List of dairy cattle breeds

Dairy cattle are those primarily raised for their milk as part of dairy farming. Dairy cattle are breeds of cattle specifically raised for the production of large quantities of milk.^[1] This milk is processed into dairy products such as cheese, butter, yogurt, and cream. Dairy farming plays a critical role in the agricultural economy worldwide, where dairy farming is both a commercial and subsistence activity. There are several popular breeds of dairy cattle globally, including Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, and Brown Swiss.^[2] Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle are particularly common due to their high milk production and adaptability to local conditions.^[3] Holsteins are preferred for large-scale commercial farming, while Jerseys are popular among smallholder farmers.^[4]

Breed	Country of origin	Average milk output per day[Note 1]							Other
		Volume (L)	Volume (US Gallons)	Milk solids (kg)	Butterfat (% w/v)	Butterfat (kg)	Protein (% w/v)	Protein (kg)
Abondance	France
Alderney	England
American Milking Devon	United States	23	5						Originally bred from the North Devon cattle
Australian Braford	Australia
Australian Friesian Sahiwal	Australia
Australian Lowline	Australia
Australian Milking Zebu	Australia
Ayrshire	Scotland[5]	24.6	6.5		3.86[6]		3.06[6]
Belgian Red	Belgium
Bianca Modenese	Italy
Brown Swiss	Switzerland[5]	30	8		4.04[6]		3.38[6]
Burlina	Italy
Buša	Balkan	5.7	1.5
Canadienne	Canada	11	3						Extremely rare, found in Quebec.
Dairy Shorthorn	England	22	6
Danish Jersey	Denmark
Danish Red	Denmark
Dexter	Ireland	7.5	2						Very small in size. Used in domestic farms.
Estonian Red	Estonia	11.2	2.9
Fleckvieh (Simmental)	Austria	25.4	6.7
French Simmental	France
Gangatiri	India	7	1.8
German Black Pied Dairy	Germany
Girolando	Brazil	11.4	3
Guernsey	Guernsey[5]	19	5		4.51[6]		3.37[6]		One of the Channel Islands cattle.
Harzer Rotvieh	Germany
Hays Converter	Canada
Hérens	Switzerland
Holstein-Friesian	Netherlands[5]	53	14		3.65[6]		3.06[6]		Known for producing the most milk of any cattle.
Illawarra Shorthorn	Australia[5]	7.5	2
Irish Moiled	Ireland	7.5	2						Rare breed and can be dual purpose, meat and milk.
Jamaica Hope	Jamaica
Jersey	Jersey[5]	19	5		4.60[6]		3.59[6]		Has a very high content of butterfat in the milk.
Lakenvelder (Dutch Belted)	Netherlands	18	5
Meuse-Rhine-Issel	Germany
Montbéliarde	France	21	6
Normande	France	18	5
Norwegian Red	Norway	18	5
Old Gloucester	England
Randall Lineback	United States
Pie Rouge des Plaines	France
Pinzgauer	Austria
Podolica	Italy	5	1.3
Red Chittagong	Bangladesh
Red Poll	England	15	4						A cross of Norfolk Red and Suffolk Dun
Red Sindhi	Pakistan
Sahiwal	Pakistan	7.2	1.9
Sussex	England
Tipo Carora	Venezuela
Tyrol Grey	Austria
Vorderwald	Germany

Dairy Cows

Notes

1. Milk production varies due to a significant range of variables including age of the cow, time of year, climate conditions, type of feed and specific breed lineages. Particular attention should be made to citations for figures used in this table for the methods used to obtain these average figures.