Vorderwald Cattle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Vorderwald Cattle (in German: Vorderwälder Rind) is an old cattle breed from the "Vorderwald" that is a part of the Bregenzerwald in Vorarlberg in Austria.

Like the Hinterwald cattle, it is very adapted to the rough mountain conditions in the Black Forest.

The Vorderwald cattle is a dual purpose breed with the same accentuation on beef and milk performance.

The milk performance is about 5,000 kg with 4.0 % milk fat content and 3.65 % protein. The daily weight gain of growing bulls is about 1,100 g/d.

The breed counts as eminently vital and longliving. They have clear, good fundaments with good angles and very good claws. So they can be used in extreme pastures in hillside situations.

Cows: 128 - 135 cm; 600 kg Bulls:145 cm; 1,000 kg

The so called "Wald Cattle" was mentioned 1544 the first time. Already then they differentiated between a bigger breed (the today's Vorderwald cattle), and a smaller breed (the today's Hinterwald cattle).

Through crossing in of dairy breeds (Red Holstein and Montbeliard Cattle), the milk performance and the udder form could enhanced remarkably. Today the population is about 42,000 animals with 15,000 cows. 47 % of the cows are inseminated artificially.