Frieswal

What do Frieswal cattle look like?

The Frieswal is a purpose-made dairy cow from India, blended from two parent breeds of very different kinds. The Holstein Friesian brings the milking capacity; the indigenous Sahiwal brings the constitution to stay productive in Indian conditions. Breeders set a numerical target for the cross: a cow giving 4,000 kg of milk at 4% butterfat across a 300-day lactation. Work towards that target continues, and the animals now stand in herds well beyond the army farms where the breeding began. Because this is a blend still being shaped rather than a type fixed long ago, individual animals differ, yet all trace back to the same two founders.

Where does the Frieswal come from?

The Frieswal came out of the Frieswal Project, an undertaking in which the army's Military Farms Service worked together with the Central Institute for Research on Cattle, part of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The plan was to combine Holstein Friesian milking stock with Sahiwal cows of local blood, then select generation after generation until a dependable, high-yielding dairy type emerged, one that would still cope with India's many climates. Thirty-seven military farms, spread through all the country's agro-climatic zones, served as the breeding grounds, so young animals grew up and were judged under widely differing conditions. The year 2018 brought a shake-up: fifteen army dairies closed, and 16,000 Frieswal cows were bought by the states for a token ₹1,000 each.

What the Frieswal is known for

The blend is meant to hold two qualities at once: the heavy milk flow of the Holstein Friesian and the staying power that the Sahiwal contributes in Indian conditions. A Frieswal's worth is counted in the bucket rather than in looks. The target fixed for the breed is 4,000 kg of milk at 4% butterfat across a 300-day lactation, and selection pushes cows towards that figure while they cope with whatever their local climate brings. Because herds stood in every agro-climatic zone of India, the animals have been tried under one set of conditions after another, not in a single favoured district.

How the Frieswal is bred and kept

Breeding follows a fixed method. Selected animals are mated among themselves, a close-breeding practice called inter se mating, which concentrates the chosen bloodlines within the herd. Bulls earn their place through progeny testing: a young bull works only on trial at first, and once his daughters grow up and milk well he counts as proven. High-yielding cows and bulls of this proven kind form the breeding core. Thirty-seven military farms across India's agro-climatic zones act as the testing bench, each herd adding its records. The Central Institute for Research on Cattle directs the science, the army's farm service supplies the herds, and the work continues today.

What the Frieswal is kept for

Milk is the reason this breed exists. The yardstick set for a finished Frieswal cow is 4,000 kg over a 300-day lactation, with butterfat at 4%. Cows were reared in the dairy herds of the military farms, and after the 2018 cutbacks large numbers passed into state hands, taking the cross into civilian milking herds. Yield is what selection rewards: the heaviest-milking cows are bred from, and a bull earns wide use only when his daughters' records justify it. Butterfat counts alongside volume, so the aim is always written as two figures, kilograms and percentage.

The land and climate of the Frieswal

Adaptability was a design requirement, not an afterthought. Breeding herds stood on thirty-seven military farms spread through every agro-climatic zone of India, so the cattle were raised and assessed under widely differing weather and fodder. The Sahiwal parent was brought in precisely so the cross would stay suited to Indian conditions. Since the 2018 dispersal sent cows to a number of states, the breed has gone on proving itself in new surroundings, always with the same brief: high milk yield without losing the toughness to cope where it lives.

Who keeps the Frieswal

The Frieswal's keepers were institutions rather than village herders. The Military Farms Service, the branch of the Indian Army that runs dairies, supplied land, herds and daily care, while a government research council institute directed the breeding. Thirty-seven army farms across the country reared the cattle and kept the yield records on which selection depended. A reorganisation in 2018 changed the pattern: fifteen farms closed, and 16,000 cows moved to the states for a token ₹1,000 apiece, so state herds now carry the breed forward.

Related breeds and crosses

Two breeds stand behind this cross. The Holstein Friesian lent its milking power; the Sahiwal, an Indian dairy breed in its own right, lent the ability to flourish in local conditions. The Sahiwal is the natural animal to compare with, since it makes up one half of the Frieswal's makeup. Crossing an exotic milking breed with a well-adapted local one is the method behind the whole venture.

Numbers, conservation and the herd book

Thirty-seven military farms, covering all of India's agro-climatic zones, carried the breeding programme, which is listed as ongoing. In 2018 the army reorganised and shut fifteen of those farms; sixteen thousand Frieswal cows left the military dairies that year, bought by the states for a token ₹1,000 each. The breed's distribution now runs across the whole country rather than resting on one circle of army farms.

Questions people ask about Frieswal

Good reading and sources

• Frieswal project: Present status and expectations for the futureFAO, Article

• Frieswal on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data