Breeding for efficiency
Balanced, productive and efficient dual purpose cattle suitable for the production of milk, beef and by-products, that can be kept in all production systems of the world.
Facts about Fleckvieh
Worldwide there are 41 Mio. Fleckvieh animals. Fleckvieh is the second largest cattle breed in the world.
Breeding aim
Balanced, productive dual purpose cattle suitable for the production of milk, beef and byproducts, that can be kept in all production-systems around the world.
Fleckvieh - The universal breed
The Fleckvieh-Population in Germany
| Number of Fleckvieh-cattle: | 3,66 Mio. |
| Thereof dairy cows: | 1,26 Mio. |
| Milk recorded cows: | 882.737 |
| Herdbook cows: | 645.124 |
| Number of first inseminations: | 1,65 Mio. |
| Number of Fleckvieh-cattle in Bavaria: | 2,91 Mio. |
| thereof dairy cows in Bavaria: | 965.000 |
| Active breeding population in Bavaria: | 717.000 |
Young bulls
| Fleckvieh young bulls: | 551 |
| Thereof tested by Bavarian Fleckvieh Genetics: | 200 |
Production data
Milk production:
| Average milk recorded cows: |
| 6.852kg Milch - 4,14% Fett - 3,49% Eiweiß |
Beef production:
| Number of tested bulls: | 229.219 |
| Average age: | 19,2 months |
| Life weight: | 696kg |
| Carcass weight: | 401kg |
| Net weight gain: | 692g/day |
| Dressing percentage: | 57,9% |
Fertility and calving ease:
| Number of calvings | Stillbirth % | Assisted births % | |
| Fleckvieh heifers | 241.782 | 5,3 | 6,3 |
| Fleckvieh cows | 510.294 | 3,6 | 3,5 |
History of the Fleckvieh breed
Starting in 1830 original Simmentaler cattle from Switzerland were imported to the Bavarian Kingdom and to former Austria to improve the local dual purpose breeds. At these times the Simmental cattle were famous for their milk production and drought capacity, but were late maturing with little depth and coarse bones.
In 1920 the herdbook in Southern Germany was closed and Fleckvieh was developed as an independent breed. The breeding aims were focused on a "middle of the road type animal" with excellent muscling, good milk production and draught performance. Therefore an excellent performance testing system and a strict breeding programme were worked out.
This systematic improvement of the production traits led to a modern, high productive dual purpose breed, that fits the economical needs of today.