Beef Cattle Breeds UK
Beef Cattle Breeds are bred for meat production although their are some beef cattle breeds that are dual purpose, so equally suited as dairy cattle.
All across the UK beef cattle breeders, breed societies and the Rare Breeds Society Trust (RBST) with its Gene Bank, all work hard to preserve our robust British native cattle breeds genes to support disease resistance and genetic diversity.
Current consumer demand for local, slow grown, grass-fed beef, will hopefully see a rise in demand and growth for the hardy UK beef cattle breeds popularity.
- Aberdeen Angus
- Hereford
- Lincoln Red
- Dexter
- Belted Galloway
Aberdeen Angus
An adaptable breed, Aberdeen Angus purebred and crossbred animals are suitable for a range of management systems. They are also ideal for dairy breeding as an easy calving beef breed.
Dual Purpose UK Breeds
Suited as both beef cattle breeds and dairy breeds
Lincoln Red
The Lincoln Red was initially bred as a dual-purpose breed, being suitable both as a beef cattle breed and a dairy breed.
Its beefing ability led the breed in that direction, although females remain good milk producers and feed their calves well.
Dexter
The Dexter is a dual-purpose breed of cattle, both used as a dairy breed and a beef cattle breed. Its a hardy breed with strong maternal qualities and ample milk.
The Dexter is predominantly black but can also be red and dun. They are typically horned but there are some naturally polled.
European Beef Breeds
A lot of European cattle breeds from outside of the UK are very popular with cattle breeders in the UK either as pure blood pedigree or crossbred to improve the genetics of a beef herd. Such as, easy calving, fertility, beef production or quality or many other genetic traits depending on the farming system.
- Charolais
- Simmental
- Limousin
Limousin
With major benefits seen in a beef producing breed with easy calving, fantastic KO% and its adaptability to suit any market place producing dairy cross calves, suckled calves, stores and finishing animals.
They are a hardy outdoor breed of cattle and produces fine-grained beef that is early maturing making a profitable beef enterprise.
Charolais
The Charolais is typically creamy white in colour, Its primary role in UK beef production is as a terminal sire in suckler herds, where it has established a reputation for good growth rates, killing out percentage and meat quality. The breed has also proved its flexibility in coping with a wide range of farming systems.
Simmental
The Simmental is a heavy dual-purpose breed suitable both as a beef cattle breed and a dairy breed. With its roots in the Simme valley in central Switzerland and it has contributed to a number of other European breeds, including the Fleckvieh and Montbeliarde.