They graced the estates of seventeenth century
nobility, and their descendants and other cattle carrying their
influence on farms in North America still inspire awe and curiosity
among passersby, while many stockmen aspire to own some of these
fascinating cattle.
The Dutch Belted breed is, according to
records, the only belted breed of cattle tracing back directly to
the original belted or "canvassed" cattle which were described in
Switzerland and Austria.
These "Gurtenvieh" were evidently moved by
Dutch nobility from the mountain farms of Canton Appenzell and Tyrol
Mountains during or soon after the feudal period. The Dutch were
very protective of their belted cattle and would generally not part
with them.
They were highly prized for their milking
and fattening abilities. The breed began to flourish in Holland
around 1750. (This historical account is found in Professor Raymond
Becker's book, Dairy Cattle Breeds: Origin and Development.)
Bulletin #21 of the Dutch Belted Cattle
Association of America published June, 1923, gives this insight
into the history of the breed in North America: "it is said that
the first importation of Dutch Belted Cattle was by the United States
Consul D. H. Haight in 1838; however, the first importation of importance
was made by P.T. Barnum, the great showman in 1840.
He was able to secure a few animals for show
purposes only by agreeing that they were to be used principally
for exhibition, as a feature of his great circus. Barnum’s herd
of cattle were exhibited for several years. Later they were placed
on a farm and this seems to be the beginning of the
Dutch Belted cattle in America. From that
time until 1906 a number were imported, but since 1906 our government
has not allowed any importations owing to the prevalence of the
foot and mouth disease in Europe."
"In America the Dutch Belted Cattle are
recognized as a dairy breed, and we find them in 1908 at the California
State Fair, where the cow, Julia Marlow No. 1187, made the most
butterfat at each milking for five consecutive days over all breeds.
Again in 1909, Lady Fresno No. 1183 won the
first prize and Julia Marlow the second prize over all breeds on
a five day butterfat test.
These performances were the more remarkable
because in 1909 there were only 18 Dutch Belted females of milking
age in the state of California. Passing on to the year 1914, we
find we have the best four cows in milk over all breeds at the Arizona
State Fair. In 1920, the champion diary cow of the state of Florida
was Ferndell No. 1961."
The Dutch Belted breed flourished in the
U.S. as a dairy breed from around 1815-1940. The herdbook of the
Dutch Belted Cattle Association of America was established in 1886.
This is the oldest continuously registering
herd book for belted cattle in the world, as even in Holland there
has not been a continuous herdbook, with the most recent being established
in 1979 after a lapse of almost 50 years. Advanced Registry was
established and the Dutch Belted cows made many notable milk records
for their day.
Breeders of Dutch Belted found the cattle
profitable as well as beautiful. A prominent Florida physician,
Dr. J. G. DuPuis, established a dairy in south Florida (where the
climate was considered unsuitable for such) and stocked it with
as many Dutch Belted cows as he could find, along with Holsteins
and Guernseys.
He preferred the Dutch Belted for their ease
of management and milk quality. He felt Dutch Belted milk was more
easily digestible due to the soft curd and high protein/fat ratio.
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
now lists Dutch Belted as on the critically rare breeds of livestock
in the North America, with fewer than 200 registered cattle in the
country.
The breed in the U.S. is the only source
of pure belted genetics in the world since the Lakenvelders in Holland
suffered from much crossbreeding from 1950 to 1976. In fact breeders
of Lakenvelders in Holland have turned to American Dutch Belted
Breeders several times since then for semen from pure bulls.
The results of Holland's breeding program
with Lakenvelders in the last 40 years is a demonstration of the
effects of crossbreeding on breed consistency.
In 1976, after two and a half decades of
cross breeding the original Lakenvelders, the remaining cattle of
those herds were only 2% well-marked. Since reintroduction of pure
bloodlines via semen from the U.S. in 1990, the national Lakenvelder
herd is 57% well-marked.
Among pure Dutch Belted cattle in the U.S.,
roughly 98% are wellmarked, and pure Dutch Belted bulls produce
up to 90% well-marked calves on cows of other breeds showing the
prepotency of the belted gene in pure individuals.
Dutch Belted have other unique characteristics
which make them desirable in crossbreeding programs. Of course,
due to the rarity of the pure Dutch Belted crossbreeding can only
be recommended by use of Dutch Belted males or semen on common cows,
not crossbreeding Dutch Belted females to males of other breeds.
Such crossing has been to some extent responsible
for the decline in numbers of pure Dutch Belted. Dutch Belted are
small-boned, making them very easy calving. They have unusual longevity
and fertility, high meat yield and friendly dispositions.
Dutch Belted Al sires are attracting interest
among grass based stockmen and dairymen because of these features.
Reference:
Written by Winifred Hoffman provided by
Dutch Belt Cattle Association of America, c/o American Livestock
Breeds Conservancy, PO Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312. Phone: (919)
542-5704
Photographs:
Dutch Belt Cattle Association of America
VVFC (Veterinary Cattle Breeding Club),
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
