The Hereford is a British breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands of England.
It has spread to many countries; in 2023 the populations reported by 62 countries totalled over seven million head; populations of over were reported by Uruguay, Brazil and Chile. 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.
History
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 cattle breeds. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, other cattle (mainly
) 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.
[ Trow-Smith, Robert (1959), A History of British Livestock Husbandry 1700–1900, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp 100–103.]
The Hereford is still seen in the Herefordshire countryside today
Polled Hereford
The Polled Hereford is an American hornless variant of Hereford with a
polled livestock gene, a natural
genetic mutation selected into a separate breed from 1889.
Iowa cattle rancher Warren Gammon capitalised on the idea of breeding Polled Herefords and started the Breed 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.[ "Associations merge" . Retrieved 1 October 2014.]
In Australia, the breed is known as the Poll Hereford.
Traditional Hereford
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.
The Traditional Hereford is now treated as a minority breed of value for genetic conservation.
Health
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.
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.
Vaginal prolapse is considered a heritable problem, but may also be influenced by nutrition.
[ A Study of Vaginal and Uterine Prolapse in Hereford Cattle Retrieved 22 December 2009.][ 81st Western Veterinary Conference: Medical and Surgical Management of Vaginal Prolapse in Cattle Retrieved 22 December 2009.] 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.[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. .] Equal occurrence in heifers and bulls means that dwarfism is not considered a sex-linked characteristic.[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.]
See also
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Hereford United F.C.
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Hereford pig
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Hereford, Texas
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List of cattle breeds
External links
