16 Common Cattle Breeds

  • 250 Recognized Breeds

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

  • 1. Angus

    Black Angus cattle, as well called Aberdeen Angus, are the almost popular breed in the U.Due south., and cheers to some excellent marketing, their meat is in demand, which means these cattle -- and crossbreds with generally black markings -- often bring a premium at the auction barn. This brood comes from northeastern Scotland and was commencement brought to the U.S. by a Kansas rancher in 1873. When crossed with Texas longhorn cows, the hornless black calves brought wintertime hardiness to the mix. Angus are naturally polled (hornless), and have black pare and hair. They are moderately sized, generally good mothers, and are known for early development, ease of fleshing, good milk supply, and excellent marbling.

  • two. Belted Galloway

    Commonly called "Oreo cattle" because of their black color (possibly brown or red) with a white stripe through their middles, this brood started in Scotland equally a solid-color cow, but got their belts through the introduction of Dutch Belted blood. They were first imported to the U.S. in 1950. Although Belted Galloways are often purchased for their ornamental qualities, they do produce lean, quality beef. They're a medium-sized breed, but their carcass dressed weights can exceed sixty% of their alive weight. Belties have a double coat of hair, which allows them to proceed warm in the winter without developing a layer of backfat similar some other breeds.

  • iii. Brahman

    Brahman cattle come from Bharat, and are the near common cattle breed in the world. Over the centuries, Brahmans accept developed resistance to pests, parasites, and diseases, and the power to survive inadequate food and harsh weather. They accept a large hump over their shoulder and cervix, up-curving horns, large ears, and excess peel under their necks and chests, which helps go on them absurd. They also are able to sweat better than near cattle, and secrete an oil which helps repel insects.

  • 4. Charolais

    The lite-colored Charolais originated in France, where it was used for meat, milk, and drafting. The animals' large size and sturdy frame gave them the ability to work in fields and pull wagons. The kickoff Charolais came into the U.Due south. by manner of United mexican states in the 1930s. Because of a disease outbreak in Mexico, the breed was not allowed to be imported to N America until 1965. Therefore, many of today'southward American Charolais have other breeds in their lineage besides. Charolais exercise well under a diverseness of environmental conditions. They graze aggressively in warm atmospheric condition, withstand the cold, and have heavy calves. For this reason, adding a Charolais bull to a herd tin improve the size and ruggedness of calves.

  • five. Dexter

    Dexter cattle originated in southern Republic of ireland, and came to the U.Southward. 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 one,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 common cold climates, and are known for being gentle and like shooting fish in a barrel to handle. Dexters have a high rate of fertility and are easy calvers. They tin be raised for both milk and meat. They tin produce more milk for their weight than any other breed, and their milk yields upward to a quart of cream per gallon. Their beef is slightly darker cerise than other breeds, and the pocket-sized cuts are lean and graded selection.

  • six. Gelbvieh

    This brood originated in Baravia, in southern Germany, and was originally adult for meat, milk, and piece of work. Information technology was introduced to the U.S. in 1971, through an artificial insemination program. Females are registered as purebred at seven/8 Gelbvieh, and bulls at xv/xvi. Bulls in Germany must undergo extensive tests to become A.I. sires. Gelbviehs are red, with pigmented peel, 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.

  • 7. Hereford

    The Hereford breed was adult in England in the 1700s to fulfill the expanding nutrient market created by the industrial revolution. The original Herefords were bred for a high yield of beef and efficient production, and those characteristics are all the same of import in the breed today. They were brought to the U.S. in 1817 and were useful for improving herds in the Southwest. Because of their early maturity and fattening ability, Herefords became very popular in the U.S. As tastes changed in the 1950s, Herefords were bred to be bacteria, with less fat and more red 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 skilful mothers.

  • viii. Holstein

    Holsteins are best known as dairy cows, but those animals non used for breeding stock or milk production are raised for their value as beef cattle. Holsteins originated in Holland more than 2,000 years ago, and were brought to America in the 1850s every bit need for milk grew in this state. The black and white cattle are known for outstanding milk production, just their normal productive life bridge is simply most six years. Healthy calves weigh 90 pounds or more, and mature cows reach 1,500 pounds.

  • 9. Limousin

    Limousin cattle may be every bit old as Europe itself; cattle in 20,000-year-erstwhile cave paintings in France are strikingly like in advent to today's breed. The aureate-red cattle are native to France, and were used as draft animals to help turn rugged, rocky soil into fields for crops. Limousins weren't imported into the U.S. until 1971, by way of Canada. Today, there are more than a million registered caput here. In 2002, Lim-Flex, a pedigreed Limousin-Angus hybrid, was recognized.

  • 10. Piemontese

    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 than muscular, disease resistant, and hardy than almost beef cows. Due to a genetic abnormality, they are capable of developing musculus at an unrestricted rate, and with 14% college musculus mass than virtually cattle, are considered double muscled. Piedmontese milk is also a primary ingredient in several Italian cheeses.

  • 11. Blood-red Angus

    This breed was adult in Scotland in the 1700s, when large red English longhorn cattle were bred to native black Angus cattle to produce animals heavy enough to be used equally draft animals. Ane in four resulting calves were ruby. Both black and ruby-red offspring were initially considered purebred, only reds were banned from registration in 1917. In the 1940s, American cattle producers started breeding reds cropped from the all-time Angus herds and formed their own breed, which bated from color, has the same features and benefits as black Angus. Today, reddish Angus is the leading U.Southward. beef breed used in bogus insemination around the earth.

  • 12. Scottish Highland

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

  • xiii. Shorthorn

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

  • 14. Simmental

    This Swiss breed is among 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. Virtually Simmentals are reddish and white, but in that location are no color restrictions on the brood. They are known for rapid growth development, milk product, 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 by a combination of natural selection and adaptation to the environs, stemming from the first cattle brought to North America more than 500 years ago. Due to a desire for more chop-chop maturing cattle, all the same, longhorns were well-nigh erased by crossbreeding by 1900. The breed was rescued from extinction and has regained popularity. They are hard and adjustable, and are known for loftier fertility, like shooting fish in a barrel calving, disease and parasite resistance, and longevity. Longhorns also swallow fibroid fodder textile more than efficiently than most other breeds.

  • 16. Watusi

    Besides known as African Ankole-Watusi, this brood traces its ancestry back more 6,000 years, where long-horned domestic cattle were established in the Nile Valley. They are fifty-fifty pictured in Egyptian pyramid pictographs. Later, this behemothic-horned strain of cattle was endemic by Tutsi kings and chiefs. Their horns, which tin reach 12 anxiety in diameter, led them to become popular in European zoos. These medium-sized animals have modest calves, which makes Watusi bulls useful for breeding to beginning-calf heifers or other smaller breeds. They tolerate weather extremes, and do well in very hot climates. Their big horns actually absurd them downwards by circulating claret, cooling information technology, and returning it to the trunk. Watusi cattle besides produce low-fat, low-cholesterol beefiness.

Talk in Marketing

Most Recent Poll

How much planting have you finished?

I merely desire to see the responses.

22% (24 votes)

I haven't started yet.

half-dozen% (vii votes)

I don't grow crops.

5% (five votes)

Total votes: 111

Thank you for voting.