Milking Shorthorn

Milking Shorthorn cows in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The Milking Shorthorn or Dairy Shorthorn is a breed of dairy cattle that originated in Great Britain. It developed from the Shorthorn, which itself came from County Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire in north eastern England^[1].

The breed is known as Milking Shorthorn in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, and as Dairy Shorthorn in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

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 in) tall at the tailhead, and weighing 640 to 680 kg (1,400 to 1,500 lb). They are all-red, red with white markings, all-white, or red roan. Average milk production for the breed is about 7,000 kg (15,000 lb) in an annual lactation of 305 days, with 3.8% butterfat and 3.3% protein. The largest population is the Australian Illawarra population, followed by the American Milking Shorthorn population.

History

Milking Shorthorns under yoke as oxen

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.^[2] 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 was to Maryland and Virginia in 1783^[3]. 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, Angeln cattle and Illawarra cattle in Australia (with some significant Ayrshire ancestry). The Ayrshire cattle breed was originally formed from dairy-type Shorthorn cattle in Scotland.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• American Milking Shorthorn Society
• Dairy Shorthorn Association of Australia
• Canadian Milking Shorthorn Society
• NZ Milking Shorthorn Association
• Shorthorn Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland

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