Hereford cattle

{{short description|British beef cattle breed}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}} {{EngvarB|date=January 2018}} {{Infobox cattle breed | name = Hereford cattle | image = Hereford cow, Souris, Prince Edward Island.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = A white-faced red bull in a field | image_caption = Hereford cow near Souris, in Prince Edward Island | status = DAD-IS (2023): not at risk{{r|dad}} | altname = | country = United Kingdom | distribution = more than 60 countries{{r|dad2}} | standard = | use = beef | maleweight = {{convert|1075|kg|abbr=on|round=50|comma=off}}{{r|dad}} | femaleweight = {{convert|675|kg|abbr=on|round=50|comma=off}}{{r|dad}} | maleheight = {{convert|152|cm|abbr=on|0}}{{r|dad}} | femaleheight = {{convert|140|cm|abbr=on|0}}{{r|dad}} | skincolour = | coat = red and white | horn = horned or polled | subspecies = taurus | note = }}

The '''Hereford''' is a British breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands of England.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The story of the Herefords |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1UaAAAAIAAJ |last=Sanders |first=Alvin H. |year=1914 |publisher=Sanders Publishing Company |location=Chicago |access-date=12 July 2009}}</ref> It was the result of selective breeding from the mid-eighteenth century by a few families in Herefordshire, beginning some decades before the noted work of Robert Bakewell.{{r|cabi|p=197}}

It has spread to many countries; in 2023 the populations reported by 62 countries totalled over seven million head; populations of over {{val|100000}} were reported by Uruguay, Brazil and Chile.{{r|dad2}} The breed reached Ireland in 1775, and a few went to Kentucky in the United States in 1817; the modern American Hereford derives from a herd established in 1840 in Albany, New York.{{r|cabi|p=197}}<ref name=herdhist>{{Cite web |title=Early Chronology of the Hereford Breed 1723-1955 |url=http://www.herefordwebpages.co.uk/herdhist.shtml |access-date=5 April 2010 |publisher=The Hereford Herd Book Society |year=1995}}</ref> It was present in Australia before 1850, and in Argentina from 1858. In the twenty-first century there are breed societies in those countries and in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden in Europe; in Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay in South America; in New Zealand; and in South Africa.{{r|cabi|p=198}}

==History==

[[File:Illustrirte Zeitung (1843) 12 184 1 Hereford-Bulle des Herrn Jeffries.PNG|thumb|Bull of Mr. Jeffries, winner of first prize of the Royal Agricultural Show in Derby in 1843]] Until the 18th century, the cattle of Herefordshire resembled other cattle of southern England, being wholly red with a white switch, similar to the modern North Devon and Sussex breeds. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, other cattle (mainly Shorthorns) were used to create a new type of draught and beef cattle which at first varied in colour, with herds ranging from yellow to grey and light brown, and with varying amounts of white. By the end of the 18th century, the white face characteristic of the modern breed was well established, as was the modern colour during the 19th century.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zrzt7S8YesIC Trow-Smith, Robert (1959), ''A History of British Livestock Husbandry 1700–1900'', Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp 100–103.]</ref>

The Hereford is still seen in the Herefordshire countryside today<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5709 |title=Hereford Cattle, Ashford Carbonel (C) Richard Webb |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}</ref> and featured strongly at agricultural shows.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/216192 |title=National Hereford Show (C) Richard Webb |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/216196 |title=Here comes the judge (C) Richard Webb |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/216200 |title=National Hereford Show (C) Richard Webb |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}</ref> The first imports of Herefords to the United States were made about 1817 by the politician Henry Clay, with larger importation beginning in the 1840s.<ref name="History">{{Cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Timothy Lathrop |last2=Sotham |first2=William H. |title=History of Hereford Cattle: Proven Conclusively the Oldest of Improved Breeds |publisher=T. F. B. Sotham |year=1902 |location=Chillicothe, Missouri |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofherefor00mill/page/146 146] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofherefor00mill }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=George |editor-first=Milton |title=The Western Rural Year Book, a Cyclopedia of Reference |publisher=Milton George |year=1886 |location=Chicago |page=247 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRJJAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

== Polled Hereford ==

The Polled Hereford is an American hornless variant of Hereford with a polled gene, a natural genetic mutation selected into a separate breed from 1889.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=Cattle Breeds and Origin |publisher=David Roberts |year=1916 |location=Waukesha, Wisc. |pages=131–32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LXFNAAAAYAAJ }}</ref>

Iowa cattle rancher Warren Gammon capitalised on the idea of breeding Polled Herefords and started the registry with 11 naturally polled cattle. The American Polled Hereford Association (APHA) was formed in 1910. The American Polled Hereford and American Hereford breeds have been combined since 1995 under the same American Hereford Association name.<ref>[http://hereford.org/node/403 "Associations merge"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003161253/http://www.hereford.org/node/403 |date=3 October 2014}}. Retrieved 1 October 2014.</ref>

In Australia, the breed is known as the Poll Hereford.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cattle breeds: Poll Hereford | website=NSW Department of Primary Industries | date=13 September 2007 | url=https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/beef-cattle/breeding/beef-cattle-breeds/poll-hereford | access-date=30 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Price | first=Jack | title=Red Centre cattle property Mt. Skinner sold to South Australian family for almost $10 million |website=ABC News| date=31 July 2019 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-07-31/mt-skinner-station-sells-for-nearly-10m/11369076 | access-date=30 October 2022}}</ref>

==Traditional Hereford==

thumb|Hereford cattle are well adapted to cold climates.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Herefords |url=https://www.hereford.org/education/about-herefords/ |publisher=American Hereford Association |access-date=2026-02-02}}</ref>

