I have always loved the beauty and tranquility of seeing cows grazing in a field. Although I was born and raised in the city, I have always loved the country. But the only cows I knew about growing up were the black and white Holsteins. My husband however, grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. They milked Holstein cows, but he also knew about the other types dairy cows such as Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Jersey and Ayrshire. He was not aware of the kind I saw the other day.
I was traveling on a country road familiar to me, and although I do not travel it on a regular basis, I travel it often enough to be surprised at seeing these cows for the first time. I caught a glimpse of black and white cows. I assumed they were Holsteins, but as I got closer I noticed they all had the same markings. Unlike Holsteins that are black and have splotches of white in various places all over their bodies, these cows were black with a wide, white band around their midsection. Everyone one of the them. All 20-30 of them in the field looked identical. I took a double take, then stopped to take a picture of these unusual cows.
I checked Google…they are either Belted Galloway or Dutch Belted cows. Both breeds have similar patterns. The Belted Galloway comes from Scotland, also nick-named “Oreo cows”. They are primarily raised for their quality marbled-beef. The Belted Galloway survive well in much colder weather but their coat is longer and thicker. The cows we saw in the pasture had short hair, but maybe because we’re coming off summer – it may grow longer and thicker as winter settles in.
A second breed with the same markings is the Dutch Belted cow, from the Netherlands. They are raised primarily for dairy. In the Netherlands, the cows are know as Lakevelder, a term that means a sheet or blanket around the body.
Here are links to the two different breeds:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakenvelder_cattle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_Galloway
When comparing pictures off the internet I believe the cows I saw were Dutch Belted, but I am not positive.
It was a fun discovery. They were a beautiful sight. I had never seen this kind of cow before. I will start asking around to see if others have.
I love it that you truly see creation! Nova would want to see these! She likes mooing to cows!
That is a fun sound to make!
Does she like Oreos?
I have seen these cows as well but didn’t what they were . Now I do.
YAY.
It’s fun to know you’ve seen them too.
Oreo cows! Belted cows! Wonderful. Who knew? : )
I know…it was all new to me.
My first thought was Oreos. What unique coloring. I grew up on a dairy farm and am familiar with breeds, but not these. What an interesting find.
I was wondering if you knew of these Belted Cows. Gary didn’t know of them either.
Oh, my gosh, this makes me laugh! I love the cow photos. It is so funny, because we were just on a car ride, and we were discussing which cows appeal to us visually. We decided we like the black best, because they look classy. You know, “classy in black.” The bovine version of the “little black dress!” We also agreed that white cows look like they are naked. But these “belted cows” are a riot. These cows don’t mind showing their midriff, apparently. I am going to be chuckling about this every time I think of it. Thank you for giving me the best smile/chuckle of the day!
I’m chuckling now. I like your descriptions of the classy verses naked verses belted cows. I’ll never look at cows the same!