Curious..but probably silly question

[mollymae]

Today driving through Tennessee I passed a herd of cattle. Black heads...black rumps. White in the middle. All of them. My daughter called them oreos. Most of the cattle where I live are angus and solid black or red. Just curious as to what these cows name is and what exactly they are for. Beef? Milk?
No clue. I tried to google it...but couldn't get what exactly they do. I could pull up images...but no info or name.
Dear daughter wants to know right now!! Now I do too! Thanks so much!
Shannon

[G. Seddon]

Belted Galloway


Here's the Wikipedia info:

The Belted Galloway is a heritage beef breed of cattle originating from Galloway in the west side of southern Scotland, adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and windswept moorlands of the region. The exact origin of the breed is unclear although it is often surmised that the white belt that distinguishes these cattle from the native black Galloway cattle may be as a result of cross breeding with Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. It is the belt that gives them their name.
Belted Galloways are primarily raised for their quality marbled beef, although they are sometimes milked and purchased to adorn pastures due to their striking appearance.
In the United States, Belted Galloways are often nicknamed Oreo cows because their color pattern is reminiscent of an Oreo cookie, the sandwich cookie consisting of two chocolate disks with a cream filling in between.[1]

[vicker]

They're called "belted" there are some different breeds, Dutch, Gallaway...The Gallaways are a duel breed, and they make a striking team of oxen too

[WildRoots]

[goodhors]

Dutch Belted are a dairy cow, more refined, with belt further back on hips than the Galloways. We had a crossbred Dutch Belted calf, got the belt but had white feet. He was a VERY nice steer, lovely to work with and easy to handle.

I "read up" a bit on the Dutch Belted breed, found they are noted for having really small and easily digested fat lumps in their milk, so it is like being already homogenized right out of the cow. The local herd of Dutch Belted cattle is contracted to sell all their milk to the Cheese Factory in Ann Arbor MI. The Cheese folks LOVE the quality of milk, do a variety of cheese products using it, and win a lot of prizes in competitons!

Interesting to see that they all have black hooves, which I almost never see on Holsteins anymore. Obviously a genetic trait, but could be much more resistant to leg and hoof issues that the white skin and light hooves of other breeds. White skin on horses can be a problem in wet times, so something to consider in your breed of choice if water is an issue seasonally. I have seen some in the brown/red color instead of being black.

Other breed information stated the Dutch cattle were calm to handle, very intelligent, gave a good quantity of milk, and not such large animals as Holsteins. I think Belted cattle are just fun to look at!

http://www.dutchbelted.com/About%20the%20Breed.html

http://www.dutchbelted.com/

[Awnry Abe]

Belted Galloways are marketed as beef. The ones that I have have skinny little rumps, like a dairy cow, though. I wouldn't want to milk one. The bags are the hairiest things you ever saw.

[mollymae]

Thanks you all for your answers! They really were quite beautiful. I've never had cattle or even been around them....so my knowledge is nearly none.

[jwal10]

If they were about the size of a Holstein cow, refined and short hair, they are Dutch Belts, a dairy breed....James

https://www.google.com/search?q=dutc...ml%3B656%3B456

[PNP Katahdins]

There is a third belted breed in the US. I can't think of the name but it is a family name and sounds Dutch. There was a herd around Apple River IL. They had some local publicity which was how I heard about them. Seems to me that they originated west of here, maybe South Dakota. Their national show was in Wisconsin for awhile because there were several breeders in the west central part of the state. I believe it is a beef breed rather than dairy.

Peg

[jwal10]

http://www.buelingo.com/

[PNP Katahdins]

James, you are correct, I was thinking of the BueLingo beef breed.

Peg