Romagnola Cattle

ROMAGNOLA  is a breed of cattle from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It belongs to the Podolic group of grey cattle. Romagnola cattle were used principally as draught beasts in the past; since the mechanisation of agriculture in the middle of the twentieth century they have been bred primarily for beef production.

                              HISTORY
As with other European grey cattle, it has been suggested that the Romagnola breed derives from Podoliancattle from the steppes of eastern Europe, possibly brought to Italy by invading Goths in the fourth century AD or by the Lombard king Agilulf.This hypothesis is based on the zoological theories of the nineteenth century, going back to the Bos taurus podolicus ofJohann Andreas Wagner. It is not supported by modern genetic, zoological or archaeological research.
There were in the past a number of local sub-types of Romagnola cattle, including the Bolognese in the area of Bologna, the Ferrarese in the area of Ferrara, a mountain type ("di monte") and a lowland type ("gentile di pianura"). Selective breeding towards the modern type began in about 1850, and the resulting stock won prizes both in Italy and abroad. In Paris in 1900 the Romagnola was judged jointly with the Hereford to be the "best beef breed".
The Romagnola was however principally a draught breed, and was bred for that purpose, with massive and powerful foreparts and short strong legs. Following the progressive mechanisation of agriculture in the years after the Second World War the breeding strategy changed completely, and was directed towards beef production. To this end, cross-breeding with Chianina cattle was attempted, but did not give the desired results.A herd book was established in 1963.
More than 80% of the registered Italian population is in Emila-Romagna; there are small populations in Abruzzo,Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Lazio,Lombardy, Le Marche, Puglia, Tuscanyand the Veneto.Some animals were exported to Scotland in the early 1970s and the breed is present in small numbers in Great Britain, Ireland, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and Africa.
Numbers in Italy have fallen sharply since the Second World War. In 1952 there were 450,000 head; this fell to 250,000 in 1965, to 120,000 in 1977 and to 45,000 in 1980. At the end of 2013 the total number recorded for the breed in Italy was 13,054.

                   CHARACTERISTICS
Romagnola cattle are ivory-white, tending to grey on the foreparts, particularly in bulls; the skin and natural openings are black. The colour of the coat varies with the season, and is darker in winter. The horns are light, lyre-shaped in cows, half-moon-shaped in bulls; they are slate-grey in young animals, becoming pale at the base and dark at the tip with maturity. As with all Podolic cattle, the calves are born wheat-coloured but become white at about three months.

                             USE
The Romagnola was in the past primarily a draught breed, though raised also for meat; limited dairy use is also documented. In the years before and after the Second World War the progressive mechanisation of agriculture meant that demand for draught oxen disappeared. It is now raised only for meat.
Calves weigh 40–45 kg at birth, and are normally sent to slaughter at 16–18 months, at a weight of 650–700 kg; yield is 62–63%. The meat is considered to be of high quality and carries a registered mark of quality. With theChianina and the Marchigiana, the Romagnola is one of three breeds whose meat may, if raised within a specific area of the Apennines of central Italy, have IGP status as Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale.
(Wikipedia.com)

Hereford Cattle

Hereford cattle are a beef cattle breed, widely used in many different climates, primarily for meat production.
Originally from Herefordshire, England,United Kingdom, more than five million pedigree Hereford cattle now exist in over 50 countries. The Hereford cattle export trade began from United Kingdom in 1817, starting in Kentucky,United States, spreading across the United States and Canada throughMexico to the great beef-raising countries of South America. Today, Hereford cattle dominate the world scene from Australasia to the Russiansteppes. They can be found in Israel,Japan and throughout continental Europe and Scandinavia.
They are found in the temperate parts of Canada, the United States, Kazakhstanand Russia, as well as the temperate parts of Australia, the centre and east ofArgentina, in Uruguay, in Chile and New Zealand, where they make up the largest proportion of registered cattle.They are found all around Brazil and they are also found in some Southern African countries (mainly in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe). They originally found great popularity among ranchers of the American Southwest, testament to the hardiness of the breed; while originating in cool, moist Britain, they have proven to thrive in much harsher climates on nearly everycontinent.
The World Hereford Council  is based in the United Kingdom; the Secretary General, Mrs. Jan Wills, is from New Zealand. There are currently 17 member countries with 20 Hereford societies and 10 nonmember countries, with a total of eight societies.

