Meat
Holstein-Friesian
C tier
Holstein-Friesian is the world’s dominant black-and-white dairy breed, originating in the northern Netherlands and northern Germany, and a major secondary source of beef from cull cows, dairy steers, and dairy-beef crosses. Pure dairy carcasses are typically lean with pale to light red meat and less marbling than beef breeds, yet when properly aged and prepared they provide economical roasting joints, mince, and manufacturing beef of mild flavour. In many countries, Holstein-Friesian genetics dominate the dairy herd and therefore a large share of total beef supply. Specialist dairy-beef systems and crosses with Angus, Hereford, or Continental sires improve conformation and eating quality while retaining Holstein maternal scale and milk.
Also known as: Holstein, Holstein-Friesian
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Black-and-white cattle of Friesland and neighbouring low countries were already kept for milk in the Roman and early medieval periods.
Large-scale export of Dutch and German Holstein-Friesians founded the North American Holstein dairy industry.
National herd books standardised Holstein-Friesian type for extreme milk yield in the Netherlands and Germany.
Global Holsteinisation of dairy herds made the breed the primary source of cull-cow and dairy-steer beef worldwide.
Dedicated dairy-beef programmes and sexed semen strategies improved carcass value from Holstein-Friesian systems.
Crossbreeding with beef sires and selection for dual traits addressed Holstein carcass conformation concerns in beef markets.