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BreedsTriple T Angus Ranked Fourth in Angus Registrations for WV During 2026 ShowsComer, Danielsville exhibitors earn top honors at Georgia National Fair cattle show HealthCould AI Help Detect Pinkeye in Cattle?HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle variety HerdingTexas Cattle Feeders Convention to focus on herd rebuilding and 2027 outlook HistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgression HealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areas ShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of tradition ShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next week BreedsTriple T Angus Ranked Fourth in Angus Registrations for WV During 2026 ShowsComer, Danielsville exhibitors earn top honors at Georgia National Fair cattle show HealthCould AI Help Detect Pinkeye in Cattle?HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle variety HerdingTexas Cattle Feeders Convention to focus on herd rebuilding and 2027 outlook HistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgression HealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areas ShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of tradition ShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next week

EveryCow

Cattle breeds of Europe

Holstein Friesian, Jersey, Angus, Hereford, Charolais, Simmental, Highland and Chianina, and hundreds of local breeds. 138 breeds on EveryCow so far.

Cattle towns, fairs and pastures

Products of the region

Isigny butter (Normandy cultured butter)Clotted cream Buttermilk Skyr Filmjölk Viili Crème fraîche Smetana Quark Ryazhenka

Days

St Anthony's Day and the blessing of animals Imbolc and St Brigid's Day Beltane and the cattle fires Fête des Gardians St Wendelin's Day Samhain and the coming down of the herds Martinmas St Modestos's Day

Countries

🇮🇹 ItalyGarfagnina A horned, brindled grey dual-purpose breed from TuscanyTaurine · Dual-purpose

🇸🇮 SloveniaCikaCikasto govedo A small red-brown dairy breed from Slovenia's alpine valleys, with a white line along the backTaurine · Dairy · Thrifty foragers

🇩🇪 GermanyGerman AngusDeutsch Angus A polled German beef breed, black, brown or red, from Aberdeen Angus crossesTaurine · Beef · Docile

🇵🇹 PortugalAlentejana A rustic, gentle meat breed from Portugal's Alentejo region, once used for field workTaurine · Beef · Docile

🇷🇺 RussiaRed TambovКрасная тамбовская A red dual-purpose breed from Tambov Oblast in Russia, kept for milk and beefTaurine · Dual-purpose

🇵🇹 PortugalMertolenga A southern Portuguese beef breed from Mértola, once a draught ox in the rice fieldsTaurine · Beef

🇮🇹 ItalyPezzata Rossa d'Oropa A red-pied, dual-purpose breed from Piedmont's Vercelli and Biella provinces, ItalyTaurine · Dual-purpose 🇩🇪 GermanyGerman Red PiedDeutsche Rotbunte A red pied lowland breed from Germany, shaped in several regionsTaurine

🇫🇮 FinlandFinnish AyrshireSuomen Ayrshire Finland's most numerous dairy breed, red and white, from Scottish Ayrshire stockTaurine · Dairy · Rich milk

🇫🇮 FinlandFinncattle Small, hornless Finnish dairy cattle in three types: red, white and red-and-whiteTaurine · Dairy · Polled

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandÉvolène An endangered dual-purpose breed from the Swiss Alps, pied red or black with horns in both sexesTaurine · Dual-purpose · Cold-hardy 🇨🇭 SwitzerlandFribourgeoise An extinct black-pied Swiss dual-purpose breed, later absorbed into the HolsteinTaurine · Dual-purpose

🇧🇾 BelarusBelarus RedБеларуская чырвоная A red dairy breed of Belarus, long-lived and easy to feedTaurine · Dairy · Long-lived

🇬🇧 United KingdomWhitebred Shorthorn An always-white beef Shorthorn from the border hills, hardy and thriftyTaurine · Beef · Thrifty foragers 🇮🇹 ItalyMucca Pisana A horned beef cow from Tuscany, chestnut-coated with a red stripe down the spineTaurine · Beef 🇪🇸 SpainAndalusian BlackNegra Andaluza A black taurine beef breed from western Andalusia, long-horned and now endangeredTaurine · Beef · Docile 🇮🇹 ItalySardo Modicana A horned beef breed from Sardinia, its red coat ranging from pale to deep wine-redTaurine · Beef 🇩🇪 GermanyGerman Black Pied DairySchwarzbuntes Milchrind (SMR) A three-way dairy cross bred in East Germany from Jersey, Black Pied and Holstein bloodComposite · Dairy · Rich milk 🇮🇹 ItalySarda A small horned beef breed from Sardinia with a dark stripe along its spineTaurine · Beef

