The Pineywoods is an endangered American breed of triple-purpose cattle. It derives from cattle of Iberian origin brought to Americas by the conquistadores in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. It is one of three such criollo breeds and is found mainly in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, between the ranges of the other two breeds, the Florida Cracker to the east and the Texas Longhorn to the west.[4]: 270
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Distribution | |
| Use | triple-purpose: meat, milk and draft |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Coat | very variable, many colours and patterns |
| Horn status | usually horned |
| |
In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed; in 2023 its conservation status was listed by the Livestock Conservancy as 'threatened', the second level of concern of the association.[2].
History
editThe Pineywoods, like other Criollo cattle, derives from cattle brought to the New World by Spanish conquistadores from the time of the Second Voyage of Christopher Columbus until about 1512.[5] These cattle numbered no more than 300 head in all, and were brought to La Isla Española (now known as Hispaniola) and other Caribbean islands. The first of them were landed in 1493 on Hispaniola to provide food for the colonists.[6]: 279
Cattle from Cuba were landed in Spanish Florida in 1565, and there was another shipment from the same source in 1640.[6]: 277 By the beginning of the eighteenth century the total number of cattle in the Spanish part of what is now the United States – Florida and parts of modern Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi – was estimated at between 15000 and 20000 head.[6]: 277 These were triple-purpose cattle, reared for meat, for milk and for draft work. They were managed extensively, living in semi-feral conditions for much of the time.[4]: 177 [6]: 277
A breed association, the Pineywoods Cattle Registry and Breeders Association, was established in 1999.[7]
In the twenty-first century the Pineywoods is an endangered breed; in 2023 its conservation status was listed by the Livestock Conservancy as 'threatened', the second level of concern of the association.[2].
Characteristics
editThe Pineywoods is closely related to the Florida Cracker. It is small, with a body weight usually in the range 350 to 550 kg for bulls and 275 to 350 kg for cows.[4]: 270 The coat is very variable, and may be of many different multi-colored patterns or almost any solid color.[2]. The cattle are usually horned, though polled examples are also seen; the horns are variable in shape and may be crumpled or twisted, short or long.[2]
The cattle are long-lived, hardy and rugged; they are able to forage on poor pasture, show good resistance to parasites and display high tolerance of the heat and humidity of the south-western United States.[8]
Use
editThe Pineywoods was traditionally a triple-purpose breed, used for animal traction, for milk and for beef production.[4]: 270 [2]
References
edit- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Pineywoods Cattle. Pittsboro, North Carolina: The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 10 October 2016.
- ^ Breed data sheet: Pineywoods / United States of America (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2024.
- ^ a b c d Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ Emily Jane McTavish, Jared E. Decker, Robert D. Schnabel, Jeremy F. Taylor, David M. Hillis (2013). New World cattle show ancestry from multiple independent domestication events. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (15): E1398–E1406. doi:10.1073/pnas.1303367110.
- ^ a b c d Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001). The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300088809.
- ^ Our story. Poplarville, Mississippi: Pineywoods Cattle Registry and Breeders Association. Archived 27 May 2024.
- ^ Justin B. Pitts, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2010). An Overview and History of Pineywoods Cattle: The Culture and Families that Shaped the Breed. Pittsboro, North Carolina: The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 13 November 2022.