Braunvieh

Original Braunvieh

Switzerland is world famous for many things including its cheese and creamy chocolate and the beautiful brown cows whose milk provides the basis for these mouthwatering foods. The cows of Switzerland are exemplified by wearing big brass bells as they freely roam the alpine summer pastures. In bygone times, these cows were the pride of every mountain farmer, and an integral part of the family – providing food and livelihood.

Documentary evidence shows that the Benedictine monks residing at the Einsiedeln Monastery in Switzerland started breeding this cattle as early as approx. 1′000 years ago. In the beginning of the 19th century, different types of brown cattle were still being kept in central and eastern Switzerland, but the mixing of the different types over time resulted in today’s uniform Swiss brown cattle.

The rough environmental conditions and the keeping of stock up in the alps  left their mark on the Swiss Braunvieh. Natural selection and the breeding by mountain dwellers resulted in a breed which is popular around the world today.  It found its way into the neighbouring alpine countries hundreds of years ago, and the first animals imported to the USA in the late 1800s have since been developed into a pure, but possibly not pure-bred, dairy type known as “Brown Swiss”. The original dual purpose “Braunvieh” cattle are bred in Canada and the USA since the late 1960s for beef.

After the foundation of the Swiss Braunvieh Breeding Association in 1897, the breed has been standardized and improved  further still. Originally, the breeding goal was a cow  that could provide milk and meat, and could be used as a draught animal, resulting in an animal with an all-round nature: robust, a prolific breeder, long-lived, strong, adaptable, and well-balanced in build and colour. Her strong limbs and hooves make it possible for her to find fodder on difficult terrain with poor grazing and limited access to water. Her strong skin with a dense, brown hairy coat and dark-blue eye pigmentation helps her to resist extreme solar radiation. The Braunvieh’s good performance as dual purpose animal  made her suitable for milk or meat production with good returns for the farmer. In the late 60s, animals with an increased milk output and bigger frame came into demand. In order to achieve these objectives faster, many Braunvieh breeders reached for “Brown Swiss”-Genetics from America for pairing. Loyal breeders of the original Braunvieh stuck to their pure breeding ideas, however, and improved the milk production performance by strong selection within the original Braunvieh population under strict maintenance of the rate.

Today, around 500 breeders of original Braunvieh have organized themselves within the framework of an Association. Their animals are entered into the official herd book of the Swiss Braunvieh Federation in Zug, Switzerland as an Swiss Original Braunvieh, and are marked, as soon as they satisfy the examiners that they are pure-bred. Swiss Original Braunvieh-cows perform well, produce 5′500 kg (12′100 lb) milk and more per lactation and produce offsprings that are eminently suitable for fattening at any age level. Thus, Original Braunvieh calves are in great demand by meat producers as they guarantee a daily weight increase between 1′200 and 1′300 g (2 lb 10 oz to 2 lb 14 oz), representing high productivity coupled with excellent meat quality.

“Braunvieh” is a German word which translated into English means “brown cow” or “brown beast”. Their colour is various shades of brown; the border of the muzzle is always white. Body weights range from 1,100-1,500 lbs. for adult cows and 2,000-2,500 lbs. for mature bulls. However, the focus on beef production with Braunvieh in Canada and the USA are now pushing this once moderate sized breed well out of its breed standart. It is not rare for cows to reach 1,900 lbs. and bulls 3,000 lbs. Although these animals are often papered as “Fullblood Original Braunvieh”, personally we believe that bigger is not always better, and that these big cattle no longer represent the all-round cow for the average family farm. They are no longer suited for difficult or steep terrain or for small holdings. 

The Braunvieh is a kind-natured, people oriented, hardy, adaptable, well-built animal due to generations of natural selection in the Swiss Alps, and the founding farmers of this special breed.

To better monitor and preserve the remaining population of pure or fullblood  ”Swiss Original Braunvieh” cattle, the Herd Book Department of the Swiss Braunvieh Federation decided at the international conference in Zug, Switzerland on April 18, 1993, that the differences between the three different breed directions and breeds must be recognized and respected internationally as:

• 
•  
•  
•  SWISS ORIGINAL Braunvieh also know as “Fullblood Original Braunvieh” in Canada and USA:
  100 per cent pure-bred, double utility breed for milk and meat

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..


 

SWISS Braunvieh:
Different degree of pairing  of Swiss Original Braunvieh and Brown-Swiss. Mostly milk-oriented
……………………………………………………………………………………………………


 

BROWN-SWISS: 
a milk-oriented breed of brown cattle developed in the USA
……………………………………………………………………………………………………