How big were cows 50 years ago?

Answer 1

Fifty years ago (which would make it 1963) the Continental breeds were not around yet, since they didn't arrive to North America or gain popularity until after the 1970s. British breeds, mainly Hereford and a few Angus, were predominant in this era, and the average size of cattle then where around 1100 lbs. After the 1970s, cow size increased dramatically from 1100 lbs to over 1600 lbs. Today, a lot of beef cows are getting smaller, averaging around 1400 lbs instead of being 200 lbs heavier 10 to 20 years ago, due to an increase in demand from ranchers to have cows that are better on grass and thus easier to manage. It was found that large cows consume more feed which often meant they were more inefficient than the smaller cow. However, efficiency in feed really depends on the location, thus some areas are more adapt to raise smaller cows than others. Also, even though larger cows produce larger calves, a producer would have to have less large cows for his land base than with smaller cows.

That was for beef cows. For dairy cows, they have also increased in size, and are still considered quite large. The current standing average size of all dairy cows--which are predominantly Holsteins, numbering as around 94% of the dairy herd population of North America--is around 1600 lbs. (Note the operative word is "average." Cow size for dairy cows vary from 1000 lbs [Jersey] to over 1800 lbs [big ol' Holsteins].)