Milking Shorthorn
Encyclopedia
Breed
A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...
of dairy cattle
Dairy cattle
Dairy cattle are cattle cows bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cows generally are of the species Bos taurus....
that originated in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. It developed from the Shorthorn
Shorthorn
The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late 18th century. The breed was developed as dual purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however there were always certain blood lines within the breed which emphasised one quality or the other...
, which itself came from County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
in north eastern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The breed is known as Milking Shorthorn in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and as Dairy Shorthorn in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The Illawarra
Illawarra
Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven or South Coast region. It encompasses the cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and the town of Kiama. The central region contains Lake...
breed of Australia is also closely related to the Milking Shorthorn breed and have full registration reciprocity arrangements with international Milking Shorthorn populations, while at the same time being a unique sub-population.
Characteristics
Attributes of the breed include ease of calving, ease of management and economy of production, especially on home-produced roughages and grass. Milking Shorthorns are an average-sized breed, with mature cows averaging 140 cm (55.1 in) tall at the tailhead, and weighing 640 to 680 kg (1,411 to 1,499.1 lb). They are all-red, red with white markings, all-white, or red roan. Average milk production for the breed is about 7000 kg (15,432.4 lb) in an annual lactation of 305 days, with 3.8% butterfat and 3.3% protein.Milking/Dairy Shorthorn cattle are also known for high levels of fertility, grazing efficiency, and ease of management that result in the breed being high suitable for low-input dairy operations in various production environments.
History
Dairy Shorthorn cattle, known at that time as Durhams, were among the first cattle to be imported into Australia.The first dairy cows imported into in New Zealand were Shorthorns, when in 1814, they were shipped from New South Wales. Shorthorns were used as draught animals in bullock teams, were good milkers and provided good meat. Shorthorn herds were established by the early 1840s, and for a long time Shorthorns were New Zealand’s most popular cattle breed.
The first importation of Shorthorns to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was to Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1783. With further imports through the 1800s the breed spread across the whole country.
One of the first official demonstrations of the production ability of Milking Shorthorns was made at the World's Exposition in Chicago in 1893 where two of the leading cows of the test were Kitty Clay 3rd and Kitty Clay 4th, the latter standing third in net profit over all breeds. These sister cows became the foundation for the Clay cow family of Milking Shorthorns, developed at Glenside Farm, Granville Center, Pennsylvania.
The breed has served as part of the foundation for other red dairy breeds, including Swedish Red cattle
Swedish Red Cattle
Swedish Red Cattle, also called Swedish Red-and-White Cattle, are a dairy cattle breed from Sweden that originated from English Milking Shorthorn dairy cattle and Scottish Ayrshire cattle. They are a robust and resilient, well known for their calving ease, fertility, udder health, and longevity...
, Angeln
Angeln
Modern Angeln, also known as Anglia , is a small peninsula in Southern Schleswig in the northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Bay of Kiel...
cattle and Illawarra cattle
Illawarra cattle
The Illawarra cattle breed was started by Australian dairymen who improved their herd by introducing the bloodlines of superior cattle from a number of dairy breeds, especially the Ayrshire, Devon and Milking Shorthorn...
in Australia (with some significant Ayrshire ancestry). The Ayrshire cattle
Ayrshire cattle
The Ayrshire cattle is a breed of dairy cattle originated from Ayrshire in Scotland. The average mature Ayrshire cow weighs 1,000-1,300 pounds . Ayrshires have red markings. The red can be an orange to a dark brown, with or without coloured legs. They are known for low somatic cell counts,...
breed was originally formed from dairy-type Shorthorn cattle in Scotland.
Current Status
The Milking Shorthorn breed is seeing a steady increase in popularity again after many decades of decline. The hardy, efficient nature of the breed and its suitability to pasture/forage-based dairying is leading this recovery. As well, the breed has embarked on a program of genetic expansion over the past 30 years in order to continue making genetic progress for dairy characteristics while at the same time counter-acting a diminishing gene pool by incorporating some of the best genetics from other red dairy breeds. American and Canadian Milking Shorthorn populations have incorporated genetics from the Illawarra breed in Australia to a high degree, as the Illawarra population has a high degree of Shorthorn ancestry. The North American populations have also made strategic use of Red Holstein genetics and in recent years have started to use some Swedish Red Breed sires as well. In the UK Dairy Shorthorn and Australian Illawarra populations, this level of genetic expansion or "blending" has been even more pronounced than in North America, incorporating Danish Red, Swedish Red, Red Holstein, Red Friesian, Ayrshire, and Red Angler genetics in varying degrees.While these genetic expansion programs have been embraced, national breed associations have been instrumental in ensuring that the breed works to retain the characteristics that make it an efficient alternative in the dairy industry. National breed associations have been active in either approving sires for use or directly selling semen on a range of sires of varying purity percentages. All countries have different herd book mechanisms for tracking the percentage of purity on each registered animal.
There are small groups of Milking/Dairy Shorthorns that have not incorporated outside genetics and remain true to the conformation and production levels of Shorthorns from the earlier part of the 20th century. The Dairy Shorthorn population in Australia, as well as the Native Milking Shorthorns of the United States are examples of such groups. There are also breeders in the United Kingdom that have only 100% pure Dairy Shorthorns. In some countries, these animals may be known as Dual Purpose Shorthorns, as they tend to have higher fleshing capabilities than traditional dairy cattle.