Tuesday 15 October 2013

Remoovals

There Stood a Cow has mooved to http://therestoodacow.wordpress.com due to technical difficulties here which I have been unable to resolve.

Sunday 13 October 2013

Cows in Butter

The Iowa State Fair (held in August) has a cow sculptured out of butter!

The Butter Cow starts with a wood, metal, wire and steel mesh frame and about 600 lbs. of low moisture, pure cream Iowa butter. Once inside the 40-degree cooler, layers of butter are applied until a life-size butter cow emerges - measuring about 5-1/2-ft high and 8-ft long.

While a real dairy cow weighs more than 1,000 pounds, a 600-lb. butter cow would butter 19,200 slices of toast and take an average person two lifetimes to consume. Much of the butter is recycled and reused for up to 10 years.

Friday 11 October 2013

Udderly Hands On - cows as a visitor attraction


Don't know what my grandmother would've made of it as she worked as a dairy maid but I think it's good idea that cows can be seen as visitor attractions.
Park Hall Countryside Experience, near Oswestry in England allow visitors to have a go at hand milking a cow. They also have a  high-tech milking parlour which demonstrates new farming practices and shows the origins of the milk which most of us see only on the supermarket shelf. 
And Stockley Farm Park, Arley, Northwich, Cheshire allow visitors to watch the cows being milked from the viewing gallery every afternoon from 3.30pm onwards.
Farmland Fun in Paradise, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. offer to let visitors milk a cow, feed a calf, collect eggs, take a guided tour of the farm and interact with rabbits, goats, chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep; learn how cows turn feed into milk, why their cows wear earrings, and tour their large barn.

Tuesday 8 October 2013

It's Party Time in Bavaria!




Bavarian villagers are celebrating the return of their cows from the mountains with folk dancing and other customs including dressing the lead cow with a garland of flowers, if all the animals survived the summer.

The cattle herders have to float the stock across the Koenigsee Lake because it is the only way to bring the cattle home to their owners a tradition known in German as Viehscheid.

From time immemorial, at about the middle of June every year as soon as the Allgäu Alpine pastures are snow free, the young cattle have been driven up to the mountain meadows.

The tradition of driving cattle up to the mountain pastures is carried out for several very good reasons. Firstly, there are just not enough meadows down in the valley to provide for all the cattle especially as hay also has to be harvested for the long winter months to come. But that’s not the only reason. Spending the summer months higher up the mountains makes the animals more hardy as well as the fact that the sweet grass and mountain herbs taste good and are very healthy. No wonder that the Allgäu milk products are renowned for their quality.

You can head over to http://www.allgaeu-viehscheid.de/ where you can buy a Kuh Kalendar

Monday 7 October 2013

A-Z Cow breeds.- Aberdeen Angus


Aberdeen Angus - Flora

The Aberdeen-Angus breed was developed in the early part of the 19th century from the polled and predominantly black cattle of North east Scotland known locally as “doddies” and “hummlies”.
The earliest families trace back to the middle of the eighteenth century but it was much later that the Herd Book (1862) and the Society (1879) were founded. The breed’s establishment was entirely due to the efforts of three very progressive lairds and farmers of that time.

  • Calving ease and vigourous, live calves - the Angus cow consistently delivers a calf that hits the ground running, with little assistance required. The Angus mothering instinct is very strong, as is the calf’s instinct to get up and suck within the first few moments after birth.
  • Superb mothers with superior milking ability - The Angus cow is renowned for her maternal traits, calving ease and ability to milk producing a calf each year that more than exceeds half her body weight. An Angus mother puts her all into her calf, producing an abundance of milk right up to weaning.

