Murnau-Werdenfels Cattle are an old, robust dairy breed

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....

 from Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria

Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...

, the southernmost part of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

The animals are brown-yellow, but there are great colour variations from straw-yellow to reddish brown. Hooves and horn tips are black. There is a white rim around a dark muzzle. They are very long-lived and fertile. It is a German breed that is specially adapted to a husbandry in boggy landscapes. The breed originated in Tyrol

Tyrol (state)

Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and is closely related to Brown Swiss

Brown Swiss

Brown Swiss is a breed of dairy cattle that produces the second largest quantity of milk per annum, over . The milk contains on average 4% butterfat and 3.5% protein, making their milk excellent for production of cheese. The Brown Swiss is known for a long gestation period, immense size, large...

, Braunvieh

Braunvieh

Braunvieh is a breed of cattle originating from Switzerland. Braunvieh cattle imported to the United States in the 19th century were the origin of the modern, Brown Swiss cattle breed. Since the 1960s, Brown Swiss cattle have been crossed back into the Braunvieh stock of Europe...

 and Tyrolese Grey Cattle

Tyrolese Grey Cattle

The Tyrolese Grey Cattle is a typical alpine cattle breed from Tyrol in Austria and South Tyrol in Italy. It's a dual purpose breed with a very good milk and beef performance.The females are grown up with three years and reach a weight of 550 – 600 kg...

. Nowadays the main breeding region is around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...

 and Murnau

Murnau am Staffelsee

Murnau am Staffelsee is a market town in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region of Bavaria, Germany.Murnau is situated on the edge of the Bavarian alps, approx. 70 km south of Munich. Directly to its west is the Staffelsee lake.-History:Murnau was first documented in...

 that is also called "Werdenfels Country". The breed is in danger of extinction, with only around 130 females in the herdbook and frozen semen from around eleven males. the breed was voted Endangered Breed of the Year 2007 by the German Society for the Conservation of Old and Endangered Livestock Breeds. The Federal State of Bavaria maintains a suckler herd of cows and a sperm bank. It gives financial support to breeders. The breed is part of the Ark of Taste

Ark of Taste

The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of heritage foods in danger of extinction which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ecoregion...

 of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, dedicated to the preserving of endangered agricultural heritage.

Cows produce around 4,300 kg of milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

per year (3.8% fat; 3.4 % protein). They reach 128-130 cm in height and a weight of 5-600 kg, while the bulls may reach 138-145 cm and 850-950 kg. Both bulls and steers may be used for beef production. Steers formerly served as strong draught oxen, and were an important source of income for small farms.