Illawarra cattle are a breed of Australian dual-purpose cattle bred for milk and meat production. The breed was bred by Australian dairy farmers.
They improved their herd by introducing pedigrees from a number of excellent dairy cattle breeds. To create this breed, in particular, Shorthorn, Ayrshire and Devon dairy cows were used.
The breed name was shortened from the former Australian Illawarra Shorthorn. And it was named after Illawarra, New South Wales, where they developed from the original imported Shorthorns and other breeds.
Dairy farming became popular in Australia in the 1840s. And before that, Illawarra cattle were primarily used for beef production. The breed is currently available in many parts of the world.
Live animals and embryos have been exported to Central America, UK, Pakistan, USA, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Canada, Korea, Japan, Indonesia and the Middle East. Learn more about the breed below.
Characteristics of illawarra cattle
Illawarra cattle are medium to large sized animals with large bodies. Typically, they can be deep, completely red, dark red with small white spots on the sides or body, or completely dark roan.
They are fairly light up front but increase in width and depth towards the rear. Bulls and cows usually have horns.
They have strong dark hooves and dark pigmentation. The udder of cows should be wide, but not drooping, with good attachment in front and behind. Photos and information from ansi.okstate.edu and Wikipedia.
Advantages
Illawarra cattle are dual purpose animals. They are intended for both dairy and meat production.
Special Notes
Illawarra cattle are hardy animals well adapted to almost any climatic condition. They are well adapted to weather conditions below 0 degrees Celsius and above 40 degrees Celsius.
They usually don’t need special complementary foods and can use food most efficiently. Animals, as a rule, are very obedient, and also differ in longevity. They are very easy to handle.
Illawarra cows are very good milkers and can produce large quantities of milk. Their milk is high quality, high in protein and milk fat.
According to the 6733 Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Report, the average milk yield of cows is around 2010 liters with a milk fat content of 3.95% and 3.29% protein.
The breed is also good for meat production. See the complete breed profile of Illawarra cattle in the following table.
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| Breed name | Illawarra |
| another name | everything |
| Purpose of the breed | milk and meat |
| Special Notes | Hardy, obedient, good milkers, good for meat |
| Breed size | medium to large |
| climatic tolerance | All climatic conditions |
| coat color | Mainly red, with some whites or roals |
| horned | Yes |
| milk production | Tremendous |
| scarcity | general |
| Country/place of origin | Australia |
