The Dutch Belted or Dutch Belt is an American breed of dairy cattle. It derives from the Lakenvelder of Germany and the Netherlands, of which examples were imported to the United States from 1838.[4]: 171 [5]: 96 [6] It became an important dairy breed in the early twentieth century, but could not compete with the Holstein-Friesian. By 1970 it was close to extinction; from 1993 the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (later The Livestock Conservancy) was active in the recovery of the breed.[7] In 2021 it was listed as "critical" on the watchlist of the conservancy.[2]
By 1916 the Dutch Belted, as it was now known, had spread to some twenty-five states and had reached about 1500 in number.[4]: 172 It became well-known as a useful dairy breed, but numbers never rose very high. With the rapid spread of the Holstein in the mid-twentieth century, numbers fell and in the 1970s the breed association became dormant.[4]: 172 In the 1980s, further pressure on the breed came from the policy of the Department of Agriculture to encourage the sale of dairy cattle for beef, with the aim of increasing the price of milk.[7]
From 1993 the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (later The Livestock Conservancy) was active in the recovery of the breed[7] and conducted a survey, which found that between 1981 and 1995 the average number of annual registrations had been 28 (21 cows and 7 bulls); in 1995 the total number of registered purebred stock was 34.[9][6]: 286
By 2010 the population had increased to total of about 1500 head, including some 70 bulls and 700 breeding cows.[4]: 172 The breed association resumed registrations in 2013.[7] In 2016 the total Dutch Belted population was reported to DAD-IS at 464;[3] in 2021 the breed was listed as "critical" on the watchlist of the Livestock Conservancy.[2]
Characteristics
The cattle are either black or red, with a broad white belt encircling the back, flanks and belly.[4]: 172 Average weights are approximately 760 kg for bulls and 545 kg for cows.[3]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dutch Belted.
^ abJanet Vorwald Dohner (2001). The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. ISBN0300088809.
