Glamorgan beef
The Glamorgan Cattle ( Welsh : Gwartheg Morgannwg , English : Glamorgan Cattle ) is a breed of cattle from the county of Glamorgan in Wales , Great Britain .
In the 1920s, the breed was thought to be extinct. In 1979 Major 'Teddy' Savage of Seddlescombe near Hastings in East Sussex wanted to sell his herd of cattle, which he claimed included Glamorgan cattle, Pembroke cattle and Gloucester cattle . He first offered his cattle to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, but the foundation decided not to buy them because, in their opinion, the origins of the Glamorgan and Pembroke cattle were not documented. The (alleged) Pembroke cattle were sold in a local market, whereupon they disappeared without a trace. However, West Glamorgan County's Council learned of the sale and bought the Glamorgan cattle. They were taken to Margam Country Park , where attempts were made to preserve the breed. The herd grew quickly and now has 200 animals. The Glamorgan cattle are said to be related to the Austrian Pinzgauer cattle . In 1994 Margam Country Park bought a Pinzgau bull to improve the bloodline.
Typical of the Glamorgan cattle is their chestnut brown fur with wide white stripes along the back line and on the belly.
The breed was once common in old counties of Glamorgan , Monmouth and Brecon , but rarely west of the Dulais River. The cows were very good dairy cows whose milk had a high milk fat content. The milk was so good that King George III. kept a herd on his farm in Windsor . He also used Glamorgan ox for farm work. The breed did not produce large quantities of meat, but it was of very good quality.
During the 19th century, Glamorgans were increasingly crossed with other breeds such as Hereford cattle , Ayrshire cattle, and Shorthorn cattle . The crosses improved meat performance, although this resulted in quality restrictions. Over time, the breed almost completely disappeared as farmers began to crossbreed or replace their herds with Hereford and Shorthorn cattle.
credentials
- RJ Colyer, 'Some Welsh breeds of cattle in the nineteenth century', The Agricultural History Review (PDF file; 1.22 MB)
- Paul Weaver, 'A Glamorgan Cattle History', The Ark, 2000 (Autumn) 92-3.