About British White Park Cattle
The White Park is a medium-large, long-bodied bovine. A program of linear assessment, including 200 bulls and 300 cows, has been carried out in the UK since 1994 to define its size and conformation.[citation needed] The weight of a mature bull varies from 800 to 1,000 kilograms (1,800 to 2,200 lb), depending on the quality of grazing, while adult cows are typically 500 to 700 kilograms (1,100 to 1,500 lb). Their coloration is a distinctive porcelain white with coloured (black or red) points.[1] The horns of the cows can vary in shape, but the majority grow forwards and upwards in a graceful curve. The horns of the bulls are thicker and shorter. In their native environment in Britain, White Park cattle are known for their distinctive appearance and their grazing preference for coarse terrain. White Park cattle are well-suited to non-intensive production. Some herds are kept outside throughout the year on rough upland grazing without shelter or supplementary feed. They are docile, easy-calving, and have a long productive life. Some traits may vary depending on their location.
Until recently, White Park cattle were a triple-purpose breed used for meat, milk and draught. The 3rd Lord Dynevor (1765–1852) kept a team of draught oxen, and the practice continued up to 1914[citation needed]. They were used as dairy cattle even more recently. Some cows were being milked in the Dynevor herd in 1951[citation needed], but yields were moderate. Beef became the main product during the twentieth century, and gained a reputation as a textured meat, with excellent flavor and marbling, which commanded a significant premium in specialty markets.
Until recently, White Park cattle were a triple-purpose breed used for meat, milk and draught. The 3rd Lord Dynevor (1765–1852) kept a team of draught oxen, and the practice continued up to 1914[citation needed]. They were used as dairy cattle even more recently. Some cows were being milked in the Dynevor herd in 1951[citation needed], but yields were moderate. Beef became the main product during the twentieth century, and gained a reputation as a textured meat, with excellent flavor and marbling, which commanded a significant premium in specialty markets.
A traditional British breed, being large, naturally polled dual-purpose cattle. They are white in colour with black points (nose, muzzle, ears, eyelids, teats, hooves and tongue) with their skin being pink and blue (or dark pigmented). Some British White are red pointed but are now a minority.
This type of pigmentation and the black points elimintates problems of eye cancer and sunburn.
Mature cows weigh to 650 kgs and mature bulls to one tonne. British White are docile, hardy and remarkably free from disease. They are good milk producers and are equally well known for their beef qualities, the meat being of excellent texture.
Another quality of this breed is their mothering ability by individual females, also incorporating the nursery system of a guard cow protecting groups of calves whiles the remainder of the herd grazes. Although this characteristic is known in some breeds of cattle, it is highly developed in British Whites and is of great benefit in areas where wild dogs or other predators are a concern.
This type of pigmentation and the black points elimintates problems of eye cancer and sunburn.
Mature cows weigh to 650 kgs and mature bulls to one tonne. British White are docile, hardy and remarkably free from disease. They are good milk producers and are equally well known for their beef qualities, the meat being of excellent texture.
Another quality of this breed is their mothering ability by individual females, also incorporating the nursery system of a guard cow protecting groups of calves whiles the remainder of the herd grazes. Although this characteristic is known in some breeds of cattle, it is highly developed in British Whites and is of great benefit in areas where wild dogs or other predators are a concern.
- Quality beef
- Maternal instincts
- Growth and hardiness
- Tick tolerant
- Milking ability
- Fertile and easy calving
The White Park has many qualities:
- they are distinguished in looks – large white animals with black points on their muzzle, ears, eye-rims and feet.
- the elegant wide-spreading horns are usually black-tipped.
- the cows are noted for ease of calving, milkiness and high fertility, while bulls used as crossing sires confer ease of calving and exceptional hybrid vigour.
- they have excellent foraging ability and hardiness and longevity are also notable.
- cows breed until they are typically 12 to 16 years old, although some breed up to more than 20 years of age