So, why don’t we see more red Holsteins?
Red Holsteins were fairly common in Europe where the Holstein originated but when dairy farmers in the US started importing Holsteins they mostly imported black animals. The red coat color is recessive, meaning black cows can carry the gene, so these animals and their offspring could give birth to red calves later on. When these calves were born they rarely made it to the milking parlor because these red individuals didn’t fit the “mold” and for years the Holstein Friesian Association did not accept any red cows and actively sought to eliminate these red animals. However, thanks to the efforts of a few dedicated farmers who saved these red calves this gene never died out and in 1970 the Holstein Friesian Association began accepting red animals. However, the red gene is still relatively scarce.
Here at Witter we don’t have any red cows. However, a red bull called Rager-Red (seen in picture) is the sire of several cows here at the farm, including Madeline and Ragu. This means that someday we could have a little red calf born!