- Kerry cattle
Kerry cattle are a rare breed of
dairy cattle , native toIreland . They are believed to be one of the oldest breeds in Europe [ [http://www.kerrycattle.ie/history.asp History of The Kerry Cow] ] . Their coat is almost entirely black, with a little white on the udder. The horns are whitish with dark tips. Cows weigh about 350-400kg and produce 3000-3700kg of milk per lactation [ [http://www.kerrycattle.ie/thebreed.asp The Kerry Cattle Society] ] .The breed is probably descended from the Celtic Shorthorn, brought to Ireland as early as 2000 BC. They were developed as a milking breed suited to small subsistance farms of southern and western Ireland. They cause less damage to soils in high rainfall areas than larger breeds. By 1983 there were only around 200 pedigree Kerry cattle in the world [ [http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/kerry/ Oklahoma State University breed profile] ] , but numbers have since increased.
Kerry cattle were imported to the United States in 1818 and prospered in the nineteenth century, but had become scarce by the 1930s. Today there are only a few herds in North America, mostly more recent imports in
Canada .References
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