                        Polled Hereford

The Polled Hereford is a hornless variant of the Hereford with the polledgene, a natural genetic mutation that was selected into a separate breed beginning in 1889.
Iowa cattle rancher Warren Gammon capitalized on the idea of breeding Polled Herefords and started the Polled Hereford registry with 11 naturally polled cattle. American Polled Hereford Association (APHA) was formed in 1910. The American Polled Hereford and American Hereford breeds have been combined since 1995, under the same American Hereford Associationname.

                 Traditional Hereford

Many strains of Hereford have used other cattle breeds to import desired characteristics, and this has led to changes in the breed as a whole. However, some strains have been kept separate, and these have retained characteristics of the earlier breed, such as hardiness and thriftiness. The Traditional Hereford is now treated as a minority breed of value for genetic conservation.

                              Health

Eye cancer (ocular squamous cell carcinoma) occurs in Herefords in particular in countries with continued bright sunlight and those that prefer traits of low levels of red pigmentation around the eye.Studies have been made into eye cancer in Hereford cattle in the US and Canada, and lid and corneoscleral pigment were found to be heritable and likely to decrease the risk of cancer. Vaginal prolapse is considered a heritable problem in Hereford cattle, but it may also be influenced by nutrition.Another problem is exposed skin on the udder being of light pigmentation and therefore vulnerable to sun burn.
Dwarfism is known to be prevalent in Hereford cattle and has been determined to be caused by an autosomal recessive gene. Due to equal occurrence in heifers and bulls, dwarfism is not considered a sex-linked characteristic.
Source:Wikipedia.com          
    
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Norwegian red cattle

                    Norwegian Red Cattle

Norwegian Red (Norwegian: Norsk rødt fe) is a breed of dairy cattle developed in Norway since 1935. Since the 1970s, breeders strongly emphasized functional and production traits resulting in excellent production combined with world-leading performance in health and fertility traits. Norwegian Red cows can have either a red and white or black coat and have a high proportion of genetically polled animals.

                        Size and Weight

Production in the best herds exceeds 10,000 kilograms (22,000 lb), with the top cows milking more than 16,000 kilograms (35,000 lb). Growth traits are also included in the index, and young sires for progeny testing have a growth rate of approximately 1.4 kg/day. Fully-grown cows and bulls have a live weight of up to 600 kilograms (1,300 lb) and 1,300 kilograms (2,900 lb) respectively.
Norwegian Red cows have an average height of 137 centimetres (4.49 ft) at the point of withers. The average height for bulls varies greatly, but the average is around 145 centimetres (4.76 ft) tall at the point of withers.

                    Fertility and Health

Fertility was first included in the Norwegian Red breeding program in 1971.The Norwegian Red is likely the most fertile breed of dairy cattle in the world due to the selection of breeding and genetics for increase fertility for more than 40 years.
Calving ease has been included in the selection program since 1978.The Norwegian Red is characterized as a breed with a low frequency of calving difficulties. Less than 2% of the calvings are reported as having major calving difficulties. Stillbirths are also included in the index, and less than 3% of Norwegian Red calves are stillborn.
Health traits have been included in the net merit index since 1978. Currently mastitis and other diseases (in particular ketosis, milk fever, and retained placenta) are included in the breeding program. Although these are low heritability traits, progeny testing based on a high number of daughters provides a selection index with high accuracy. Progeny testing for mastitis is currently based on approximately 300 daughters.

                                 Polled

Norwegian Reds may be either polled or horned. Currently 40% of the calves in Norway are born polled (genetically without horns).Systematic selection of polled sons after polled elite sires during recent years have increased the frequency of polled animals.

Youtube video of notweguan red bulls

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