CMancaster Farming, Saturday, September 17, 1994
UNIQUE BREEDS
OF DAIRY CATTLE
Lawrence W. Specht
Professor of
Dairy Science
Everyone knows the most popu
lar breed of dairy cattle in Pennsyl
vania is Holstein those black
and white treatures that produce
milk on most of our 12.000 dairy
farms.
Other well-known breeds are
Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, and
Brown Swiss.
However, there are a number of
dairy breeds that have a unique his
tory and place in our agriculture.
Milking Shorthorn
The Milking Shorthorn is a seg
ment of the Shorthorn breed that
had its origin in northeastern Eng
land in the valley of the River
Tees, a rich agricultural area bor
dered by the North Sea. Through
selection for dairy qualities, the
Milking Shorthorn became sepa
rate and distinct from the
Shorthorn.
When the breed arrived in
America in the late 1880 s, many
saw it as dual-purpose for produc
ing both meat and milk.
Recently, more emphasis has
been put on breeding for increased
milk yield, even to the point of
crossing the Milking Shorthorn
with New Zealand’s lllawara
breed.
The breed’s color is either red,
white, or roan (a mixture of red and
white hair). Mature cows weigh up
to 1,600 pounds, averaging closer
to 1,300 or 1,400. Several Milking
Shorthorn herds kept in Pcnnsyl
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vania frequently are exhibited at
county and state shows.
Dutch Belted
The Dutch Belted breed of dairy
cattle originated in northern Hol
land prior to the 1800 s. Its most
prominent feature (and part of its
name) comes from the broad band
of white encircling the otherwise
black body' just back of the
forelegs.
This breed (also called Laken
fclders) was developed by the
Dutch nobility, whose primary
selection goal was to preserve the
striking color pattern. In fact,
Dutch Belled are one of the early
strains of dairy cattle from north
ern Europe that evolved into our
present-day Holstein breed.
Dutch Belted were imported
starting in the middle 1800 s. Num
bers have never been large. These
cows weigh from 1,000 to 1,300
pounds and produce from 8,000 to
12,000 pounds of milk per lacta
tion. Calves weigh from 65 to 90
pounds at birth.
Red Poll
Originating in England’s Suf
folk and Norfolk counties, the Red
Poll breed was brought to America
in 1873. The breed is naturally
hornless (polled) and is a medium
to deep-red color with a red and
white tail switch.
The original cattle were dual
purpose in nature with good car
cass value and fair milking ability.
The earliest imports did not leave a
permanent record but are thought
to account for the so-called native
"muley” (naturally hornless)
cattle.
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They became established here in
the latter 1800 s from only about
300 head that were imported. Red
Polls most often are found in the
Midwest, with Indiana, Illinois,
and Kentucky leading in breed
registrations.
The Red Poll is a medium-sized
breed, with cows weighing 1,200
to 1,500 pounds and mature bulls a
ton or more.
Red Danish
Red Danish cattle are one of the
youngest dairy breeds in this coun
try. They were imported from
Denmark in 1925 as part of a prog
ram to introduce superior genetic
material into American dairy
herds.
In 1935, 20 cows and two bulls
were imported by the USDA Agri
cultural Research Center. Beltsvil
le, Md. Bulls were later kept in reg
ular service at the Michigan Artifi
cial Breeders Cooperative unit at
Hast Lansing.
A group of Michigan dairymen
cooperated with the USDA and the
Cooperative Extension Service to
progeny-test bulls of the breed and
develop Red Danish herds. Interest
in the Red Danish has declined
since the 19505, and few animals
of the breed can be found outside
of Michigan.
Females weigh from 1,300 to
1,500 pounds and bulls as much as
a ton. Beef qualities are equal to
those of Milking Shorthorns and
Red Polls. These reddish-brown
animals are rugged in appearance.
The breed averages 12,000 to
14,000 pounds of 3.8% to 4.0%
milkfat milk per lactation.
Linebacks
The term “lineback” describes a
particular color pattern that can be
found in certain Kolsteins. A band
of white hair, usually four to eight
inches wide running the length of
the animal from the poll to the tail,
is the definitive color pattern.
These animals are also known as
“color-sided” individuals, since
black, brown, or red hair is found
Illinois only, call
1400>42M1N
on both sides of the white band.
There is little else to distinguish
them from other members of the
Holstein breed.
Although people whoown Line
backs consider them a separate
breed, the USDA-Animal
Improvement Programs Laborat
ory does not provide a breed code
for them. They are, in fact, Hols
teins with a striking color pattern.
Size and milking ability are no dif
ferent than for other Holsteins.
Lincbacks are seldom found
among the registered cattle of the
breed. However, there is a “regi
stry” association for them (Ameri
can Lineback Cattle Registry, 730
Woodside Drive, Seymour. WI
54165).
Red And White
The Red and White Dairy Cattle
Association was formed in 1964 to
create a registry program for dairy
cattle that are red and white in col
or. Red and white, red, white, or
roan animals could be registered in
the Red and White herdbook if the
owner was a member of the associ
ation. A grading-up program is in
place that will accommodate cattle
of other breeds and red-carrier
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(RC) black-and-white Holsteins.
Many of the most productive
Red and Whites have been pro
duced from the mating of two RC
Holsteins.
In recent yean, from 5,000 to
6,000 animals have been recorded
annually as Red and Whites. Some
red and white Holsteins are dual
registered in both Holstein and
Red and White herdbooks.
Production and type characteris
tics are much like those in the
black-and-white breed. After gen
erations of being shunned by regis
tered Holstein breeders. Red and
Whiles now have a unique value
that enables them to sell for more
than their black-and-white coun
terparts, even though their produc
tion and type traits often are not
equal to those of black-and white-
Holsteins.
Body size, milk production, and
milk component percentages are
similar to those of the black and
whiles. Red-and-white animals are
common in the Holstein breed in
Europe, where selection proce
dures for red-and-whites have
been the same as for black-and
whites down through the years.
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