    Photo courtesy of Glympton Aberdeen angus, www.glymptonaberdeenangus.co.uk
  • Early maturity, fertility and stayability - The Angus cow does her job well, whether it’s her first or her fourteenth calf. Stayability (a cow’s continuing ability to bear calves) is more than just a word with Angus – it’s not unusual for 12- and 13-year-old Angus cows to be productive.
  • Naturally polled - No dehorning is required with Angus cattle as they carry a highly heritable, natural polled gene. Horns can cause bruising and tearing and good animal care is another reason to choose Angus.
  • No cancer eye or sunburned udders - The dark skin and udders of red and black Angus cattle mean that sunburned udders are rarely a problem. Similarly, cancer eye is not prevalent in Angus cattle.
  • Adaptable to all weather conditions - Angus thrive under all conditions with a minimum of maintenance.
  • Superior feed conversion - A recent study of crossbred cow types demonstrated that Angus-cross were among the most efficient, providing higher net returns on investment.
  • Natural marbling for tasty, tender beef - The market is calling for carcasses with more marbling in order to satisfy consumer demand. The heritability of marbling is moderately high. The correlation between marbling and tenderness is also moderately high so when cattle producers select for marbling, tenderness improves. Using Angus cattle with their superior marbling ability opens the door to improved beef tenderness and increased consumer acceptance of beef
  • Preferred carcass size and quality - Research demonstrates that Angus sires can be selected to produce progeny that have an increased ability to grade AAA without compromising feed efficiency or animal growth – and without increasing yield grade at the expense of carcass quality.
  • - See more at: http://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/7/aberdeen-angus/overview#sthash.kIVtSnzD.dpuf
    Although Angus cattle can be red or black, black was the more sought-after colour during the breed's early development.. But the recessive red colour remained in the gene pool and has now developed its own strong enthusiasts.

    Typical Angus cows weigh between 1,000 and 1,300 pounds at maturity.

    Where to spot them

    http://aberdeen-angus.co.uk/breeders-links/






  • Calving ease and vigourous, live calves - the Angus cow consistently delivers a calf that hits the ground running, with little assistance required. The Angus mothering instinct is very strong, as is the calf’s instinct to get up and suck within the first few moments after birth.
  • Superb mothers with superior milking ability - The Angus cow is renowned for her maternal traits, calving ease and ability to milk producing a calf each year that more than exceeds half her body weight. An Angus mother puts her all into her calf, producing an abundance of milk right up to weaning.

    Photo courtesy of Glympton Aberdeen angus, www.glymptonaberdeenangus.co.uk
  • Early maturity, fertility and stayability - The Angus cow does her job well, whether it’s her first or her fourteenth calf. Stayability (a cow’s continuing ability to bear calves) is more than just a word with Angus – it’s not unusual for 12- and 13-year-old Angus cows to be productive.
  • Naturally polled - No dehorning is required with Angus cattle as they carry a highly heritable, natural polled gene. Horns can cause bruising and tearing and good animal care is another reason to choose Angus.
  • No cancer eye or sunburned udders - The dark skin and udders of red and black Angus cattle mean that sunburned udders are rarely a problem. Similarly, cancer eye is not prevalent in Angus cattle.
  • Adaptable to all weather conditions - Angus thrive under all conditions with a minimum of maintenance.
  • Superior feed conversion - A recent study of crossbred cow types demonstrated that Angus-cross were among the most efficient, providing higher net returns on investment.
  • Natural marbling for tasty, tender beef - The market is calling for carcasses with more marbling in order to satisfy consumer demand. The heritability of marbling is moderately high. The correlation between marbling and tenderness is also moderately high so when cattle producers select for marbling, tenderness improves. Using Angus cattle with their superior marbling ability opens the door to improved beef tenderness and increased consumer acceptance of beef
  • Preferred carcass size and quality - Research demonstrates that Angus sires can be selected to produce progeny that have an increased ability to grade AAA without compromising feed efficiency or animal growth – and without increasing yield grade at the expense of carcass quality.
  • - See more at: http://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/7/aberdeen-angus/overview#sthash.kIVtSnzD.dpuf
  • Calving ease and vigourous, live calves - the Angus cow consistently delivers a calf that hits the ground running, with little assistance required. The Angus mothering instinct is very strong, as is the calf’s instinct to get up and suck within the first few moments after birth.
  • Superb mothers with superior milking ability - The Angus cow is renowned for her maternal traits, calving ease and ability to milk producing a calf each year that more than exceeds half her body weight. An Angus mother puts her all into her calf, producing an abundance of milk right up to weaning.

