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The Romagnola is a breed of cattle from the Emilia-Romagna region of
Italy. It belongs to the Podolic group of grey cattle.
Romagnola cattle were used principally as draught beasts in the past; since the mechanisation of agriculture in the middle of the twentieth century they have been bred primarily for beef production.
As with other
European grey cattle, it has been suggested that the Romagnola breed derives from Podolian cattle from the steppes of eastern
Europe, possibly brought to Italy by invading
Goths in the fourth century AD or by the
Lombard king Agilulf.[1] This hypothesis is based on the zoological theories of the nineteenth century, going back to the
Bos taurus podolicus of
Johann Andreas Wagner. It is not supported by modern genetic, zoological or archaeological research.[2]
There were in the past a number of local sub-types of Romagnola cattle, including the
Bolognese in the area of
Bologna, the Ferrarese in the area of
Ferrara, a mountain type ("di monte") and a lowland type ("gentile di pianura").
Selective breeding towards the modern type began in about 1850, and the resulting stock won prizes both in Italy and abroad.
In Paris in
1900 the Romagnola was judged jointly with the
Hereford to be the "best beef breed".[1]
The Romagnola was however principally a draught breed, and was bred for that purpose, with massive and powerful foreparts and short strong legs.
Following the progressive mechanisation of agriculture in the years after the
Second World War the breeding strategy changed completely, and was directed towards beef production. To this end, cross-breeding with Chianina cattle was attempted, but did not give the desired results.[1] A herd book was established in
1963.[3]
More than 80% of the registered
Italian population is in Emila-Romagna; there are small populations in Abruzzo,
Basilicata, Campania,
Calabria,
Lazio, Lombardy,
Le Marche,
Puglia,
Tuscany and the
Veneto.[4] Some animals were exported to
Scotland in the early
1970s and the breed is present in small numbers in
Great Britain, Ireland,
North and South America,
Australia, New Zealand and
Africa.[5][
6]
Numbers in Italy have fallen sharply since the Second World War. In
1952 there were 450,
000 head; this fell to
250,000 in
1965, to
120,000 in
1977 and to 45,000 in
1980.[1]
At the end of
2013 the total number recorded for the breed in Italy was 13,
054.[4]
Characteristics
Romagnola cattle are ivory-white, tending to grey on the foreparts, particularly in bulls; the skin and natural openings are black. The colour of the coat varies with the season, and is darker in winter.
The horns are light, lyre-shaped in cows, half-moon-shaped in bulls; they are slate-grey in young animals, becoming pale at the base and dark at the tip with maturity. As with all Podolic cattle, the calves are born wheat-coloured but become white at about three months.
Fuente
Juan Gonzalo Angel
www.tvagro.tv
- published: 22 Oct 2015
- views: 378