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Beef Cattle Breeds

Hereford Cattle: How a Herefordshire Breed Became a Ranch Standard

The red-bodied, white-faced breed from western England that built many of the world's range herds.

Where Do Hereford Cattle Come From?

Hereford cattle come from the county of Herefordshire in western England. The American Hereford Association history page says farmers there founded the breed nearly 300 years ago, in response to the demand for beef created by Britain's Industrial Revolution. Growing towns needed meat, and the farmers of the Welsh borders bred cattle that could turn grass into beef.

A local Herefordshire Through Time page on breed promotion and a general Britannica entry on the breed cover the English side of the story in more detail. This profile leans on the American association's own record for dates and numbers.

Benjamin Tomkins and the Foundation Herd

The association names Benjamin Tomkins as a primary founder of the Hereford breed. In 1742, it reports, he started with a bull calf out of a cow called Silver and with two cows, Pidgeon and Mottle. Breeding from a small, carefully chosen group was the method that created most of the British beef breeds, and the Hereford followed the same pattern.

The records stop short of explaining every choice those early breeders made, so it is safest to say that selection for beef, not for draft work or milk, set the breed on its course.

Hereford Cattle Come to America

According to the American Hereford Association, the Kentucky statesman Henry Clay brought Herefords to the United States in 1817. The breed spread slowly at first, then quickly once ranchers began stocking the Plains and the West.

In 1881 breeders organized the American Hereford Cattle Breeders Association, which later became the American Hereford Association. By 1920 it was the first beef breed association to own its own headquarters, at 300 West 11th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicated its second headquarters at 715 Hereford Drive in the same city.

Numbers Through the Twentieth Century

The association's timeline gives a few hard figures. By 1960 it had registered 10 million head in total. Between 1929 and 1933, annual registrations fell from 101,839 to 87,541 as the Depression hit cattle markets, and in 1933 some 2,743 Herefords sold at auction for an average of $105 per head.

Those numbers show a breed that rose and fell with the cattle cycle like everything else on the range. By 2000 the association's membership exceeded 4,000 family ranches, and today it describes itself as the second-largest beef breed association in the United States, with more than 7,000 active adult and junior members.

Polled Herefords, Testing and Certified Hereford Beef

The 1974 Junior National Polled Hereford Heifer Show and Forum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the milestones listed on the timeline, and the American Polled Hereford Association issued its first artificial insemination certificate in 1968. In 1995 the two associations merged, and on October 15 of that year the association created the Certified Hereford Beef brand.

The association also points to working ranches that served as test herds, including Olsen Ranch in Harrisburg, Nebraska, Stahly Ranch in Cavour, South Dakota, Simplot Ranch, and Mershon Cattle in Buckner, Missouri.

What Made It Work

A breed does not last for roughly three centuries by accident. The association's own record shows several habits that kept Herefords in demand, and it also shows the pressure the breed has been under from the rise of black-hided cattle.

These are the documented reasons, stated with the association's caveat that its figures are its own.

  • Selection from a small foundation herd in 1742 made a recognizable type.
  • A breed association formed in 1881 and kept the registry in producer hands.
  • The association owned its headquarters by 1920, a sign of organizational staying power.
  • Test herds on commercial ranches supplied performance data, such as the 2005 Harris Ranch Project result of a $30 advantage for Hereford-sired black baldies over purebred Angus.
  • A 2007 Circle A Ranch Project reported a $51 advantage for baldy females over straightbred Angus.
  • The Certified Hereford Beef brand of 1995 tied the breed to a retail beef program.

Records, Roles and Where to Read More

One sale shows how valuable breeding stock can be. In 2013 the bull C Miles McKee 2103 ET sold for $600,000, a world record for a cattle sale according to the association. You can see an overview of the breed from a land-grant university at the Oklahoma State breed profile.

Readers who want Hereford stories from working ranches can browse the ranching pages on farm.FM or follow one farm.FM story about Hereford cattle.

Timeline

  1. 1742Benjamin Tomkins starts his herd in Herefordshire, per the association
  2. 1817Henry Clay brings Herefords to the United States
  3. 1881American Hereford Cattle Breeders Association organized
  4. 1920Association becomes first beef breed association to own its headquarters
  5. 1953President Eisenhower dedicates the second headquarters in Kansas City
  6. 196010 million head registered
  7. 1974First Junior National Polled Hereford Heifer Show and Forum
  8. 1995Hereford associations merge and Certified Hereford Beef is created
  9. 2013Bull C Miles McKee 2103 ET sells for $600,000

Frequently asked questions

Where do Hereford cattle come from?

Hereford cattle come from Herefordshire, England. The American Hereford Association says farmers there founded the breed nearly 300 years ago to meet British demand for beef during the Industrial Revolution.

Who brought Hereford cattle to the United States?

The American Hereford Association credits the Kentucky statesman Henry Clay with bringing Herefords to the United States in 1817, long before the breed association formed in 1881.

Who was Benjamin Tomkins?

Benjamin Tomkins is named by the American Hereford Association as a primary founder of the breed. In 1742 he started his herd with a bull calf from the cow Silver and two cows, Pidgeon and Mottle.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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