Randall Lineback
A horned, colour-sided triple-purpose breed from Vermont, kept for milk, meat and work
The Randall Lineback is an American triple-purpose breed from Bennington County, Vermont, descended from the old colour-sided New England farm cattle. Medium sized and horned, it is marked black over white and can range from nearly white to very dark, and it was kept for milk, beef and draught work. It is now critically endangered.
- A triple-purpose American breed from Bennington County, Vermont.
- A closed herd was kept on the Randall family farm from 1912.
- Over 500 head were counted in 2015.
- Listed as critical by the Livestock Conservancy in 2022.
- Vermont has named it a State Heritage Breed.
What do Randall Lineback cattle look like?
The Randall Lineback is medium sized on average, but individuals vary a good deal in build and height. Mature cows generally weigh between about 600 and 1100 lb, while bulls run from 1000 lb to 1800 lb or more. Both sexes carry horns. The coat follows a colour-sided lineback pattern: black markings laid over a white base, with animals ranging from nearly white to almost entirely dark. Blues, mahogany tones and greys also appear in the breed, and a number of recessive reds have been recorded. It is a taurine, humpless breed.
Where does the Randall Lineback come from?
The breed comes from Vermont, in the north-eastern United States. It descends from the colour-sided, or linebacked, cattle that were once widespread across New England, working stock that gave milk, meat and pulling power. Those ancestors are thought to have come from British, Dutch and French cattle. From 1912 a herd of this type was kept at Arlington or Sunderland, in Bennington County, Vermont, on the Randall family farm, largely closed to outside bulls. The family also milked Guernsey cows, so some crossing may have happened. After the family gave up dairying, the herd stayed on pasture for about fifteen years. It was broken up in 1985 and many animals were slaughtered.
What the Randall Lineback is known for
These cattle have a constitution suited to the New England climate, with its cold winters and changeable seasons. They do well on modest inputs where grass is the main feed, and they have always been associated with smallholdings rather than large units. Individuals vary, so size and shape differ from animal to animal. Hardiness and the ability to live off pasture are what keepers value, and the breed is a general farm animal rather than a specialist type.
How the Randall Lineback is bred and kept
The herd kept by the Randall family from 1912 was largely closed. New blood came in only rarely, and the Guernsey cattle on the same farm may have left a trace. That long isolation is what fixed the breed's look. A breed society was set up in 2005, and the Randall has been named a State Heritage Breed of Vermont. Breeding today means matching the few remaining animals carefully, since the population is small, and holding on to the lineback pattern and the general-purpose build. A small group moved to Tennessee in the 1980s, giving the breed a second centre, and many are still run on grass.
Randall Lineback, drawn
What the Randall Lineback is kept for
Randalls were all-purpose cattle. A family could milk them, raise a calf for meat and train an ox or a pair for hauling and field work; a yoked pair of oxen is pictured for the breed. They fitted the mixed farm, where a cow had to earn her keep in more than one way. Draught power mattered as much as the pail, and the calves went for beef. Today the breed is kept mostly to keep it going, with conservation herds and smallholdings carrying the line, and some animals are still broken to the yoke and worked.
The land and climate of the Randall Lineback
The home ground is Vermont and the wider New England countryside, a region of cold winters, short growing seasons and mixed grass. The breed's constitution fits that climate. Its best setting has been the small grass-based farm, the subsistence holding and the homestead, where cattle could be fed from pasture and roughage instead of bought concentrate. Randalls suit systems with modest inputs and plenty of grass, and it is on that kind of place that their particular qualities come out.
Who keeps the Randall Lineback
For most of the twentieth century the breed was in the hands of one family. The Randalls farmed in Bennington County, Vermont, and from 1912 kept this herd going, milking it and working its oxen. They also kept Guernsey cows. When dairying stopped, the cattle simply stayed out on pasture for around fifteen years. In 1985 the herd was broken up, and it was conservation-minded owners, some of them linked to The Livestock Conservancy (then the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy), who gathered up survivors and sent a small group to Tennessee.
At a glance: where it belongs
Land and climate
Peoples
Custom and folk tradition
The breed carries the name of the family that kept it. For decades the closed herd on the Randall farm was a familiar sight in Bennington County, and after the dairy stopped the animals were turned out and stayed on pasture for years. Vermont later named the Randall a State Heritage Breed, a way of marking the state's farm history. Colour-sided cattle of this kind were once common on working farms across New England, and the Randall is what remains of that older farm life.
Keeping Randall Lineback cattle
Randalls are run on grass. They were kept out at pasture for about fifteen years after milking ended. Their constitution suits the cold New England climate, and they are matched to modest-input, small-farm management where forage does the work. Keepers handle them as general farm cattle, taking milk, meat or the yoke as the season requires.
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
The Randall Lineback is rare. A count in 2015 put the whole population at more than 500 head. The Livestock Conservancy rates it as critical in 2022, and DAD-IS recorded it as critical-maintained in 2020. The FAO had already listed it as endangered in 2007. A breed society was formed in 2005, and Vermont has made the Randall a State Heritage Breed. The breed is found in Vermont, with a second group descending from the animals moved to Tennessee in the 1980s after the original herd was dispersed.
Questions people ask about Randall Lineback
Where does the Randall Lineback come from?
It comes from Bennington County in Vermont, in the United States. It descends from the colour-sided, or linebacked, cattle that were once common across New England. A herd kept by the Randall family from 1912 preserved the type, and the breed is named after them.
What is the Randall Lineback kept for?
It is an all-purpose breed, once kept for milk, for beef and for draught work on small New England farms. Today it is kept mostly for conservation, to save the line, and some animals are still trained as oxen for hauling.
How many Randall Linebacks are left?
Numbers are small. A count in 2015 gave more than 500 head in total. The Livestock Conservancy listed the breed as critical in 2022, and DAD-IS classed it as critical-maintained in 2020. The FAO recorded it as endangered in 2007.
What does a Randall Lineback look like?
It is a horned, medium-sized breed, though individuals vary. The coat is colour-sided, with black markings over a white base that can be almost white or very dark. Blue, mahogany and grey shades appear, and some animals are recessive red.
Why is the breed called the Randall Lineback?
The Randall part comes from the family that kept a closed herd on its Vermont farm from 1912. The lineback part describes the breed's colour pattern, in which black markings lie over a white base and vary from nearly white to very dark.
Good reading and sources
- Randall Lineback on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Randall Lineback", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryCow rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Sizes, colours and customs differ from one herd, valley or breeder to the next. Folk beliefs are described as tradition, never as advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-16.
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