Dare I say it? The Guernsey cow is one of the prettiest of our doe-eyed bovine friends and as far and we, and discerning dairy fans are concerned, a breed apart. So in our latest blog instalment, we’re taking some time out to celebrate their fine fettle, and indeed their fine forelocks – we bring you the friendly, docile and generous Guernsey cow!

Guernsey breed characteristics

Tan and white patterned hides and pink noses give the breed its distinctive appearance, and the size of a cow? Around 450 to 500 kg with bulls weighing in at 600 to 700 kg, small compared with more common dairy breeds.

Golden Guernsey Cows

But the real reason that we love them and the thing that makes them unique in the cow-world is the quality of the milk that they produce. And here, as they say, is the science bit:  Guernsey milk has a golden colour due to an exceptionally high content of beta-carotene. The milk also has a high butterfat content of 5 per cent and a high protein content of 3.7 per cent.

A dairy cow phenomenon

The Guernsey Cow’s milk has made the breed world famous. It is incredibly rich and creamy, with a hint of sweetness. From the 1950′s to the early 1970′s, Golden Guernsey trademark milk was sold in the US and Canada as a premium product.

In Guernsey, individual cows can produce as much as 10,000 litres of milk per year and the breed average is 5,500 litres. Seven million litres of 1.4  per cent reduced fat or skimmed milk are consumed locally annually. Separated cream is used to make superb cream, ice cream, butter, and cream liqueur. A further million litres of milk are used to make Guernsey cheese.

Guernsey dairy products

A traditional and well-loved product range, Guernsey Dairy has had something of a makeover of late. Introduced in May 2010, the new packaging is a splendid and instantly recognisable gingham and black design that combines contempory good looks with a nod to the rustic Anglo-French influences on the Golden Guernsey Cow breed and Guernsey cuisine.

Product lines include skimmed, low fat, full cream and organic milk, salty and unsalted golden butter and double, extra thick and whipping cream. A frie d’or and four varieties of delicious cheddar sit beside limited edition flavours on the cheese counter. Thirteen varieties of Guernsey Dairy ice cream are available and a further 30 are produced by family run Le Hechet Farm. Guernsey resident and Formula 1 superstar Jenson Button told the BBC this year that he thought Guernsey ice cream to be delicious!

A potted history of the Guernsey Cow

Their early history is shrouded in mystery and theories abound. Whether the breed originates from cattle brought to the island by banished French monks from Mont St Michael in 960AD or imported from the French mainland at a later date, is open to debate. Comparisons have however been drawn to Isigny cattle from Manche and Calvados areas of France as well as Dutch cattle.

The earliest description of Channel Island cattle however, is in Thomas Hale’s 1756 The Complete Body of Husbandry. In it, he declares the Alderney a hardy and fine dairy heard. By the early 19^th Century the cattle became known as Guernsey, when the Royal Guernsey Agricultural Society was formed in 1817, its specific aim to preserve the ‘beauty’ of Guernsey cattle.

In the mid 1800s restrictions on movement of cattle began to be imposed and the breed has remained pure and free from many cattle diseases ever since.  A total import ban on cattle from outside the Bailiwick of Guernsey came into effect in 1882.

By 1884 a hugely lucrative trade supplying cattle to the United States was developing, which continued right up until the start of the First World War.