Why you should choose Braunvieh

Most dairy historians agree that Brown Swiss or Braunvieh cattle are the oldest of all dairy breeds.
The beautiful brown cows were developed in the north-eastern part of Switzerland. Bones found in the ruins of Swiss lake dwellers date back to probably 4000 BC, and have some resemblance to the skeleton of today's Brown Swiss cow. Documentary evidence shows that the Benedictine monks residing at the Einsiedeln monastery started breeding these cattle as early as approximately 1000 years ago.
Many people refer to Braunvieh as Brown Swiss and want to know the difference between the two. Brown Swiss dairy cattle were in fact developed from the Braunvieh beef cattle. Braunvieh was an extremely good milking beef breed and, many years ago, some animal breeders selected the best milking Braunvieh and began breeding these selected individuals for milk production.
Braunvieh today is found in all cattle breeding countries. Romania has more than eight million and Italy more than ten million; both countries separately have more Braunvieh cattle than all the cattle combined in South Africa.
The first Braunvieh bulls were imported to South Africa in 1907 as part of a crossbreeding programme initiated by the Department of Agriculture, to breed cattle fitted for the cold highlands of South Africa. On 2 April 1925 the Braunvieh Breeders Association was founded to ensure the continuation of the dual-purpose breed.
In 1974, a split occurred between the breeders of dual-purpose and dairy characteristics, this lead to the establishment of the dual-purpose Braunvieh Society being officially recognised in 1996.
In the early 1900s a certain Mr Woker from the Windhoek district imported Braunvieh that came from Algae. Later on cattle was also imported from South Africa, and was used for milk production.


Crossbreeding
A crossbreed usually refers to an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds.
In cattle, there are systems of crossbreeding. In many crossbreeds, one is larger than the other. One is used when the purebred females are particularly adapted to a specific environment, and are crossed with purebred bulls from another environment to produce a generation having traits of both parents.
Just ask any one of them who has infused Braunvieh genetics into their herds and they will tell you about increased weaning weights, better replacement females, more temperate dispositions of offspring, and easier handling cattle.
All of these characteristics are what makes original Braunvieh the breed of choice for all cattle operations, especially the small breeder who must have the most return for dollar spent.
In a nutshell:
• Females out of Braunvieh sires calved, unassisted, 94.5 per cent of the time with 95 per cent of the calves surviving to weaning
• Braunvieh had a higher efficiency of conversion of feed than other breeds.
• Braunvieh progeny had the highest adjusted 200 day weight of all breeds tested.
• By 13.5 months of age, 94.2 per cent of Braunvieh females will have reached puberty and by 14.5 months of age, 100 per cent of Braunvieh females will have reached puberty.
• Braunvieh sired feeders have a larger rib eye area with less back fat, lower cost per gain, and a higher percentage of carcasses that grade choice and prime. (http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2006/November/CT711.shtml)


Its physical characteristics
Braunvieh comes in many shades of brown, with the most common being a mousy brown. They can be lighter or darker and always have a lighter coloured ring around their nose. This characteristic enables the Braunvieh to be easily distinguishable when looking at other breeds of cattle.
The Braunvieh is a very docile, long-bodied, well-muscled animal.
Braunvieh is known as a balanced breed, possessing body confirmation for optimum physiological performance. The hair is sleek and fine in warm weather and can grow heavy in response to extended cold weather which makes Braunvieh adaptable to different environments.
Furthermore:
• It is a breed with good walking ability, strong legs with deep dark hooves, due to generations of natural selection in the Swiss Alps.
• It is a breed with a calm temperament making it easy to work with.
• Braunvieh is well adjusted and performs extremely well in a feedlot.
• It is a fertile breed with a long producing lifespan, cows 12+ years still produce annually.
• The Braunvieh breed has an above average milk production, good udders and teats to ensure calves grow up fast with above average weaned weights.
• Braunvieh puts it all together: Maternal, Muscling, Marbling, and Performance.