Shorthorn Cattle

The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late 18th century. The breed was developed as dual purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however there were always certain blood lines within the breed which emphasised one quality or the other. Over time these different lines diverged and by the second half of the 20th century two separate breeds had developed – the Beef Shorthorn, and the Dairy Shorthorn. All Shorthorn cattle are coloured red, white or roan, although roan cattle are preferred by some, and completely white animals are not common. However, one type of Shorthorn has been bred to be consistently white – the Whitebred Shorthorn, which was developed to cross with black Galloway cattle to produce a popular blue roan crossbreed, the Blue Grey.

Distribution

Today the breed is found mainly in English speaking countries, and South America. The main countries are: Argentina, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe. Beamish Museum in north-eastern England preserves the Durham breed.

in Australia

Shorthorn cattle were one of the first purebred breeds to be imported into Australia when several cows were brought into New South Wales in 1800. More purebred Shorthorns were imported into NSW in 1825 by Potter McQueen of Scone.Nine months later the Australian Agricultural Company imported additional Shorthorns, and in the 1930s Thomas Simpson Hall, the breeder of the Halls Heeler, imported Durham Shorthorns from which he developed extensive herds of Poll Shorthorns.
The breed has a wide genetic base, resulting in the development of several distinct though closely related strains – these are the traditional strains:
Beef Shorthorn, Poll Shorthorn, Durham, Dairy Shorthorn, Australian Shorthorn
The current Shorthorn Society of Australia encompasses the Poll Shorthorn, Australian Shorthorn and the Durham. Many other beef cattle breeds have used Shorthorn genetics in the development of new breeds such as the Belmont Red.