Mexico #1 Cattle Breeds

1-The Gelbrah (aka Gelbray) is a cross between a Gelbvieh (5/8) and a Brahman (3/8). 2-The Mexican Holstein began with imported Holstein cattle from the USA which were then crossed with Mexican Criollo cattle to some degree. Today, large dairy operations use pure Holsteins. Smaller farms and dual-purpose breeders cross them with zebu cattle. Criollo cattle: Northwestern Blond Iberian Spanish cattle became Canary Island cattle – some of which were brought by Columbus in 1493 to Santo Domingo (which is now the capitol of the Dominican Republic). More and more cattle were brought by Spanish ships and these cattle then spread throughout the islands of the Caribbean and became known as Criollo cattle. It was into Mexico in 1521 that Criollo cattle were brought to the mainland for the first time (supposedly from Santo Domingo) – and it's from Mexico that the Criollo then spread into the Americas. 3-Sardo Negro Cattle are a mix of the zebu cattle, where the cattles’ coat is the defining characteristic that has been identified in the records as Agryrado-Indubrazil, Mouro coat color. The characteristics of the coat are black and white hair with red or brown spots occasionally showing up on the coat. They were first recorded as Gyr and were framed within the pattern of the breed and were approved by Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture in 1962. Later, they discontinued their classification is Gyr and became their own breed, Sardo Negro. These marked cattle are attractive, not only because of their color, but due to their characteristics of milk and meat production, precocity, fertility, longevity, maternal ability, and hardiness, resistance to infectious diseases, ectoparasites, adaptation and acclimatization. Sardo Negro cattle cross extremely well with the Bos Taurus, or European breeds of cattle to improve their productions of both meat and milk. At Butler Farms we have imported some beautiful Sardo Negro cattle to start our own herd. These cattle are very popular due to their coloring, as well as the Sardo Negro cattles’ milk and beef production. Contact us to learn more about our Sardo Negro cattle in the United States. 0-Criollo cattle were first brought to the New World with Christopher Columbus, with his second expedition in 1493. Hardy and durable, these cattle came from the desert country of Andalusia, in southern Spain. Having already evolved in a hot, dry climate with scarce feed and less water, these cattle were ideally suited to survive the rigors of an ocean crossing and adapt rapidly to a new environment. The conquistadores brought Criollo cattle with them, for draft, beef and milk, to all areas of the western hemisphere over the next few years. 5,000 head of Criollo cattle were brought with Onate's expedition through northern Mexico and the New Mexico area of the United States in 1593. Criollos spread rapidly across the arid and semi-arid regions of the western United States and northern Mexico. They flourished in a hostile environment, learning to utilize all available vegetation and stretch every ounce of drinking water. In villages all over Mexico and the southwest United States, each household kept a criollo cow for milk, and meat from her calves. Each village or two shared a Criollo bull, whose job was to cover all the cows in his area. A docile temperament was critical, as the Criollos were taken out to graze each day by the village boys, on foot. Over the next 400 years, the unique traits that define the Criollo breed were solidified: hardy & self-sufficient, needing little or no human intervention to thrive the ability to range far, eat a wide variety of vegetation, and aggressively hustle a living tolerance of extreme heat, cold & drought long-lived (a Criollo cow commonly will wean 20 calves) exceptional fertility (a Criollo bull will routinely cover 75 cows /season) extreme calving ease with low birth weights and vigorous, fast-growing calves docile, tractable temperament With the introduction of European beef breeds in the late 1800's, pure descendants of the original Spanish cattle almost disappeared, but some managed to survive with little human care or intervention in remote areas of Mexico, Central and South America, and some areas of the southern U.S. In the 20th Century, the popularity of rodeo events such as team roping and bulldogging sparked a brisk demand for Criollo cattle. With their small size, agile and athletic frame, stamina, heavy horns and gentle disposition, they were an ideal choice for these events, as well as for cutting and team penning. They are still in high demand as sport cattle today. This variety is referred to as "corriente." Today, there is a world-wide growing interest in the pure strains of these hardy, native cattle. Untainted with, and therefore not weakened by, the genetic manipulations of the animal husbandry industry, Criollo cattle provide the solution to many of the problems the modern beef industry is experiencing: consumers are more health-conscious, and want a smaller, leaner cut of steak for their tables with the rising cost of fuel and feed, ranchers need a cow that is self-sufficient, and thrives without costly supplementation or human intervention our rangelands need an animal that is easy on the land, that will graze on all available vegetation, and help reverse desertification and brushification that is rampant in our western states the environmental impact of the beef industry in general needs to be reduced, by utilizing an animal that gets fat and finishes out on grass & hay, with no need for grains The Criollo is the ideal solution to these urgent concerns