Hereford cattle

a meat-producing breed of cattle, bred in the 18th century in England, in the county of Herefordshire, by screening and selection of local cattle. The animals are of typical meat-producing build. The body is barrel-shaped, squat, wide, and deep, with a prominent dewlap. The color is dark red; the head, withers, dewlap, belly, lower parts of the extremities, and tail brush are white. Average measurements of cows (in cm): height at withers, 125; chest depth, 72; chest circumference, 197; diagonal length of the body, 153; shank circumference, 20. Weight of bulls is 850-1,000 kg; of cows, 550-650 kg. The cattle feed and fatten well and produce high-quality “marbled” meat. The slaughter yield is 58-62 percent, maximum, 70 percent.

Herefords are hardy; they adapt well to various natural conditions and to prolonged pasturing; they tolerate long journeys well. The breed is widespread in England, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. They were brought into the USSR in 1928. They are used for commercial crossbreeding with dairy and dairy-meat breeds. The Kazakh white-headed breed of cattle was developed by crossbreeding Herefords with Kazakh and Kalmyk cattle. Hereford cattle are widespread in the Orenburg, Cheliabinsk, Rostov, and Saratov oblasts, the Altai and Krasnodar krais of the RSFSR, the Kazakh SSR, and other regions.