All Breed Access: What is the status of Milking Shorthorns worldwide?

Ryan Barrett: The world’s Shorthorn populations are stronger than many know. In Australia, the Illawarra is the third most populous breed in the country, and have been widely recognized for their dairy character, great udders, and longevity of production. Australian Illawarras continue to have a great impact on North American genetics in recent years.

The US has a rapidly growing Milking Shorthorn population, with many breeders recognizing the efficiency of production that the breed presents. With the 4th largest show at World Dairy Expo in 2006 and their recent inclusion in the Hoard’s Dairyman Judging Contest - the breed is getting deservedly more facetime! The CMSS is proud to work very closely with Dave Kendall and the AMSS in many projects, including young sire sampling.

The Dairy Shorthorn in the UK is also experiencing dramatic growth, both in registered cattle and crossbreeding. Many British breeders are going back to higher forage or pasture based production systems, where Shorthorns shine!

There is also a growing population of Milking Shorthorns in New Zealand. North America breeders are utilizing some New Zealand genetics now due to their efficiency on pasture and their outcross population.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 9:05 am by sschmidt and is filed under Guest Blogger Series. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.