Alentejana
Alentejana cattle are a native Portuguese beef breed from the Alentejo, the dry, open country south of the Tagus River. Formerly used as powerful draught oxen as well as farm cattle, they are now best known as red or wheat-colored suckler cows with long spreading horns, a deep body, and a calm, steady constitution. The breed belongs to the Iberian red cattle group and is tied to traditional montado landscapes of cork oak, holm oak, stubble, and seasonal grass.
On farms, Alentejana cattle are usually managed extensively, calving outdoors and turning rough pasture into beef rather than high volumes of milk. Their value is in heat tolerance, walking ability, maternal behavior, and meat from slow-grown calves, including programs associated with Portuguese quality labels. Breeding herds benefit from selection for feet, udders, fertility, and temperament, because the breed's conservation depends on useful cows as much as on maintaining pedigree records.
Colors: Belted, Black, Black and White, Blaze Faced, Blue Roan, Brindle, Brockle Faced, Brown, Brown and White, Dun, Gray, Grey, Highbelt, Highpark, Lineback, Mottled, Pied, Red, Red and White, Red Roan, Riggit, Roan, Silver, Solid Black, Solid Red, Solid White, Speckled, Spotted, White, White Faced, Yellow
