Piedmontese

The Piedmontese is a beef cattle breed from the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, where it was once used for draught, milk, and meat on mixed farms. Modern Piedmontese cattle are associated with a naturally occurring myostatin mutation that produces extra muscle and a high proportion of lean, fine-grained beef. Animals are usually pale gray to white with darker skin, muzzle, hooves, and switch; calves are often born fawn or wheaten before lightening.

Farms keep Piedmontese as purebreds or use Piedmontese bulls in terminal crossbreeding to add carcass yield without excessive fat. Selection should balance muscling with fertility, feet, udders, temperament, and calving ease because heavily muscled matings still deserve close attention at birth. The breed does well on good pasture and hay but needs enough energy and minerals for growth and milk production. Buyers looking for breeding stock often ask for herd-book status or DNA documentation, especially where fullblood and percentage cattle are both marketed.

Colors: Belted, Black, Black and White, Blaze Faced, Blue Roan, Brindle, Brockle Faced, Brown, Brown and White, Dun, Gray, Gray-White, Lineback, Mottled, Off-White, Red, Red and White, Red Roan, Roan, Silver, Solid Black, Solid Red, Speckled, Spotted, White, White Faced, Yellow