The Holstein (may also be know as Holstein-Friesian or Friesian) is a breed of dairy cow known today as the world's highest production dairy animal. Originating in Europe, Holsteins were developed in what is now the Netherlands and more specifically in the two northern provinces of North Holland and Friesland (not from Holstein, Germany). The animals were the regional cattle of the Batavians and Frisians, two tribes who settled in the coastal Rhine region around 2,000 years ago.
The Dutch breeders bred and oversaw the development of the breed with the aim of obtaining animals which would make best use of grass, the area's most abundant resource. The result, over the centuries, was an efficient, high-producing black-and-white dairy cow. It is black and white due to artificial selection by the breeders.
With the growth of the new world, markets began to develop for milk in America, and dairy breeders turned to The Netherlands for their livestock. After about 8,800 Holsteins had been imported, disease problems in Europe led to the cessation of imports.
In Europe, the breed is used for milk in the North, meat in the South - Since 1945, European development has led to cattle production becoming increasingly regionalized. Over 60% of the cattle herd and under 50% of the usable agricultural area, but over 80% of dairy production, is to be found to the north of a line joining Bordeaux and Venice. This change led to the need for specialized animals for dairy (and beef) production. Until this time, milk and beef had been produced from dual-purpose animals, and the leading breeds, national derivatives of the Dutch Friesian , had become very different animals from their American counterparts. It was the obvious choice to import superior production animals to cross with the European black and whites. For this reason, in modern usage of the word Holstein is used to describe North American stock and its use in Europe. Friesian , denotes animals of a traditional European ancestry. Crosses between the two are described by the term Holstein-Friesian .
Physical characteristics
Holstein have very distinctive markings and outstanding milk production. They are large animals with color patterns of black and white. In the strictest definition, a Holstein cow usually has black ears, white feet, and white end of the tail.
Size: A healthy calf weighs 30 to 35 kg (about 65-80 lbs.) or more at birth. A mature Holstein cow typically weighs 680 kg (1,500 lbs), and stands 147 cm (58 inches) tall at the shoulder. Holstein heifers can be bred at 15 months of age, when they weigh over 360 kg (792 lbs.) Generally, breeders aim for Holstein heifers to calve for the first time between 23 and 26 months of age. Gestation period is about nine months.
History
300 BC: Pastoral nomads from Central Asia arrived with their cattle in the river Ems / middle arm of the Rhine area.
100 BC: A displaced group of people from Hesse, migrated with their cattle to the shores of the North Sea near the Friesians, occupying the island of Batavia, between the Rhine, Maas and Waal. Historical records suggest these cattle were black; and that the Friesian cattle at this time were "pure white and light coloured". Crossbreeding may have led to the foundation of the present Holstein-Friesian breed, as the cattle of these two tribes from then on appear identical in historical records
The portion of the country bordering on the North Sea was called Frisia, situated within the provinces of North Holland, Friesland and Groningen and in Germany to the river Ems. The people were known for their care and breeding of cattle.
The Friesians, preferring pastoral pursuits to warfare, paid a tax of ox hides and ox horns to the Roman government, whereas the Batavians furnished soldiers and officers to the Roman army; these fought successfully in the various Roman wars. The Friesians were thus able to breed the same strain of cattle unadulterated for two thousand years, except from accidental circumstances. 1282: Floods produced the Zuider Zee, separating the cattle breeders into two groups. The western group occupied West Friesland, now part of North Holland; the eastern, the present provinces of Friesland and Groningen.
The rich Polder land in the Netherlands is unsurpassed for the production of grass, cattle and dairy products. Between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, the production of butter and cheese was enormous, and history tells of the existence of remarkably heavy meat cattle, weighing from twenty-six hundred to three thousand pounds.
The aim was to produce as much milk and beef as possible from the same animal, and selection, breeding and feeding have been carried out with huge success. Inbreeding was not tolerated, and (distinct) families never arose, although differences in soil in different localities produced different sizes and variations.
United Kingdom
17th to 18th C.: Dutch cattle appear to have been imported into the British Isles, becoming influential in the formation of several breeds in England and Scotland. The eminent Prof. Low recorded: "the Dutch breed was especially established in the district of Holderness, on the north side of the Humber; northward through the plains of Yorkshire. The finest dairy cattle in England...", of Holderness in 1840 still retained the distinct traces of their Dutch origin.
Further north in the Tees area, imports likewise took place of continental cattle from The Netherlands, Holstein or the countries on the Elbe. He added: "Of the precise extent of these early importations we are imperfectly informed, but that they exercised a great influence on the native stock appears from this circumstance, that the breed formed by the mixture became familiarly known as the Dutch or Holstein breed".
Holstein Friesians were found throughout the rich lowlands of France, Belgium, The Netherlands and the western provinces of Germany. The breed did not become established in Great Britain at the time, nor did it invade the islands of Jersey or of Guernsey, where laws existed against imports for breeding purposes from the continent.
Late 19th and early 20th centuries: around 2,000 in calf heifers and several bulls and cows were imported from Canada together with several shiploads of store cattle. This was followed up with the importation of almost 200 animals in the years following World War II. This included a gift of 3 yearling bulls from Canadian breeders to help establish the breed.
The pure Holstein Breed Society was started in 1946 while the British Friesian Cattle Society had already existed for some time. The breed developed slowly up to the 1970s after which there was an explosion in its popularity and following which a considerable number of important imports took place. More recently, the two Societies merged in 1999 establishing Holstein UK as we know it today.
Numbers
Records on 1 April 2005 from NUTS1 (Nomenclature for Units of Territorial Statistics level 1) show Holstein influence appearing in 61% of all 3.47 million dairy cattle in the UK:
- Holstein Friesian (Friesian with more than 12.5% and less than 87.5% of Holstein blood): 1 765 000 (51%)
- Friesian (more than 87.5% Friesian blood): 1 079 000 (31%)
- Holstein (more than 87.5% of Holstein blood): 254 000 (7%)
- Holstein Friesian Cross (any of the above crossed with other breeds): 101 000 (3%)
- Other dairy breeds: 278 000 (7%)
The above statistics are for all dairy animals possessing passports at the time of the survey, i.e. including young stock. DEFRA lists just over 2 million adult dairy cattle in the UK
Definition
Holstein in this instance, and indeed in all modern discussion, refers to animals traced from North American bloodlines, while Friesian refers to indigenous European black and white cattle.
Criteria for inclusion in the Supplementary Register (i.e. not pure breed) of the Holstein UK herd book are as follows:
CLASS A: a typical representative of the Holstein or Friesian breed, as to type, size and constitution, with no obvious signs of cross breeding, or be proved from its breeding records to contain between 50% and 74.9% Holstein genes or Friesian genes. If the breeding records show that one parent is of a breed other than Holstein Friesian or Holstein or Friesian then such parent must be a purebred animal fully registered in a Herd Book of a dairy-breed society recognised by the Society.
CLASS B: For a calf by a bull registered or dual registered in the Herd Book or in the Supplementary Register and out of a foundation cow or heifer registered in Class A or B of the Supplementary Register and containing between 75% and 87.4% Holstein genes or Friesian genes.
For inclusion in the Pure (Holstein or Friesian) herd book, a heifer or bull calf from a cow or heifer in Class B of the Supplementary Register and by a bull registered or dual registered in the Herd Book or the Supplementary Register, and containing 87.5% or more Holstein genes or Friesian genes will be eligible to have its entry registered in the Herd Book.
Production
The breed currently averages 7655 litres/year throughout 3.2 lactations with pedigree
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