Glamorgan cattle

The Glamorgan Cattle ( Welsh: Morgannwg Gwartheg, English: Cattle Glamorgan ) is a breed of cattle from the county of Glamorgan in Wales, United Kingdom.

In the 1920s, keeping the race already extinct. 1979 was Major 'Teddy ' Savage of Seddlescombe sell at Hastings in East Sussex his cattle herd, which included after his assertion Glamorgan cattle, Pembroke cattle and Gloucester cattle. He offered his first cattle of the " Foundation for the preservation of rare breeds " (Rare Breeds Survival Trust ), but the foundation decided not to buy them, since in their opinion, the origin of Glamorgan and Pembroke cattle was not documented. The (alleged) Pembroke cattle were sold on the local market, after which they disappeared without a trace. However, the Council of the county West Glamorgan learned of the sale and bought the Glamorgan cattle. They were taken in the Margam Country Park, where you tried to get the breed. The herd grew quickly and now has 200 animals. The Glamorgan beef is supposedly related to the Austrian Pinzgau cattle. So the Margam Country Park in 1994 bought a Pinzgauer bull to improve the bloodline.

Typical of the Glamorgan beef is her chestnut coat with wide white stripe along the back line and belly.

Once the race was common in the ancient county of Glamorgan, Monmouth and Brecon, rarely west of the Dulais River. The cows were very good milk cows, whose milk had a high fat content. The milk was so good that King George III. a herd on his farm in Windsor held. He also used Glamorgan oxen for farm work. The race did not produce large quantities of meat, but of very good quality.

During the 19th century Glamorgan were more frequently crossed with other breeds such as Hereford cattle, Ayrshire cattle and Shorthorn cattle. The intersections improved the meat performance, although this had limitations of quality. Over time, the breed almost disappeared completely, as farmers einkreuzten now amplified or their flocks replaced by Hereford cattle 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.