About Holsteins
From Wikipedia:The Holstein or Holstein-Friesian (the latter referring to a smaller, heavier breed) is a cattle breed used in dairy farming. This use of Holstein is found twice in history:
- In Britain it was used (with "Dutch" as synonym) to indicate the imported cattle ancestral to the shorthorn; a significant proportion of those animals did come from Holstein.
- In modern US English it refers to animals based almost exclusively on stock from the Netherlands. This use goes back to the use of "Holstein" in the title of a very influential article by Winthrop W. Chenery, the Massachusetts resident who purchased the US's first Holland cow from a Dutch sailing master in 1852.
History
Developed in the United States of America from "purebred" Friesian (-Holland) stock imported for the largest part from the provinces Friesland-the main purebred breeding area in the 19th century- and North Holland-the secondary breeding area- in The Netherlands, the Holstein is sometimes also known as the Friesian Holstein or the Holstein Friesian.
The Holstein is now the most common breed of dairy cattle around the world - in the U.S., Holsteins constitute 90% of the 10 million dairy cow population. The Holstein's most outstanding characteristic is its combination of a high volume of milk production at an acceptable milk fat percentage. Typical Holstein milk is 3% to 4% milk fat (the Jersey, another popular dairy breed, produces about half the volume of milk per cow per day, but at 4 to 4.5% milk fat). European Holstein herds (especially in Denmark and the Netherlands) can produce much higher fats - some as high as 4.6% - even with yields per cow per year of 8,000 litres.
Although the ancestral Holstein and Friesian herds are merged in parts of the world, breeding records are often kept by the industry to indicate the percentage of Holstein and Friesian ancestry in a particular animal.
Stereotypical Cow
Although there are many different kinds of cattle, when most people hear 'cow', they immediately think of the distinctive black-on-white pattern marking Holstein cattle. These markings are often called "cow spots", even though they are only found on three breeds of dairy cattle: black and white on Holsteins, red and white on Ayrshires, and brown and white on Guernseys. Spotted reddish-brown patterns are also rarely seen on Jersey cattle.
Colored "spots" on dairy cattle are like fingerprints or snowflakes; no two cows have exactly the same pattern.
The computer company Gateway, Inc., uses a Holstein print on their shipping boxes, as a nod to the company's Midwestern roots. The "black and white spot design" is a registered trademark of Gateway, Inc.
The Chick-fil-a chain of fast-food restaurants uses upright-walking Holstein mascots and the trademark line, "Eat Mor Chikin," to convince people to eat chicken instead of beef, even though Holsteins are rarely used for beef.
The Pee-wee's Playhouse character Cowntess the Cow is a Holstein.
Ben & Jerry's ice cream features images of Holstein cattle on its packaging.
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