This is dedicated to all the Braunvieh Breeders of the world via the Internet and to all the ones who are interested in the heritage of the Braunvieh breed.  If you are interested in the history of Ulrich breeding and Braunvieh International look here.

A SHORT HISTORY

In North America, very few breeds can prove their heritage back over hundreds of years like the Braunvieh breed can. Switzerland is a small country in Europe were there are many mountains, much rain, grass and people. This was not always that way. In the ancient times we did not have as many people but there was much grass. A cow was needed which could use the grass and perform with this grass. That is why right at the beginning, thousands and thousands of years ago they started to use a cow which is called bro brachyceros, known in English as Peat Cow. Their remains were found in the peat bogs of the alpine lakes in Switzerland. These remains date back to the Neolithic period (2000 B.C.- 800 B.C.). The Peat Cow was a small delicate cow with fine extremities and short horns. She was about 2/3 the size of a present day Braunvieh Cow. The domestication of this Peat Cow is believed to have started in Asia and was brought to Europe by Neolithic Man as he migrated West. This was long before Switzerland was a nation in 1291 A.D. At this time there were many monasteries in Switzerland. In these monasteries is were the cattle were started to be improved for there were many smart monks who were interested in cattle raising. They felt that they should start to measure the cattle and to weigh their milk production. They got the idea that they should at least weigh the milk production of every cow before they would go up the mountain in the summer time and weigh it again when they came down in the fall to see which cow had produced the most milk. This became a good habit for in Switzerland the calf is not allowed to suck on the mother but she is milked and the milk is used to make cheese or fed to the calf to make veal. This was the beginning of the making of a dual purpose cow, for they wanted a cow which would produce as much milk as possible and also be able to produce meat. It is in Switzerland more common to feed calves lots of milk and then butcher them as veal, it is not so common as here in North America to let them grow for one and half to two years and then butcher them. But what they wanted was a cow to use the grass, for with all the rain (60-80 inches of rainfall per year) there is much grass to be had. The oldest record is from the year 1050 A.D. for milk production from the Convent Muri where they started to weigh the milk production of their cows. There are many records from the 12 and 1300 from many other monasteries. The best known monastery was the one from Einsiedeln which is in the heart of Switzerland, this was where the Swiss Braunvieh cow originated. Eiensiedeln had a name all through Europe and even over to Asia that they had the biggest and best cows which existed at that time. They sold many bulls to many neighbour countries, to other monasteries and to kings. The Swiss are very independent people so it was very common in the early 1300s and 1400s (and even later) that we had different characteristics in the cows. There were people in valleys high up in the Mountains where they could not use a big, heavy cow so they had to be satisfied with a medium sized cow which produced much milk (always compared to their body weight). In the lower lands they wanted a heavier cow which could eat more roughage. This was so prominent that it even led to different characteristics in different valleys. There was also different markings, some with white bellies and some with white belts. But they were all the same breed. In the 1800s Switzerland started to organize the different breeders and they set a goal of what the breed should be. The cow was to be: brown, medium sized, dual purpose and she was to have good conformation, well muscled, good feet and legs and she has to produce a certain amount of milk or else she is not worth multiplying. This is still the goal today. In the late 1800s, the breeders started to organize themselves because it was impossible in Switzerland for small breeders who only had 5-6 cows (and 7-10 children) to buy and keep a herd bull. So they organized themselves and bought herd bulls as a co-operative. Each breeder would walk with the cow to the bull. One breeder would keep the bull for a year and then the next would keep him, thus they shared the cost of owning a herd bull. With so many breeders using one or two bulls the co-operative would make sure that the bull was a very good one. In the early 1900s the Swiss Braunvieh Association started to set standards for height and depth, and for production from the mother, Father's mother, and mother's mother. There was always a concern to improve the production because the Swiss cattle breeders depended on the export of their cattle. The Braunvieh went mostly to Italy and later on to all the neighbour countries like Germany, France, Austria, etc. The breeders always knew that the breed which had to go to so many countries and to live under so many different conditions has to be easily adaptable. This is one of the traits which is still with the breed today. The Braunvieh breed is found everywhere on the globe (except the two poles).

HERD BOOK RECORDS

People often ask me why I think the Swiss cattle are better then others, especially the Braunvieh breed. Braunvieh cattle have been developed over a long period of time. What has helped the most since the Braunvieh breeders organized in a Braunvieh organization about 100 years ago is that they set certain standards and cattle which did not meet these standard could not be used as breeding stock. These standards were set to improve the breed and it is different in Switzerland then it is North America, where every animal which is recorded in the herd book can be used as breeding stock and can be multiplied and the offspring will as well be registered. This is not so in Switzerland. Before one is able to use a bull as a herd bull he must appear before two judges and they have to decide if this animal meets the minimal requirements which are set for the breed, if they feel that this bull fulfils the requirements then the offspring of this bull can be registered but this is only good for one year. The next year the bull has to come before two judges to see if he has developed to their satisfaction then if he passes this test he can be used an other year. Thus when he is between two and three years old it is decided definitely if the bull is good enough to be used in the future to produce offspring which can be registered in the herd book. Not every female can be used as breeding stock, they have to go through the same process. Two judges decide before the first calf is born if this animal is good enough to be a part of the seed stock. If the heifer is good enough then the offspring, the first calf can be registered but only if the heifer produces enough milk in the first lactation. The calf will be in the herd book indefinitely unless the heifer is not good enough in production then the first calf will loose the right to be in the herd book, and the heifer can never be registered. There is no upgrading system in Switzerland, they raise 4 different breeds (Braunvieh, Simmental, Eringer, Freiburger) but it was forbidden right from the beginning to cross the different breeds together, the the breeds had to be kept straight and clean. It is also mandatory in Switzerland that every female has to be performance tested, if you do not test them they loose the opportunity to stay in the herd book. The bulls also are performance tested according to their offspring. Switzerland has every year about 180,000 cows which are performance tested. The average production from these cows are adjusted to a lowland cow's 4th lactation. The result is 13,000 lbs. (6000kg) of milk with about 4% butterfat. All the cows are tested for their milk's protein because protein and butterfat are two things which are important to produce cheese and very important to raise big calves. For years a scale of 100 points was used to classify the bulls and females for their appearance or conformation (now a different and more confusing system is used). The association figured that if a bull or female does not have 85 points then it is not worth reproducing or to keep in the herd book and the offspring were not able to be registered. This way many offspring from good cows and bulls were eliminated for there is a policy in Switzerland which is: "keep the best and forget the rest", this is also my policy as long as I am involved in raising cattle. It is not the number of cattle that is important but the quality of the cattle. As stated before, performance testing, measurement taking on cattle is nothing new for the Braunvieh breed, it has been done for hundreds of years and one can see the results. I would encourage you to keep on with performance testing and the Braunvieh breed is not afraid to be tested, weighed, and measured. If you do so you will find out that this is the most balanced breed, the breed where everything is in proportion. I can show you on my cattle what I have stated (I can prove as a fact what other breeds only dream of). I believe this is the reason that I do not need to advertise, the Braunvieh Cattle do their own advertising and this is the best kind of advertising (I make some Braunvieh Awareness Propaganda but very little advertisement). Braunvieh is the oldest breed which is developed as a dual purpose breed, spread the farthest into the most remote countries. This is because the Braunvieh breed is not promoted but proven! It has proven itself as The Breed!

IDEAL BREED CHARACTERISTICS

The Braunvieh breed has the characteristics to produce the type of cattle that we need.

I want cattle which can not only survive under harsh conditions, but are able to survive and produce. 

BRAUNVIEH EVERYWHERE

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