THE BREED

The name Hereford is an abbreviation of Herefordshire, the name of the historic agricultural county of western England from which the breed originates. Now widely distributed worldwide,Hereford cattle have become one of the world’s most important beef breeds.
Herefords were bred to fatten quickly and efficiently which, together with their hardiness, vigour and high resistance to many infectious and parasitic cattle diseases, makes them particularly well suited to grazing. The breed has good fertility and longevity and seldom presents problems during calving. It produces abundant meat of excellent quality and flavour due to the ready ability to fatten.
Herefords are medium to large cattle. They are typically dark red in colour with a white face, crest, underline and dewlap. They may also show white markings below the knees and hocks. This breed is available both horned and polled, the horned Hereford has short, thick horns which curve downward at the sides of the head. At our Italian breeding farm “Hereford dei Calanchi“ we also rear polled Herefords, widely available in the United Kingdom and North America. Herefords are muscular cattle, medium to long in length of side. They are adequate in length of leg, large in size, trim and smooth. The average live body weight of mature Hereford cows is around 800 kg and the bulls average around 1200 kg.
While known for its robustness and foraging efficiency, the breed is also valued for its longevity.
Hereford cows commonly live and calve beyond the age of 15 years. Bulls are capable of remaining profitable at stud to the age of 12 or more.
They stand out in snow, endure heat, harsh weather and rough grazing as well as sub-tropical and
continental climates.
Herefords are generally docile and fast growing cattle with an excellent beef quality.