HISTORY OF PINZGAUER CATTLE

About 500 AD, Alpine herdsmen, who ran their cattle on small, widely scattered, rocky pastures, began to develop a breed of red and white cattle from the native red Bavarian cattle. These early cattlemen selected animals that could withstand the harsh conditions and still produce meat and milk. Farmers in the highly productive valleys and other lush areas of Bavaria developed larger, brown and spotted (or "flecked") breeds of cattle from this native seedstock, and the Pinzgauer was born. As history progressed, Pinzgauer attained their present form and color.

Developed in Austria as a dual purpose breed, Pinzgauer possess a combination of high milk production and excellent fattening qualities. Alpine grazing and harsh weather conditions generated the strong constitution, ranging ability and soundness seen in the breed today. Pinzgauer adapt to climate changes well, as herds thrive in Brazil as well as they do in Canada. Unusually thick hides provide resistance to insects and dark eye pigmentation virtually eliminates eye disease. The quiet nature of the breed is an asset during every level of production… from birth to slaughter.

The Pinzgauer name stems from their origination in the Pinzgau valley in Salzburg, Austria as descendents of the European mountain breeds. They have been raised in the Austrian and German mountains for many centuries. Genetic research and performance testing in the mother country of Austria comes from a Pinzgauer Herd Book that is over 400 years old, with a focus on selective breeding being recorded at the end of the 18th century. There are records of exportations of "Pinzgauer Cattle" to Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia in the 1820s. A group of Pinzgauer cattle were sent to the Paris World Exhibition in 1871, and a large number of breeding cattle were exported to South Africa in the early 1900s. One of the most famous expressionist artists in the world, Austrian Gustav Klimt, has paintings featuring Pinzgauer cattle. Years of selection in the rough mountain climate has resulted in an adaptable, hardy breed known for its ability to produce despite environmental extremes or quality of feed.

In Austria, Pinzgauer are dual purpose cattle with emphasis on milk production and it was from this stock that the Canadian imports were chosen. Pedigrees contained cows that had achieved elite status for milk production and test results from the Maishofen Bull Stud indicated high daily gains with excellent feed efficiency. Although the ultimate purpose of the Canadian Pinzgauer is beef production, the fact that milk production has been stressed for many years greatly enhances the value of the breed, and has truly created the best cow in the Canadian beef business.

Austrian breeders are credited with developing a remarkable breed in Pinzgauer. Longevity and an inherent ability to adapt to extreme climates and adverse conditions is beneficial to beef producers across Canada, as well as the rest of the world. Pinzgauers are known for their fertility as well as their exceptionally docile nature. Canadian breeders have been careful not to eliminate these important traits in the development of the beef-type Pinzgauer.

Many nations around the world have recognized the qualities of Pinzgauer cattle and use them as purebreds or in crossbreeding programs to improve the native cattle. The world stock of Pinzgauer cattle, which amounts to 1.3 million head, is divided among 24 nations (8 of which are European) and 4 continents. According to their historical development, the breeding areas in Austria (200,000 head) as well as that in Bavaria (West Germany) and South Tyrol (Italy - amounting to 50,000 head), are the original breeding grounds. 85% of the world's stock is situated outside Austria, and is distributed as follows:

• Europe (listed in numerical order) - Romania, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, Bavaria, Italy, Yugoslavia and England.
• Africa - South West Africa (Namibia) and the Republic of South Africa where Pinzgauer have been bred for over 100 years (approximately 100,000 head of purebred cattle), Mozambique, Angola, Zaire, West Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana.
• South America: Brazil, Bolivia, Equador and Argentina.
• North America: Canada and the United States.
• Australia.
• New Zealand.

The first Pinzgauer were imported into Canada in 1972. In total, there were eighty eight (88) females and twenty three (23) live Pinzgauer bulls imported from Austria into the Canadian Herd Book between 1972 and 1976. Two (2) more bulls and a female were imported in the middle 1980's and semen on six (6) new bulls was entered into the Canadian Pinzgauer Herd Book in the mid-1990's. Of the original 23 bulls, semen still exists on the majority of them.