    Photo courtesy of Glympton Aberdeen angus, www.glymptonaberdeenangus.co.uk
  • Early maturity, fertility and stayability - The Angus cow does her job well, whether it’s her first or her fourteenth calf. Stayability (a cow’s continuing ability to bear calves) is more than just a word with Angus – it’s not unusual for 12- and 13-year-old Angus cows to be productive.
  • Naturally polled - No dehorning is required with Angus cattle as they carry a highly heritable, natural polled gene. Horns can cause bruising and tearing and good animal care is another reason to choose Angus.
  • No cancer eye or sunburned udders - The dark skin and udders of red and black Angus cattle mean that sunburned udders are rarely a problem. Similarly, cancer eye is not prevalent in Angus cattle.
  • Adaptable to all weather conditions - Angus thrive under all conditions with a minimum of maintenance.
  • Superior feed conversion - A recent study of crossbred cow types demonstrated that Angus-cross were among the most efficient, providing higher net returns on investment.
  • Natural marbling for tasty, tender beef - The market is calling for carcasses with more marbling in order to satisfy consumer demand. The heritability of marbling is moderately high. The correlation between marbling and tenderness is also moderately high so when cattle producers select for marbling, tenderness improves. Using Angus cattle with their superior marbling ability opens the door to improved beef tenderness and increased consumer acceptance of beef
  • Preferred carcass size and quality - Research demonstrates that Angus sires can be selected to produce progeny that have an increased ability to grade AAA without compromising feed efficiency or animal growth – and without increasing yield grade at the expense of carcass quality.
  • - See more at: http://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/7/aberdeen-angus/overview#sthash.kIVtSnzD.dpuf
  • Calving ease and vigourous, live calves - the Angus cow consistently delivers a calf that hits the ground running, with little assistance required. The Angus mothering instinct is very strong, as is the calf’s instinct to get up and suck within the first few moments after birth.
  • Superb mothers with superior milking ability - The Angus cow is renowned for her maternal traits, calving ease and ability to milk producing a calf each year that more than exceeds half her body weight. An Angus mother puts her all into her calf, producing an abundance of milk right up to weaning.

    Photo courtesy of Glympton Aberdeen angus, www.glymptonaberdeenangus.co.uk
  • Early maturity, fertility and stayability - The Angus cow does her job well, whether it’s her first or her fourteenth calf. Stayability (a cow’s continuing ability to bear calves) is more than just a word with Angus – it’s not unusual for 12- and 13-year-old Angus cows to be productive.
  • Naturally polled - No dehorning is required with Angus cattle as they carry a highly heritable, natural polled gene. Horns can cause bruising and tearing and good animal care is another reason to choose Angus.
  • No cancer eye or sunburned udders - The dark skin and udders of red and black Angus cattle mean that sunburned udders are rarely a problem. Similarly, cancer eye is not prevalent in Angus cattle.
  • Adaptable to all weather conditions - Angus thrive under all conditions with a minimum of maintenance.
  • Superior feed conversion - A recent study of crossbred cow types demonstrated that Angus-cross were among the most efficient, providing higher net returns on investment.
  • Natural marbling for tasty, tender beef - The market is calling for carcasses with more marbling in order to satisfy consumer demand. The heritability of marbling is moderately high. The correlation between marbling and tenderness is also moderately high so when cattle producers select for marbling, tenderness improves. Using Angus cattle with their superior marbling ability opens the door to improved beef tenderness and increased consumer acceptance of beef
  • Preferred carcass size and quality - Research demonstrates that Angus sires can be selected to produce progeny that have an increased ability to grade AAA without compromising feed efficiency or animal growth – and without increasing yield grade at the expense of carcass quality.
  • - See more at: http://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/7/aberdeen-angus/overview#sthash.kIVtSnzD.dpuf

    Sunday 6 October 2013

    Advertising cows


     
    I Like the way you Moo - Coleman's Gravy dancing bull

    Butter made by cows since 1886 and some time before

    British Beef


    Cow & Gate are makers of baby milk formula and they have a free soft toy cow (see picture below) to give away to all members (UK) click here




    Saturday 5 October 2013

    What's your beef?

    cuts of beef

    Traditional Sirloin steak
    Sirloin comes from the centre of the back, which has the most tender meat that doesn’t need much cooking so it makes the perfect steak.

    Traditional Rump steak
    The rump is a very lean cut of meat which makes it ideal for steaks and kebabs.

    Traditional Rib-eye steak
    This steak is very popular and has lots of flavour. Plus, it needs very little preparation, so it can be ready to eat in no time at all.

    Traditional Fillet steak
    The less work a muscle does, the more tender it'll be. Fillet steak is the most highly prized cut of beef taken from a strip of meat called the tenderloin. 

    Burgers, mince and meatballs
    We use our Traditional British beef from the clod, neck and shin as it's full of flavour.

    Topside and Silverside
    Our topside joints come from the top of the leg. They're lean, boneless cuts of meat and make great roasting joints. Or for frying there are sandwich steaks from the back of the leg.

    Thanks to Morrisons for this information