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Due to the increased demand for dairy products in both capitals in the XNUMXth century, the cheese and butter industry began to flourish in the Yaroslavl province. Convenient communication routes between Yaroslavl, Moscow and St. Petersburg also contributed to successful sales. But the production of cheeses and butter requires large amounts of milk. At that time, the Yaroslavl villages could not provide the industrialists with the necessary volumes of raw materials.
In an attempt to obtain the milk necessary for the business, dairy associations were created, which initially selected the individuals they needed from the existing population of northern Great cows. While it was not possible to take into account productivity, the selection of cows was carried out according to suit. Bulls were selected on the exterior. Much later, Yaroslavl cattle began to be selected according to milk yield and fat content.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Yaroslavl breed of cows was recognized by industrialists and began to spread to neighboring provinces. After the revolution, peasant breeding nurseries were created, where cow owners could bring their animals for mating with a thoroughbred bull, and large partnerships engaged in breeding work.
At the end of the 30s, they tried to cross Yaroslavl with East Frisian bulls. But such crossing led to the loss of the main feature of milk from Yaroslavl cows: fat content. The quality of milk has plummeted. In the 80s, Yaroslavl cows were again crossed with Holstein cattle in order to increase milk production. As a result, the so-called Mikhailovsky type of the Yaroslavl breed arose.
Today, the Yaroslavl, which has a breeding value, is being replaced by more milk-producing foreign breeds, and its numbers are declining. The total number of cows of the Yaroslavl breed in 2007 was 300 thousand heads. This is only 2,5% of the total number of cattle bred in the Federation. The largest number of Yaroslavl cattle is concentrated in the Vologda, Tver, Ivanovo and Yaroslavl regions.
Description of the Yaroslavl breed
Yaroslavl cows are animals of a pronounced dairy type. The Yaroslavl has a dry, angular body with a well-developed skeleton. The growth of cows is from 125 to 127 cm, the oblique length is from 152 to 155 cm. That is, the stretch index for cows of the Yaroslavl breed is 121,6 – 122. The head is dry, graceful, light. The front part of the head is elongated. The neck is long, thin. The chest is deep, but narrow, the dewlap is poorly developed. The withers are high. The sacrum is elevated above the lumbar spine, creating an undesirable topline for a dairy breed. The croup is wide. Legs are thin and short. Metacarpal girth 17–18 cm. Bony index 13,6–14. The udder is medium in size, cup-shaped.
A drooping or roof-like croup is a conformation fault.
The color of the cows of the Yaroslavl breed is mostly black with a white muzzle. But the recessive red color is very rare. If the pezina on the head is a mandatory sign of the Yaroslavl, then the rest of the marks are desirable, but not necessary. Often, Yaroslavl females may have dark “glasses” around the eyes and patches on the belly, legs and tip of the tail.
Productive characteristics of the Yaroslavl breed of cows
The weight of adult Yaroslavl is small: 350 – 450 kg. Bulls, having a decent muscle mass, can exceed the weight of queens by 2 times. The weight of the Yaroslavl bull is 700 – 900, sometimes 1200 kg. The photo shows that even a young bull with an elegant skeleton has a decent amount of muscle.
From cattle, only cows were selected for human orientation in order to be able to receive milk from them. The nature of the bulls that went for meat was of little interest to anyone. Therefore, in almost all breeds of cattle, with a calm disposition of cows, bulls are often vicious and aggressive. They perceive forehead scratching as an invitation to wrestle.
Calves are born weighing 25 – 30 kg. The meat quality of Yaroslavl is worse than that of black-and-white cattle, but bulls are quickly fattened, reaching a weight of 350 kg by a year and a half. The slaughter yield of meat from the carcass of a 1,5-year-old calf is 52 – 57%. With a proper diet during the fattening period, meat yield can reach 60%. Tender lean meat of Yaroslavl gobies has a good taste.
Milk productivity during lactation can reach 5000 liters. Milk has a high palatability and contains 4% fat.
When the diet improves, cows immediately respond with an increase in milk yield. True, there is also the flip side of the coin: when trying to feed low-quality hay or concentrates to Yaroslavl cows, the cows will immediately “pay back” with a decrease in productivity.
Among the advantages of the breed, in addition to the taste qualities obtained from livestock products, resistance to diseases, including leukemia, can be noted.
On a note! It is better to buy a thoroughbred Yaroslavl cow in specialized breeding farms.
Reviews of the owners of the Yaroslavl breed of cows
Conclusion
Yaroslavl cattle are well suited for keeping in household plots. The small size of the cow and the good slaughter yield of meat from the bull make this breed profitable for private ownership. Yaroslavl more than pays for its nutritional requirements with high-quality milk, the fat content of which is one of the highest.