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| Guernsey Cow and Calf |
The Isle of Guernsey, a tiny island in the English Channel off the coast of France, is the birthplace of the Guernsey cow. About 960 A.D., besieged by buccaneers and sea rovers, the island came to the attention of Robert Duke of Normandy. He sent a group of militant monks to educate the natives, cultivate the soil and defend the land. The monks brought with them the best bloodlines of French cattle - Norman Brindles, also known as Alderneys, from the province of Isigny and the famous Froment du Leon breed from Brittany - and developed the Guernsey.
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| Fermain Bay - Guernsey |
The Guernsey cow in England and Wales is renowned for the quantity and quality of its milk. A leading herd has achieved a production average of 8000 litres per cow with butterfat of 5% and protein 3.7%. The yield of fat and protein of 670 kilos per cow is equivalent to the yield of a 10,000 kilo Holstein. This offers a great advantage to the milk processor in that he has 20% less volume to handle. The Guernsey cow has a unique ability to pass Beta Carotene through her digestive system and into her milk which leads to a rich golden colour in resulting products.
Admiral Byrd took three Guernsey cows with him to his visit to Antartica in October 1933.
The Guernsey Breed also produces milk that contains 95% of Beta Casein A2, that does not give rise to Beta Casomorphin when digested by the human stomach and may give protection against Type 1 Diabetes, autism and possibly heart disease. The milk is also richer in calcium than other milks.
Guernsey milk also has much better foam stability (+600%) when used in specialty coffees.
The Guernsey is also known for her excellent temperament and her adaptability with populations in North and South America, Africa and Australasia as well as the United Kingdom. The Guernsey is of medium size with mature animals weighing between 500 and 600 kilos and is known for her ease of calving especially to Charolais or Belgian Blue bulls.
She has good feet and leg structure and has recently emerged as the longest living producer when compared with other dairy breeds in the United Kingdom.(Kingshay/NMR)
The Guernsey is well suited to extensive /organic farming situations.
The English Guernsey Cattle Society are involved in maintaining the breed pedigree register established in 1884 and also select young bulls for progeny testing at home and overseas. All young bulls entering EU Licenced Artificial Insemination Centres will be Qualified to the Export standard. EGCS hope to collect semen from Young bulls from our Best Cow Families each year.
