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Steaks or Cheese?

Written by Karen Bergstralh

The archaeological evidence indicates that cattle were the third species domesticated by man, the first two being goats and sheep. For around seven thousand years man has used cattle as a source of draft power and food. Across those millennium cattle have been changed by man and the environments he took them into.

By the seventeenth century we find Europe filled with cattle of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Each region had at least one cattle type that was well adapted to local conditions and was, in some way, distinct from cattle in other regions. Cattle were multi-use animals, raised primarily to provide draft animals (oxen). Meat and dairy products were important secondary products. The dairy products produced were almost exclusively cheese and butter. Consumption of fresh milk was very limited as fresh milk generally was considered suitable only for infants, very small children, some invalids, and for cooking (mainly in the form of cream).

With few exceptions seventeenth century bovines were smaller than today's cattle. They and other livestock had for centuries suffered from the agricultural advice given by Greek and Roman writers. Pliny the Elder and other such ancient authorities wrote about conditions that applied only to Central Italy, a fact that those Europeans seeking to follow the "Ancient Authorities" seem to overlook. If rough grazing was good enough for Pliny, then it was good enough for Bauer Schmidt and Farmer Jones.

Despite this, Roman agricultural practices not found in Galen or Pliny did arise across Europe. Farmers have always had an interest in getting the best yield possible from crops and livestock and innovations were attempts. The spread of those techniques that worked wasn't fast or even. Agricultural theories and advice were spread not only by word of mouth but by pamphlets and books. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Europe was awash in pamphlets and books. Many of these writings contradicted the ancient writers or "explained" what they must have meant. They tended to contradict each other.

There is evidence that as early as the eleventh century Europe had developed at least two plans of crop rotation that were successful enough to have spread widely over two or three centuries. These methods were revolutionary as crop rotation was not included in the Roman or the Greek writings.

Unfortunately where livestock and especially cattle were concerned, the ancient advice was followed for a longer period. The ancient writers stated that a cow should be starved for one to two months before breeding and for up to three months after breeding. This was supposed to improve the quality of the milk. To ensure a bull calf, a north wind had to be blowing when the breeding occurred. Likewise, a south wind would ensure a heifer (female) calf. The quality and condition of the cow was of little importance. She was, as any number of the ancient writers assured, only a vessel for the calf.

The bull was the most important of the animals. One had to be careful in selecting the proper bull and feeding him heavily before breeding. At its most extreme, the idea was that the bull's semen alone developed into the calf with the cow's only contribution being her womb. Others would grant that the cow might contribute up to 20% to her offspring, generally as an explanation for a calf having its mother's coloration rather than its father's. The arguments over the contributions of the male vs. the female to their offspring continued well into the twentieth century among otherwise learned livestock breeders.

Cattle feed by grazing on grasses and plants. These food sources are generally known as forage. In areas where snow coverage isn't heavy or long-term cattle can get through a winter with only a little hay to supplement the stubble left in the fields. In places where the grass and stubble are buried for over a month or beneath a foot or more of snow more hay is needed. The problem for cows was that in most places sheep and horses brought the farmer more cash so the majority supplemental feeds was fed to them rather than the cow.

Sometime during the fifteenth or sixteenth century two new opinions arose concerning cattle. The first was that those cattle that were given supplemental hay and grain survived the winter in much better shape and fattened up quicker in the spring. Fatter cattle brought higher prices at spring sales for slaughter. Pregnant cows that got extra feed over the winter delivered a higher percentage of healthy calves and had more milk. The second idea was that cattle fed root crops such as turnips fattened up better than those fed hay alone. This was a great boon to both the farmers and their cattle. Grain was very expensive and hay production labor-intensive. Turnips were much less costly and labor-intensive to raise and harvest and were easily stored. Cattle could eat both the tops and the root, making turnips an efficient feed.

Better nutrition began to increase the size of cattle which was good for both draft animals and meat animals. One English market recorded a doubling of the slaughter weight* of cattle sold for meat over a century. There is some evidence of a slow but steady rise in the size of cattle across Europe throughout the sixteenth century as the idea of increased nutrition for cattle spread.

Also, across Europe, possibly starting in the Netherlands, small herds started being kept specifically for dairy purposes and others specifically for beef. The cattle were still multi-purpose but the idea of selecting for dairy or beef was there. Those involved in cheese and butter making wanted cows that had high yearly milk yields and better butter fat ratios. Those raising cattle for slaughter wanted higher slaughter weights and a different distribution of muscle and fat. This selection was aided by some types of regional cattle being known for better milk production and others for better beef production.

Late in the seventeenth century several regions saw wealthy breeders increasing attempts to develop cattle either for better beef or for better milk production. Regional cattle types such as the Angus, known ...