 25,000-year-old splice of two completely different breeds: the European Auroch and Pakistani Zebu. The breed was brought to North America in 1979. Piedmontese are more muscular, disease resistant, and hardy than most beef cows. Due to a genetic aberration, they are capable of developing musculus at an unrestricted rate, and with fourteen% college muscle mass than almost cattle, are considered double muscled. Piemontese milk is as well a master ingredient in several Italian cheeses.

  • 11. Red Angus

    This breed was developed in Scotland in the 1700s, when large red English longhorn cattle were bred to native black Angus cattle to produce animals heavy plenty to be used as typhoon animals. One in four resulting calves were red. Both black and cherry-red offspring were initially considered purebred, but reds were banned from registration in 1917. In the 1940s, American cattle producers started convenance reds cropped from the all-time Angus herds and formed their own breed, which aside from colour, has the aforementioned features and benefits as black Angus. Today, red Angus is the leading U.S. beef breed used in artificial insemination around the earth.

  • 12. Scottish Highland

    This breed lived for centuries in the harsh, rugged Scottish Highlands, where it developed a resistance to many stress-related and other bovine diseases. Information technology is among the oldest registered breeds. Cold weather and snow take picayune effect on this breed, which has long hair rather than a layer of fat to keep it warm. This also makes for lean beef with little exterior waste fatty. They also do well in southern climates, and will eat and thrive on brush and weeds other cattle laissez passer by. Highlands take long horns, and long eyelashes and forelocks that protect their eyes from flying insects. They are considered to be even-tempered and intelligent.

  • thirteen. Shorthorn

    Shorthorns originated on the northeast coast of England and were brought to America in 1783 and chosen Durham cattle. They were popular with settlers, since they were very adaptable, and could be used for meat and milk, and to power wagons and plows. They can be either horned or naturally polled. Polled shorthorns were the start major beef breed to be adult in the U.S. in the 1880s. Both types of shorthorns are known for adaptability, mothering ability, reproductive performance, good disposition, longevity, and skillful feed conversion.

  • 14. Simmental

    This Swiss breed is amongst the oldest and most widely distributed in the world. They have been raised in the U.Due south. since the late 1800s, but their popularity waned until the belatedly 1960s. Almost Simmentals are red and white, but at that place are no color restrictions on the breed. They are known for rapid growth development, milk production, and large size. Although primarily used as dairy cattle in Europe, American Simmentals are bred for beefiness production.

  • 15. Texas Longhorn

    This truly American cattle breed was shaped past a combination of natural pick and accommodation to the environment, stemming from the first cattle brought to North America more than than 500 years ago. Due to a want for more apace maturing cattle, however, longhorns were nearly erased by crossbreeding by 1900. The breed was rescued from extinction and has regained popularity. They are hard and adaptable, and are known for high fertility, like shooting fish in a barrel calving, disease and parasite resistance, and longevity. Longhorns also swallow coarse provender material more efficiently than about other breeds.

  • 16. Watusi

    Likewise known as African Ankole-Watusi, this breed traces its beginnings back more than 6,000 years, where long-horned domestic cattle were established in the Nile Valley. They are even pictured in Egyptian pyramid pictographs. Later, this giant-horned strain of cattle was owned by Tutsi kings and chiefs. Their horns, which can reach 12 feet in diameter, led them to become popular in European zoos. These medium-sized animals accept pocket-sized calves, which makes Watusi bulls useful for convenance to showtime-calf heifers or other smaller breeds. They tolerate weather extremes, and practise well in very hot climates. Their large horns actually cool them down past circulating blood, cooling it, and returning information technology to the trunk. Watusi cattle also produce low-fat, depression-cholesterol beef.

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