1. History

2. Characteristics

3. Use

4. References

The Fjäll ({{lang-sv|Fjällko|italic=no}} or {{lang|sv|Svensk Fjällras|italic=no}}) is a traditional Swedish breed of polled mountain cattle. It was threatened with extinction in the 1970s and 1980s, but recovered after a breed association was formed in 1995, partly thanks to stocks of frozen semen. Microsatellite analysis has shown it to be closely related to the endangered Bohuskulla breed.{{r|tapio|page=1775}}

History

There have long been small polled mountain cattle in Sweden. A text from 1296 AD describes cattle that are "small, hornless, white or whitish grey, often with dark spots".^[1]

The Fjällras was established as a breed in the nineteenth century.{{r|neurocad}} A herd-book was started in 1907.{{r|dad}}

The traditional mountain cattle breeds were very variable. In 1937 a new breed, the Swedish Polled ({{lang-sv|{{noitalic|Svensk Kullig Boskap}}}} or SKB) was created with the intention of merging the Fjällras with the Swedish Red Polled ({{lang-sv|{{noitalic|Rödkulla}}}}), a quite different breed of mountain cattle.{{r|cabi|page=307|dad}} However, breeders did not accept the new classification, and continued to maintain separate bloodlines as before.{{r|fao|page=12–13|bett|bett2}} During the 1970s and 1980s indiscriminate cross-breeding placed the breed in danger of extinction.{{r|neurocad}} A breeders' association, the Föreningen Svensk Fjällrasavel, was established in 1996;{{r|fao|page=13}} a similar association, the Sveriges Rödkulleförening, had formed for the Rödkulla in the 1960s.{{r|fao|page=13}}

Stocks of frozen semen from pure-bred Fjällras bulls born in the mid-twentieth century helped in the recovery of the breed, and allowed the effective population size to be increased.{{r|neurocad}} In 1996 it was estimated that there were approximately 400 Fjällras cows.{{r|eaap}} In 2012 a total population of 6836 head was reported.{{r|dad}}

The traditional Fjäll has divided into two sub-breeds, the Svensk Fjällras{{r|dad}} and the Fjällnära Boskap.{{r|dad3}}

Characteristics

The coat colour of the Fjällras is variable: it may be almost white; white speckled with red or black; colour-sided red or black with finching; or, occasionally, solid red, black or – more rarely – grey. The skin is white.{{r|neurocad}} The cattle are well adapted to the mountain environment and forage well on poor pasture.{{r|sf|norden}}

Use

The Fjällras is principally a dairy breed. Average milk yield is approximately {{nobreak|5500 kg}} of milk per lactation; some cows may give {{nobreak|11 000–12 000 kg}}. The milk has a high butter-fat content, approximately 4.5%, and a protein content of about 3.6%; it is particularly rich in κ-casein B and is suitable for making cheese.{{r|sf}}

References

• Oswald Gomis
• Oswald Griffiths
• Oswald Groenings
• Oswald Grubel
• Oswald Gruebel
• Oswald Grübel
• Oswald Grübel (UBS AG)
• Oswald Harding
• Oswald Hawken
• Oswald Herbert Ernst
• Oswaldia
• Oswald James Hawken
• Oswald J. Gaynier
• Oswald J. Grübel
• Oswald John Louis Szemerenyi
• Oswald John Louis Szemerényi
• Oswald Jones
• Oswald Joseph Gaynier
• Oswald J. Smith
• Oswald Kaduk
• Oswald kaduk
• Oswald Kairamo
• Oswald, King and Martyr
• Oswaldkirk, North Yorkshire
• Oswald Krauss