Watchtower Farm

The Guernsey cattle breed originated in the Channel Islands between France and England and is named for the Isle of Guernsey, which is the most western of the group. The Jersey breed was developed on the neighboring island of Jersey, and the two breeds are related. Cattle were first brought to Guernsey from Brittany over 1,000 years ago. Subsequent imports brought cattle from Normandy, and this founding population was variable in size and in color, including white, red, black, brindle and fawn animals. Over the next several centuries, cattle on the island were selected for the richness and quantity of their milk, and performance was gradually improved. Channel Islands cattle were exported to England beginning in the 1700s, where they were widely used in the establishment and improvement of other breeds. There was extensive trade between the Channel Islands and England, France, and the Netherlands, and cattle were part of this trade until the early 1800s. At that time, imports into Guernsey were stopped and the ­island herds were closed. Since then, the export of breeding stock from the islands has been a major agricultural enterprise. The closing of the island herds encouraged the standardization of the islands’ breeds. Cattle shows, which began in 1828 on Guernsey, hastened the process. Guernsey breeders selected their cattle for consistency of color within a range of fawn to golden with white spotting and for golden skin. Today, Guernseys are medium to large in size, with cows weighing 1,400 pounds and bulls 2,000 pounds. The breed is usually horned, though polled strains have been developed. Cows are noted for their quiet dispositions. A distinctive characteristic of the breed is the golden color of its milk, which results from exceptionally high levels of carotene, a precursor to Vitamin A. It is thought that the Guernsey ­excels in its ability to absorb this nutrient and transfer it to butterfat. Guernsey milk has been promoted under the trademark “Golden Guernsey.” Butter made from the milk is also distinctively golden. Guernsey cattle were first imported to North America in the 1830s, with importations peaking in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Guernseys have had a prominent place in American agriculture, but the breed has fallen into decline in recent decades. With the dairy industry focused exclusively on the quantity of milk produced under confinement conditions, and pricing favoring the quantity of fluid milk over the quality of the components (such as protein and butterfat), the Guernsey’s strengths lost market value. Between 1970 and 1990, annual registrations of purebred calves dropped by 60%. Some breeders have sought to stop this decline by increasing milk production, often through the introduction of Red Holstein. This strategy has not been successful at increasing production enough to make the Guernsey competitive with the Holstein, and instead it has caused the breed to lose some of its genetic distinctiveness.