Many strains of Hereford have used other cattle breeds to import desired characteristics, which has led to changes in the breed as a whole. However, some strains have been kept separate and retained characteristics of the earlier breed, such as hardiness and thriftiness.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.traditionalherefords.org/ |title=Traditional Hereford Breeders Club |website=www.traditionalherefords.org}}</ref> The Traditional Hereford is now treated as a minority breed of value for genetic conservation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rbst.org.uk/watch-list/cattle/hereford|title=British Rare Breed Survival Trust watchlist: Traditional Hereford |access-date=7 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120094027/http://www.rbst.org.uk/watch-list/cattle/hereford |archive-date=20 January 2010 |url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Health== thumb|upright|Cow with cross-bred calf Eye cancer (ocular squamous cell carcinoma) occurs in Herefords, notably in countries with continued bright sunlight and among those that prefer traits of low levels of red pigmentation round the eye.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://jas.fass.org/cgi/content/abstract/7/4/426 |author1=H R Guilbert |author2=A Wahid |author3=K A Wagnon |author4=P W Gregory |title=Observations on pigmentation of eyelids of Hereford cattle in relation to occurrence of ocular epitheliomas |journal=Journal of Animal Science |year=1948 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=426–9 |pmid=18891533 |access-date=5 April 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://jas.fass.org/cgi/content/abstract/9/4/578 |title=The Hereditary Aspect of Eye Cancer in Hereford Cattle |author1=R R Woodward |author2=Bradford Knapp, Jr |journal=Journal of Animal Science |year=1950 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=578–81 |doi=10.2527/jas1950.94578x |pmid=14794577 |access-date=5 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725221355/http://jas.fass.org/cgi/content/abstract/9/4/578 |archive-date=25 July 2008 |url-status=dead|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/DPI/nreninf.nsf/childdocs/-89E7A8DAFEA417624A2568B30004C26A-D84473774162CFC3CA256BC7008115C7-818472D32D00D8C74A256DEA002747BD-5155B7648C106DFBCA256BCF000BBD1B?open |title=Eye Cancer in Cattle |author=Gerry Watt |date=January 2006 |access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref> Studies of eye cancer in Hereford cattle in the US and Canada showed lid and corneoscleral pigment to be heritable and likely to decrease the risk of cancer.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Genetic Study of Eye Cancer in Cattle |author=D. E. Anderson |year=1991 |pages=21–26 |volume=82 |pmid=1997589 |doi=10.1093/jhered/82.1.21 |issue=1 |journal=The Journal of Heredity}}</ref> Vaginal prolapse is considered a heritable problem, but may also be influenced by nutrition.<ref>[http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/15/1/119.pdf A Study of Vaginal and Uterine Prolapse in Hereford Cattle]{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} Retrieved 22 December 2009.</ref><ref>[http://wvc.omnibooksonline.com/data/papers/2009_V505.pdf 81st Western Veterinary Conference: Medical and Surgical Management of Vaginal Prolapse in Cattle] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715000155/http://wvc.omnibooksonline.com/data/papers/2009_V505.pdf |date=15 July 2011}} Retrieved 22 December 2009.</ref> Another problem is exposed skin on the udder being of light pigmentation and so vulnerable to sunburn.

Dwarfism is known to occur in Hereford cattle, caused by an autosomal recessive gene.<ref>W. H. Smith and L. A. Holland. "Dwarfism in Beef Cattle". Dwarfism in Beef Cattle. Proc. Of 41st Annual Livestock Feeders' Day, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. N.p.: Kansas Agricultural Experiment Salon, n.d. 34-38. Kansas State University Libraries. Web. 3 November 2016. <http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/13309>.</ref> Equal occurrence in heifers and bulls means that dwarfism is not considered a sex-linked characteristic.<ref>Jan M. Jones and R. D. Jolly. "Dwarfism in Hereford Cattle: A Genetic Morphological and Biochemical Study." ''New Zealand Veterinary Journal'' 30.12 (1982): 185-89.</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist|45em|refs=

<ref name=cabi>Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). [https://books.google.it/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ&hl=en ''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''] (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{isbn|9781780647944}}.</ref>

<ref name=dad>[https://dadis-breed-datasheet-ws.firebaseapp.com/?country=GBR&specie=Cattle&breed=Hereford&external=1&lang=en Breed data sheet: Hereford / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Cattle)]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2023.</ref>

<ref name=dad2>[https://dadis-transboundary-ext-ws.web.app/?species=Cattle&transboundary=Hereford&lang=en Transboundary breed: Hereford]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2023.</ref>

}}

==External links== {{Commons}} *[http://www.herefords.com World Hereford Council] *[http://www.hereford.org American Hereford Association] *[http://www.herefordsaustralia.com.au/ Australian Hereford Society] *[http://www.hereford.ca Canadian Hereford Association] *[http://www.irishhereford.com/ Irish Hereford Breed Society] *[http://herefords.co.nz/ New Zealand Hereford Association] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130306111213/http://www.herefordamerica.com/associations.html#State/National List of US State/National Hereford Associations] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130306111213/http://www.herefordamerica.com/associations.html#International List of Other International Hereford Associations] *[http://www.cattle.com/BreedsofCattle/breed_information.aspx?breed=Polled+Hereford Polled Hereford Breed Information] - Cattle.com *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090404051007/http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/polledhereford/index.htm The Origin and Growth of Polled Herefords] - Oklahoma State University *[https://web.archive.org/web/20190824204428/http://www.herefordromania.ro/ Romanian Hereford cattle Society]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hereford cattle}} * Category:Beef cattle breeds Category:Cattle breeds originating in England Category:Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist Category:Herefordshire