American Classics: A Guide to Milk Cows

By the Mother Earth News editors

Productive for many years; ideal udder shape Calm; heavily muscled; milk excellent for cheese Can be outwintered; eats 40% less than larger breeds Gentle; calves easily; first bred by Dutch nobility Gentle; can be tethered; calves often small at birth Best milk producer; needs rich pasture, lots of room Highest milk solids, butterfat; hardy; can be tethered Active; hardy; good forager; yields very sweet milk. Alert and docile; yields over 60% usable beef.  A good milker-, puts on flesh quickly; tasty beef.  Docile; quiet; does well on light forage.

Categories defined on the basis of the numerical strength of breeds as determined by the American Minor Breeds Conservancy (AMBC). Rare: less than 200 registrations per year. Minor: less than 1,000 registrations per year. Watch: less than 5,000 registrations per year, or declining population. Those not designated are numerically strong.