🇬🇧 United KingdomBlue Grey A blue roan suckler cow, bred from a black Galloway dam and a white Shorthorn sireTaurine · Beef · Polled 🇮🇹 ItalySardo Bruna A horned, mouse-grey beef breed from the island of SardiniaTaurine · Beef 🇮🇪 IrelandDroimeann A small Irish dual-purpose cow with a white stripe down its backTaurine · Dual-purpose · Docile 🇵🇹 PortugalAlgarvia A red or chestnut triple-purpose breed from the Algarve, rebuilt from survivorsTaurine · Dairy 🇮🇹 ItalyVarzese-Ottonese-Tortonese A pale wheaten, horned dairy-and-beef breed from Lombardy and its border hillsDual-purpose 🇵🇹 PortugalGarvonesa Dark-coated draught cattle from Portugal's Alentejo, with black head, legs and tailTaurine · Draught 🇷🇺 RussiaIstoben A dairy breed of Russia's Kirov region, recognised in 1943Dairy 🇪🇸 SpainAlistana-Sanabresa A reddish beef breed from Aliste and Sanabria in Castile and León, SpainTaurine · Beef 🇮🇹 ItalyModicana A horned dual-purpose breed from Ragusa province, Sicily, in wheaten to near-black coats.Dual-purpose 🇮🇹 ItalyPontremolese A horned beef breed from Tuscany, red-coated with black round the eyesBeef 🇷🇺 RussiaRed GorbatovКрасная горбатовская A red dairy breed from Gorbatov in central Russia, with white horns tipped blackTaurine · Dairy · Disease-resistant

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 3 moreOriginal Braunvieh A Swiss dual-purpose brown cow kept pure, unlike the modern BraunviehTaurine · Dual-purpose 🇬🇷 GreeceGreek Shorthorn A rare, small hill breed of north-west Greece, grey-blond to dark brown in colourTaurine 🇮🇹 ItalyAbruzzesePodolica abruzzese di montagna Extinct grey Italian breed of the Podolic group, once kept for meat and draughtTaurine · Dual-purpose 🇸🇪 SwedenSwedish Red PiedRödbrokig Svensk Boskap A red and white Swedish dairy breed, extinct, merged into the Swedish Red-and-WhiteTaurine · Dairy 🇵🇹 PortugalJarmelista A beef breed from the Guarda district of central Portugal, near the Serra da EstrelaBeef

🇮🇹 ItalyCinisara A black, horned milk-and-beef cow from the Palermo province of Sicily.Dual-purpose 🇵🇹 PortugalMarinhoa A large, docile breed from Aveiro District, central Portugal, in a light brown coatTaurine · Docile

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreBraunviehSchweizerisches Braunvieh A brown Alpine dairy breed from Schwyz, once kept for milk, meat and workTaurine · Dairy

🇬🇧 United KingdomSwona A feral herd on an Orkney island, on its own since the last people left in 1974Taurine · Beef · Disease-resistant

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreHereford A large red beef breed with a white face from Herefordshire, England, horned or polledTaurine · Beef · Thrifty foragers

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreJersey A small brown dairy breed from the Channel Island of Jersey, known for rich yellow milkTaurine · Dairy · Heat-tolerant

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreMiniature cattle Small cattle from around the world: old small breeds and newly bred miniature strainsTaurine · Miniature · Thrifty foragers

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Hereford: Hayden Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, source
Pezzata Rossa d'Oropa: CosyCobra, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Garfagnina: Mael Beau, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cika: romanm ( talk ), Public domain, source
German Angus: Bernd.K, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Alentejana: Tiago Lima, CC BY 2.0, source
Red Tambov: No machine-readable author provided. Nasiruddin assumed (based on copy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mertolenga: Joao 1968, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Finnish Ayrshire: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen, GFDL, source
Belarus Red: Homoatrox, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Finncattle: Eero Järnefelt, Public domain, source
Cinisara: HaguardDuNord, CC BY 4.0, source
Évolène: Trigaranus, Public domain, source
Whitebred Shorthorn: Dave Spicer, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Blue Grey: stuad70, CC BY 2.0, source
Original Braunvieh: Goldmull, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Braunvieh: CosyCobra, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Miniature cattle: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Swona: Ian Balcombe, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Jersey: Man vyi, Public domain, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven cattle breeds you may not know, the cattle days of the week ahead, and one product explained step by step.