(1) SOURCE:  Oklahoma State University - Breeds of Livestock

Marchigiana (mar-key-jah-nah)(1)

Other Names: Del Cubante (Avellino).

The Marchigiana breed originated in the Marche and surrounding provinces of Italy near Rome. This area is typified by rough terrain and the available feed is often less than ideal. The breed now makes up about 45% of Italy's total cattle population.  The Marchigiana breed is widespread throughout the Marches, Labium, Abruzzo and Campania areas of Italy.

There seems to be considerable differences in opinion as to the exact origin of the breed. According to The Meaty Marchigiana, a leaflet published by the American International Marchigiana Society, they were brought into the area by the Barbarians after the fall of Rome in the fifth century. Anther version, put forth by Dr. Briggs in Modern Breeds of Livestock, is that it is a relatively new breed, being differentiated as late as 1933 and known locally at the time as the Improved Marche. 

 The Marchigiana hair coat is white. Calves are fawn or wheat colored at birth and will turn white at 3 to 4 months. They have pronounced black skin pigmentation. The tongue, muzzle, and orifices are black. The switch of the tail and area around the eyes has dark, almost black, hair.  The medium-sized horns are black at the tip, white in the middle, and have a yellowish cast at the base and usually curve forward in bulls and upward in females. Due to the introduction of the poll gene from foundation females used in grading up, percentage cattle are often selected for the polled trait in the United States.

 

     Nguni (1)

The breed from the past for the future
Nguni cattle are a sub-type of the African Sanga cattle associated with the pastrolist cattle culture of the Negro/Bantu people of Africa. Protein analyses indicate that they have characteristics of both Bos Taurus and Bos Indicus cattle.

Physiologically they have characteristics that place them apart from both types. What is certain is that they have been shaped by natural selection in the African environment for thousands of years.

Galloway (1)

Historian's writings differ somewhat, but upon three points they generally agree regarding the origin of the Galloway. The breed is recognized to be a very ancient one, with obscure origins shrouded in antiquity and its' name derived from the word Gallovid or Gaul.

Characteristics

The most visible characteristic of the Galloway is their long hair coat. Serving a dual purpose, the coarse outer coat sheds wind and rain, while the soft, fur-like under coat provides insulation and waterproofing. The color of the coat ranges from the more popular Black, to Dun (silver through brown), Red, White (with dark pigment about the eyes, nose, ears and teats), and the Belted (black, dun or red, with a white band around the middle).

It is said that the Galloway breed was never crossed with the other breeds. It is not known where the polled character was acquired by the Galloway breed because in its beginning many of the cattle were horned. However, many writers during the last part of the 1700s and early 1800s mentioned polled Galloway cattle, and the breeders decided they liked the polled characteristic and started selecting their cattle for the character. Most of the early cattle in the Galloway district were black, but red, brown, brindles, and cattle with white markings were not uncommon.  ALSO SEE:  WHITE GALLOWAY  for amazing photos.

"Galloway cattle are generally very docile," quotes William Youatt, (English researcher, scientist, veterinary surgeon, historian & standard writer on cattle in the early 1800s.) He goes on to say, "This is a most valuable point about them in every respect. It is rare to find even a bull furious or troublesome." Galloways are very courageous however, and if annoyed by dogs or wild animals, they will act in concert, by forming a crescent and jointly attacking.

William McCombie, (pioneer Scottish Angus & Shorthorn breeder) said, "The Galloway undoubtedly has many great qualifications. On poor land they are unrivaled, on land so poor our Aberdeens could not subsist upon it. There is no other breed worth more by the pound weight than a first-class Galloway."

 

Nelore (1)

It was in Brazil that some authors started to use the name Nellore as a synonym to Ongole, the Indian breed that contributed most to the creation of the Nelore.The history of the Ongole dates back 2,000 years before Christian times. It was the Aryan people that brought the ancestors of the Nelore to India, where they were submitted to extreme weather conditions. The arid lands of Belushistan, the cold winters of Punjab, the alluvial lands of Ganges and the torrid lands by the Bengal sea provided the Ongole breed with the adaptation genes that are now favorably expressed in the modern Nelore.

Fjall(Fjällras) (1)

Also known by: Swedish Mountain, Fjällras, Swedish Highland

The Fjall is polled and of typical dairy type, its considered a very good grazing animal and an efficient milk producer. The color varies from nearly totally white, to white with spots of black or red, over to colour-sided black or red with white top and bottom line. Sometimes even single colored black or red animals occur. More seldom can gray color be seen.

The Fjall is closely related with the Norwegian breed " Sidet tronderfe/nordlandsfe" or "STN

See Also:  Swedish Mountain Cattle  (Fjällras)
for additional photos and detailed information.

Breed Society:  Svensk Fjällrasavel, Larstorp, S-590 30 Borensberg, Sweden

Blanco Orejinegro (1)

Also Known As: Antioquia, Bon, BON

They are white with black points. The coloration of the breed has lead to speculation as to its ancestory with possible connections to Wild White, Swedish Mountain, Trondheim, Mauritius or White Italian cattle considered possible. A more likely origin is that the breed was simply selected for the color pattern over a period of time.

Channi (1)

The Channi is one of the premium draft breeds of Pakistan and India.

Cholistani (1)

The Cholistani is a multi-purpose breed, being used for both meat and milk and as a draft animal. They are Zebu or Bos indicus cattle and are found in the Cholistan desert in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Cholistani are usually speckled red, brown or black. They are of recent origin and are thought to have been derived from the crossing of Sahiwal with the local cattle.

Dhanni (1) The Dhanni is a draft type that is found in Attock, Rawalpindi and Jhelum districts in Punjab Province of Pakistan. The coloring in the majority of Dhanni cattle consists of black or red/brown spots on a white coat. The average weight at maturity is 400 kg for males and 300 kg for female

Vestland Fjord (1)

This is a non-commercial rare breed with a registered population of 100 heifer (2 years and younger) and 214 cows as of January 1995.

The Vestland Fjord can be horned or polled, multi-coloured dual purpose cow that is common to the fjord area of Western Norway. It is short-legged and small-boned. It is the smallest of the native Norwegian breeds. It is a relatively efficient milk yielder for its size, producing approximately 4000 kg a year on a high roughage diet. Live weight is approximately 400 kg. Semen reserves in 1995 was 15,331 units (20 bulls).

The Speckle Park is a relatively new composite breed whose origins in the 1950's are not wholly known.  But for certain a polled White Park (British White) was key to the Foundation animals established.   Most recently the history of the breed reflects speculation that a Teeswater Shorthorn female sired by a polled White Park bull was the foundation maternal line of the breed.  Black Angus bulls were used in the development of the breed known today as Speckle Park.  The various color patterns seen in this breed are identical to those found in the polled and horned White Park herds of today, but on a much more limited basis as British White and White Park breeders discourage continued breeding for 'overmarked' seedstock. 

" . . . Mary Lindsay had spotted a red roan heifer in her fathers herd a few years before and because she was interested in unusual colors she bought the heifer. Regardless of the herd sire she bred the cow to it always produced calves with that color pattern. It is believed that the heifer was a descendent of a Teeswater Shorthorn which had been bred to a White Park bull.

The Lamonts crossed their speckled cows with Black Angus bulls . The resulting offspring came in a variety of color patterns, some white with black points, some leopard colored and some black sided with speckled hips, white top and underline and roan faces. The Lamonts grew very interested and decided to attempt to develop a new breed. . . "

Pictures courtesy of Legacy Speckle Parks, the herd developed by the Vogel family of Saskatchewan, Canada