{"id":28367,"date":"2016-08-30T16:47:13","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T20:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=28367"},"modified":"2016-08-30T16:47:55","modified_gmt":"2016-08-30T20:47:55","slug":"dutch-belted-cows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/dutch-belted-cows\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Animal: Dutch Belted Cows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dutch Belted cows, known in their homeland as Lakenvelder<\/i>, are easy to spot in a crowd thanks to their signature white stripe (or “belt,” hence their English eponym) across their midsection. First brought to the United States in the early 1800s by the US consul of Holland, D. H. Haight, the striking animals captivated Americans via P. T. Barnum\u2019s 1840 circus (they were exhibited as an exotic breed). Barnum soon realized that in addition to their dazzling appearance, the cows were also fantastic milkers—so he subsequently moved the bovines to his New York farm. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, numbers of Dutch Belted cows dwindled due to excessive crossbreeding, and by 1950 only about five herds remained in the country.<\/p>\n

Several decades later, the breed\u2019s numbers in America plunged as well, the result of a decline in Dutch Belted breeders coupled with the USDA\u2019s Dairy Termination Program of the 1980s (an attempt to reduce the national milk surplus by sending dairy herds to slaughter). Today the breed’s US population sits between 200 and 600—on the rise but still low enough to remain on The Livestock Conservancy<\/a>‘s 2015 Conservation Priority List, a catalog of rare farm animal breeds nearing endangerment or extinction. However, Dutch Belted cows have not seen the same resurgence in their homeland. In fact, American cattle are considered truer to the original genotype than those currently in the Netherlands—the United States has even supplied Holland with genetic material from American Dutch Belted bulls to improve their breed.<\/p>\n

The Dutch Belted Cattle Association of America<\/a> is growing stronger, too. Though previously inactive, the organization is now fully operational and is working hard to improve the breed\u2019s presence in the United States. And since Dutch Belteds live longer than other dairy cows—with longer milking and reproductive abilities to match—it\u2019s not hard to see why.<\/p>\n

Appearance and Temperament<\/h3>\n

Dutch Belted cows can be black or dark red but always have an iconic white belt. The animals average around 1,000 pounds in weight and 40 inches in height—quite a bit smaller than Holstein cattle, a fellow dairy breed. But what they lack in size they certainly make up for in character, says Molly Glasgow, co-owner of The Grey Barn and Farm<\/a> in Chilmark, Mass. \u201cThey have real personalities,\u201d she says. \u201cThey are very curious. But there\u2019s always a leader … always a girl in charge of the herd.\u201d Sam Canonica, co-owner of Manning Hill Farm<\/a> in Winchester, N.H., agrees: \u201cThey are almost a little too smart … almost crafty,\u201d he says. \u201c[But] I wouldn\u2019t have any other breed of cow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milk and Cheese<\/h3>\n

Thanks to smaller-than-average fat globules, Dutch Belted cow milk has a smooth mouthfeel and is easy to digest. \u201cIt\u2019s a more pure white milk than other breeds,\u201d says Kristine Haag, secretary for the Dutch Belted Cattle Association of America. It\u2019s what P. T. Barnum found so special about the cows back in 1840—the milk seemed destined for a cup. \u201cIt\u2019s a really good drinking milk,\u201d Canonica says. \u201cIt\u2019s so sweet, and the texture is just different from any other [cow\u2019s] milk.\u201d Dutch Belted milk makes for great cheese, too: The smaller fat globules mean more moisture retention, which gives wheels a velvety, creamy texture.<\/p>\n

Dutch Belted cows produce an average of 35 to 40 pounds (about 5 gallons) of milk per day and do so well into their teenage years. They also milk for longer than average after each calving, notes Haag: \u201cSome of the other [breeds] will go for nine months or so. A Dutch Belted will milk [one to two months] longer.\u201d Glasgow also loves the breed for its impressive milking abilities: \u201c[Holstein cattle] are like supermodels, you know. They\u2019re only good for a couple years.\u201d Longevity, it seems, is a hallmark of Dutch Belted cattle—let\u2019s hope that characteristic rubs off on the breed\u2019s existence itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These high-producing cows are returning from near extinction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":28368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"coauthors":[838],"class_list":["post-28367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-animal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFarm Animal: Dutch Belted Cows - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/dutch-belted-cows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Farm Animal: Dutch Belted Cows\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"These high-producing cows are returning from near extinction.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/dutch-belted-cows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-30T20:47:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-08-30T20:47:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/AUT16_FarmAnimal_ftr.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"368\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cary Spector\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cary Spector\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/dutch-belted-cows\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/dutch-belted-cows\/\",\"name\":\"Farm Animal: Dutch Belted Cows - 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