Present:    History                    

Today again only small herds still exist in the Harz as those of mountain farmer Wolfgang Beuse in Wildemann. His herd consists at present of 20 milk cows and an approved bull. Its breeding resulted in the animals that regained about 80% of the genes of the original Harz red cattle race. Since the animals are kept under ecological conditions, they can also keep their horns which are in conventional breeding removed when the calves are still young.

The use of the animals in Beuses stable is concentrated primarily, apart from the milk use, to the re-breeding. Marketing of the meat is planned later because with the today predominant so-called "Anglervieh" a close relative to the Harz cow which has been bred for high performance milk supply, the Harz red cow can not compete with the milk yield. But the animals produce a meat of outstanding quality.

During the daily way to the pasture, one can see how the animals enjoy to eat raspberry shrubs, ferns and stinging nettles, how they like to walk through bushes and to climb hills. They are also irreplaceable as landscape maintainers.

The animals are so robust that they are outdoors all year long. Nevertheless they are almost never ill and become older than other cattle races. They can get about 20 years old and achieve a milk production of approximately 4000 litres per year. The fat content of the milk is 4.5 %.

Cows and cowherds
(Photo: Klein, Altenau)

Harz cow

Harz Red Cattle