They really are! Giant, slow, gentle babies. Despite popular belief, Brown Swiss are an American breed, developed through selection of the Swiss Braunvieh cattle. They’re a heavy boned breed that typically have very good feet and legs. They handle cold better than heat. Often they’re quite slow to breed and breed back (I was super excited that Cleo’s Swiss “Whisper” cycled only 30 days after calving!!) But, they age well, it’s easy for Swiss to be in their teens and remain youthful. I love their milk for cheesemaking. It’s has a strong firm curd that yields well. Interestingly, they test a2/a2 more consistently than the Jerseys. Thanks to their size, they blend well in larger commercial Holstein dairies. You may not think this is an advantage, but when it comes to numbers worldwide they have a huge advantage over the Ayrshires. Swiss are popular in Europe and there’s a lot of bloodlines imported to the US. Ayrshire genetics on the other hand, get split into Norwegian Red, Scandinavian Red, Normandy, Montbeliarde, Milking Shorthorn, and I’ve probably forgotten a couple! So the selection of Ayrshire sires is much more limited than Brown Swiss! I wish I could get pictures to load on the blog. Our oldest daughter loves the Swiss cattle and slowly collects more and more and more…
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